Time in Chinese
Pick any clock time and see exactly how to say it in Mandarin, with pinyin and audio.
上午九点半
shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn bàn
Spoken Chinese states the part of day before the hour (下午三点 = 3 pm), half past is 半, quarter past is 一刻 — and 2 o'clock is always 两点, never 二点.
Chinese clock time is refreshingly logical: hour + 点 (diǎn, "o'clock") + minutes. The catches are small but non-negotiable. Two o'clock is 两点 (liǎng diǎn), never 二点. Half past is 半 (bàn), quarter past is 一刻 (yí kè), quarter to the next hour is 三刻 (sān kè). And minutes below ten insert a 零 (líng, zero): 3:05 is 三点零五分.
Because Chinese rarely uses a 24-hour clock in speech, the part of day comes *before* the hour: 早上七点 (7 am), 下午三点 (3 pm), 晚上十点 (10 pm). Pick any time above and listen — the hours are packed with tone-pair practice, and 十 (shí) vs 四 (sì) is one of the classic listening traps.
Why is 2:00 两点 and not 二点?
二 (èr) is for counting and math; 两 (liǎng) is used before measure words, and 点 works like a measure word for hours. The same rule gives you 两个人 (two people).
How do I say am and pm?
Put the period of day before the hour: 早上 (early morning), 上午 (morning), 中午 (noon), 下午 (afternoon), 晚上 (evening), 凌晨 (small hours). 下午三点 = 3 pm.
What is 一刻?
A quarter of an hour: 三点一刻 is 3:15, 三点三刻 is 3:45. There is no 二刻 — 3:30 is 三点半 (half past).
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