If you are learning Chinese, you will definitely encounter situations where you need to talk about periods of time: for example, “three days,” “one month,” “half a year,” or “from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.” Expressing periods of time in Chinese is not too difficult, but there are several differences compared to Vietnamese or English. This article will guide you through how to talk about periods of time in Chinese in detail, with practical examples, so you can confidently communicate in daily life, work, and study.
1. Basic Units of Time in Chinese
To talk about periods of time, you first need to master the basic time words in Chinese:
- 秒 (miǎo): second
- 分钟 (fēnzhōng): minute
- 小时 (xiǎoshí) or 钟头 (zhōngtóu): hour
- 天 (tiān): day
- 星期 (xīngqī) or 周 (zhōu): week
- 月 (yuè): month
- 年 (nián): year
- 半 (bàn): half (e.g. 半年 = half a year, 半个小时 = half an hour)
These units are the foundation for constructing sentences about periods of time in Chinese.
2. Structures for Expressing Periods of Time in Chinese
a. Number + Unit
The simplest way to express a period of time is number + unit of time:
- 一分钟 (yī fēnzhōng): one minute
- 两个小时 (liǎng ge xiǎoshí): two hours
- 三天 (sān tiān): three days
- 五个月 (wǔ ge yuè): five months
- 十年 (shí nián): ten years
Note: When saying “two” with a measure word (e.g., two hours, two years), you must use “两 (liǎng)” instead of “二 (èr)”.
b. Periods of Time with “About”
To express “about/approximately,” Chinese often uses words like:
- 大约 (dàyuē): about, approximately
- 差不多 (chàbuduō): roughly, nearly
- 左右 (zuǒyòu): about, around (placed after the time unit)
Examples:
我们学习了大约两个小时。
(Wǒmen xuéxí le dàyuē liǎng ge xiǎoshí.)
We studied for about two hours.他去了三天左右。
(Tā qù le sān tiān zuǒyòu.)
He went for about three days.这个工程差不多一年就完成了。
(Zhège gōngchéng chàbuduō yī nián jiù wánchéng le.)
This project was completed in about one year.
c. Periods Between Two Points
When you want to say “from… to…” (start time – end time):
从…到… (cóng… dào…): from… to…
Examples:
- 从八点到十点 (cóng bā diǎn dào shí diǎn): from 8 o’clock to 10 o’clock
- 从星期一到星期五 (cóng xīngqī yī dào xīngqī wǔ): from Monday to Friday
3. Common Sentence Patterns
To make your ways of talking about periods of time in Chinese more natural, you can refer to the following sentence patterns:
你每天工作几个小时？
(Nǐ měitiān gōngzuò jǐ ge xiǎoshí?)
How many hours do you work every day?我学习中文已经三年了。
(Wǒ xuéxí Zhōngwén yǐjīng sān nián le.)
I have already studied Chinese for three years.我家离公司大约二十分钟。
(Wǒ jiā lí gōngsī dàyuē èrshí fēnzhōng.)
My house is about 20 minutes away from the company.从早上八点到下午五点我都在学校。
(Cóng zǎoshang bā diǎn dào xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn wǒ dōu zài xuéxiào.)
From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., I’m at school.
4. Notes on Using Periods of Time in Chinese
- Word order: In Chinese, word order is very important. Generally, the time expression is placed before the verb.
- Don’t confuse “年” (nián) and “岁” (suì):
- “年” is used to talk about years (time, experience, etc.)
- “岁” is used to talk about age.
Examples:
- 我来了中国三年了。 (I have been in China for three years.)
- 我25岁。 (I am 25 years old.)
- Use “左右” and “大约” in the right place:
- “大约” goes before the quantity (大约两天: about two days)
- “左右” goes after the quantity (两天左右: about two days)
5. How to Ask About Periods of Time in Chinese
When you want to ask about periods of time, use these patterns:
- 多久？(duō jiǔ): How long?
- 多长时间？(duō cháng shíjiān): How much time?
- 几天？(jǐ tiān): How many days?
- 多大年纪？(duō dà niánjì): How old? (age)
Examples:
- 你来这里多久了？ (How long have you been here?)
- 你每天学习多长时间？ (How long do you study each day?)
6. Real-life Situations
To speak about periods of time in Chinese naturally, practice with these everyday situations:
Making an appointment:
我们约半个小时可以吗？ (Can we make an appointment for half an hour?)
Asking about travel time:
去机场要多长时间？ (How long does it take to get to the airport?)
Describing experience:
我已经在这家公司工作五年了。 (I have worked at this company for five years.)
7. Conclusion
Understanding and mastering how to talk about periods of time in Chinese is a very practical skill for all learners. Once you are familiar with time units, basic sentence patterns, and regularly practice through real-life conversations, you will find expressing time in Chinese becomes much more natural and fluent.
Hopefully, this article helps you feel more confident using Chinese in your studies, work, and daily life!