Meaning of 定时
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to fix a time
- fixed time
- timed (of explosive etc)
How to use 定时
定时 is used for things scheduled at regular or preset times, such as taking medicine, eating meals, or setting a device to turn on or off. It often comes before another verb as an adverb-like modifier, and it also appears in compounds like 定时炸弹 (dìngshí zhàdàn, time bomb). Example: 你要定时吃药。(Nǐ yào dìngshí chī yào.) You need to take your medicine at fixed times.
定 (dìng) means to fix or settle, as in 一定 (yīdìng), and 时 (shí) means time, as in 时间 (shíjiān). Put them together and you fix the time: something happens at a set moment.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 定时 (dìngshí, at a fixed time) with 准时 (zhǔnshí, on time, punctual). 他每天准时到 means he arrives punctually. 他定时到 suggests he arrives at a regular, scheduled time.
定时 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
定 dìng · to fix · 8 strokes
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时 shí · o'clock · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 定时.
| 时候 | shíhou | time; length of time |
| 时间 | shíjiān | (concept of) time; (duration of) time |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour |
| 有时 | yǒushí | sometimes; now and then |
| 有时候 | yǒushíhou | sometimes |
| 一定 | yīdìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled |
| 当时 | dāngshí | then; at that time |
| 那时 | nà shí | then; at that time |
| 同时 | tóngshí | at the same time; simultaneously |
| 随时 | suíshí | at any time; at all times; at the right time; whenever necessary |
| 小时候 | xiǎoshíhou | in one's childhood |
| 平时 | píngshí | ordinarily; in normal times |
Questions about 定时
What does 定时 mean?
定时 (dìngshí) means "to fix a time; fixed time" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 定时?
定时 is made of 2 characters: 定 (8 strokes), 时 (7 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 定时 an HSK word?
Yes. 定时 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 定时 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 定时 is written 定時.
How do I say 'set a timer' in Chinese using 定时?
You can say 定个时 (dìng ge shí) or 设定时间 (shèdìng shíjiān). Many appliances also have a 定时 button or 定时功能 (dìngshí gōngnéng, timer function).
Is 定时 the same as 按时?
They overlap. 按时 (ànshí) means doing something according to the agreed time, like 按时交作业 (hand in homework on time). 定时 stresses a fixed, regular schedule, like eating meals at the same hours every day.