Meaning of 时
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- o'clock
- time
- when
- hour
- season
- period
- surname Shi
- old variant of 時|时[shi2]
How to use 时
时 rarely stands alone in everyday speech. It usually appears inside words like 时候 (shíhou), 时间 (shíjiān) and 小时 (xiǎoshí), or in the pattern ……的时候 meaning 'when...'. Example: 我吃饭的时候看电视。(Wǒ chīfàn de shíhou kàn diànshì.) I watch TV when I eat.
时 combines 日 (rì, sun) on the left with 寸 (cùn, inch) on the right. Picture the sun moving across the sky inch by inch to mark the passing of time.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 时间 (shíjiān, a length or point of time) with 小时 (xiǎoshí, hour), saying 三时间 instead of 三个小时 (sān gè xiǎoshí) for 'three hours'. Also, the right side is 寸 with a dot, not 才 (cái).
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.
时 shí · o'clock · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 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 |
| 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 |
| 这时候 | zhè shíhou |
Questions about 时
What does 时 mean?
时 (shí) means "o'clock; time" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 时?
时 is made of 1 character: 时 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 时 an HSK word?
Yes. 时 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 时 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 时 is written 時.
What is the difference between 时候 and 时间?
时候 (shíhou) usually means a moment or 'when', as in 你什么时候来? (When are you coming?). 时间 (shíjiān) is time as a resource or duration, as in 我没有时间 (I have no time).
How do you say 'sometimes' with 时?
Use 有时 (yǒushí) or 有时候 (yǒushíhou). Both mean 'sometimes' and go before the verb, for example 他有时候迟到 (He is sometimes late).