Meaning of 时间
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (concept of) time
- (duration of) time
- (point in) time
How to use 时间
时间 is the general word for time as a resource or a duration. It often appears with 有 (yǒu) or 没有 (méiyǒu) to say whether you are free. Example: 你明天有时间吗？(Nǐ míngtiān yǒu shíjiān ma?) Do you have time tomorrow?
时 (shí) has 日 (sun) on the left, because people tracked time by the sun. 间 (jiān) shows 日 inside a 门 (door), like sunlight through a gap, so 时间 is the span of time between moments.
Common mistake: Learners often use 时间 for "when" in a sentence, but "when I was a child" is 我小的时候 (wǒ xiǎo de shíhou), not 时间. Use 时候 for the moment something happens and 时间 for an amount of time or free time.
时间 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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间 jiān · between · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 时间.
| 时候 | shíhou | time; length of time |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour |
| 房间 | fángjiān | room |
| 有时 | yǒushí | sometimes; now and then |
| 有时候 | yǒushíhou | sometimes |
| 中间 | zhōngjiān | the middle; the inside; in the middle; within; between; among |
| 洗手间 | xǐshǒujiān | toilet; lavatory |
| 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 |
Questions about 时间
What does 时间 mean?
时间 (shíjiān) means "(concept of) time; (duration of) time" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 时间?
时间 is made of 2 characters: 时 (7 strokes), 间 (7 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 时间 an HSK word?
Yes. 时间 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 时间 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 时间 is written 時間.
How do I ask what time it is in Chinese?
The most common way is 现在几点？(Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?) What time is it now? You can also say 现在什么时间？(Xiànzài shénme shíjiān?), but 几点 is more natural in daily speech.
Is the 间 in 时间 pronounced the same as in 中间 and 房间?
Yes, it is jiān with a first tone in all three words. In 时间 it means a span between points, and in 中间 (zhōngjiān) and 房间 (fángjiān) it means a space or room.