暂时 meaning in English
temporary; provisional; for the time being
Meaning of 暂时
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- temporary; provisional; for the time being
How to use 暂时
暂时 often comes before a verb to mean "for now" or "for the time being." It can also describe a noun with 的, as in 暂时的困难 (a temporary difficulty). Example: 他暂时住在朋友家。(Tā zànshí zhù zài péngyou jiā.) He is staying at a friend's place for now.
暂 (zàn) means "brief" or "for a short while," and 时 (shí) means "time," the same 时 you see in 时间 (shíjiān) and 小时 (xiǎoshí). Put them together and you get "a brief time," which is something that is only temporary.
Common mistake: Learners often put 暂时 after the verb, as in 住暂时. It belongs before the verb: 暂时住. Also watch the tone. 暂 is fourth tone (zàn), not third tone (zǎn).
暂时 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.
暂 zàn · temporary · 12 strokes
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时 shí · o'clock · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 暂时.
| 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 暂时
What does 暂时 mean?
暂时 (zànshí) means "temporary; provisional; for the time being" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 暂时?
暂时 is made of 2 characters: 暂 (12 strokes), 时 (7 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 暂时 an HSK word?
Yes. 暂时 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 暂时 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 暂时 is written 暫時.
What is the difference between 暂时 and 临时?
暂时 stresses that something lasts only a short time and will change later, as in 暂时不去 (not going for now). 临时 (línshí) stresses that something was arranged at the last minute or is makeshift, as in 临时工 (temporary worker).
Can I say 暂时 on its own as an answer?
It usually needs something after it. For example, 暂时没有 (zànshí méiyǒu) means "not for now," and 暂时还行 means "it's fine for the moment." A bare 暂时 sounds incomplete.