How to Tell Time in Chinese (点, 分, 刻, 差)
Telling time hangs on 点 (o'clock) and 分 (minutes): 八点二十分 = 8:20. Add 半 (half), 刻 (quarter), 零 (for minutes under 10) and 差 (“minutes to”) and you can say any time.
Why this trips learners up
To tell time in Chinese you need just two anchor words: 点 (diǎn) for the hour (“o'clock”) and 分 (fēn) for the minutes. The pattern is Hour + 点 + Minutes + 分: 八点二十分 = 8:20, 九点四十分 = 9:40. Two quick basics first — “2 o'clock” is 两点 (with 两, not 二), and half past is 点 + 半: 六点半 = 6:30.
Then come the touches that make you sound fluent. When the minutes are under 10, slip in 零 (líng): 10:05 is 十点零五分. Quarter hours get their own word, 刻 (kè) — but only 一刻 (:15) and 三刻 (:45): 三点一刻 = 3:15, 五点三刻 = 5:45. And to count down to the next hour, use 差 (chà), “short of”: 差五分十点 = “five to ten” (9:55). Past the hour you count up after 点; close to the next hour you can flip to 差 and count down.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
xiànzài 现在 Time liǎng 两 Number diǎn 点 Pattern
It's 2 o'clock now.
wǒ 我 Subject liù 六 Number diǎn 点 Pattern bàn 半 Pattern qǐchuáng 起床 Verb
I get up at 6:30.
nǐ 你 Subject jǐ 几 Number diǎn 点 Pattern xiàbān 下班 Verb
What time do you get off work?
huǒchē 火车 Subject bā 八 Number diǎn 点 Pattern èrshí 二十 Number fēn 分 Pattern dào 到 Verb
The train arrives at 8:20.
huìyì 会议 Subject shí 十 Number diǎn 点 Pattern líng 零 Pattern wǔ 五 Number fēn 分 Pattern kāishǐ 开始 Verb
The meeting starts at 10:05 (note the 零 for the single-digit minute).
wǒmen 我们 Subject sān 三 Number diǎn 点 Pattern yí 一 Number kè 刻 Pattern jiàn miàn 见面 Verb
We're meeting at 3:15 (一刻 = a quarter past).
xiànzài 现在 Time wǔ 五 Number diǎn 点 Pattern sān 三 Number kè 刻 Pattern
It's 5:45 (五点三刻 = “five o'clock, three quarters”).
xiànzài 现在 Time chà 差 Other wǔ 五 Number fēn 分 Pattern shí 十 Number diǎn 点 Pattern
It's five to ten now (差五分十点 = 9:55).
Common mistakes
Why it happens: Two o'clock is 两点, not 二点. A clock hour is a counted quantity, so it takes 两 — exactly like 两个. (二 is for ordinals and bare digits, not the hour.)
Why it happens: Half past is 半 (三点半 = 3:30), not “two quarters”. 刻 only covers a quarter past (一刻, :15) and a quarter to (三刻, :45) — there's no 两刻 for :30.
Why it happens: 点钟 (“o'clock”) is only for the round hour — 三点钟 = “3 o'clock sharp”. The moment you add minutes, drop 钟 and use plain 点: 3:20 is 三点二十分, never 三点钟二十分.
Compare & contrast
| Minutes past — after 点 | Minutes to — 差 before the hour | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 八点五十分bā diǎn wǔshí fēn = 8:50 | 差十分九点chà shí fēn jiǔ diǎn = 8:50 (ten to nine) | 八点五十分 counts up from 8 (“eight fifty”). 差十分九点 counts down to 9 (“ten to nine”). Same moment, 8:50, two directions. |
| 五点三刻wǔ diǎn sān kè = 5:45 | 差一刻六点chà yí kè liù diǎn = 5:45 (quarter to six) | 五点三刻 says 5:45 counting up (“five, three quarters”). 差一刻六点 says the same time counting down — “a quarter to six”. |
Try it yourself
Write 9:05 in Chinese (mind the 零) — tap the pieces into order.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Tell Time in Chinese (点, 分, 刻, 差) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.