Time Words in Chinese
Two rules do most of the work: time goes before the verb, and dates run from biggest unit to smallest.
Chinese dates read 2026年10月7日 — year, then month, then day. Exactly the opposite of how English writes it.
Big to small
English writes October 7, 2026 — small to big. Chinese goes the other way: 2026年10月7日 — literally “2026 year 10 month 7 day.”
This is not just written convention; it is how the language thinks about time. The same order applies to clock time: 上午九点 is “morning nine o’clock,” and 下午三点二十分 is 3:20 in the afternoon.
The words
号 and 日 both mean “day of the month” — 号 is the everyday spoken form, 日 the written one.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīntiān | today | HSK 1 |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow | HSK 1 |
| 年 | nián | year | HSK 1 |
| 月 | yuè | month, moon | HSK 1 |
| 日 | rì | day; Japan | HSK 2 |
| 点 | diǎn | o'clock, dot | HSK 1 |
| 分钟 | fēnzhōng | minute | HSK 1 |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour | HSK 2 |
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | morning | HSK 1 |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon | HSK 1 |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | morning | HSK 2 |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening | HSK 2 |
| 现在 | xiànzài | now | HSK 1 |
| 时候 | shíhou | time, moment | HSK 1 |
| 星期 | xīngqī | week | HSK 1 |
Time before the verb
English can put time at the front or the end: “Tomorrow I’m going” or “I’m going tomorrow.” Chinese has one slot, and it is before the verb: 我明天去 — I tomorrow go.
我明天去北京 is correct. 我去北京明天 is not — it sounds like an afterthought tacked on.
Common mistakes
- 我去北京明天 — Time must come before the verb: 我明天去北京.
- Writing dates small to big — 10月2026年 is wrong — the year comes first.
- Confusing 分 and 分钟 — 分钟 is a duration, 分 is a clock minute.
In a sentence
- 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
What time is it now? - 我明天有课。 Wǒ míngtiān yǒu kè.
I have class tomorrow. - 今天十月七号。 Jīntiān shí yuè qī hào.
Today is October 7th.