EP15 时间 Time
How to ask time in Chinese
Express different time of the Day
Part I Chinese 101
Dialogue:
A:你什么时间上班?
nǐ shí me shí jiān shàng bān
What time do you go to work?
B:早上9点半。
zǎo shàng jiǔ diǎn bàn.
9:30 in the morning
A:几点下班?
jǐ diǎn xià bān
When do you leave your office?
B:下午5点30分。
xià wǔ wǔ diǎn sān shí fēn
5:30 in the afternoon.
Words & Expressions:
【时间】shí jiān: Time
北京时间Beijing Time
【点】diǎn: point; dot; spot; place
【早】zǎo:early; morning
【午】wǔ: noon
【上】shàng: up, go, upon; previous; superior; preceding
【下】xià: off, down, under; next;
【班】bān: duty; class
上班shang ban: go to work
下班xia ban: get off from work
* Here“上”and“下”are using as verbs.“上”means go,“下”means off
【半】bàn: half
* 半点ban dian: half o’ clock
4:30 四点半si dian ban: half past 4
* 一刻钟yi ke zhong: a quarter of time
3:15 三点一刻 san dian yi ke:a quarter past 3.
【分】fēn: separate; minute
Part II Language Tips
How to ask time in Chinese
Express different time of the Day
Part III Story of The Day
朝三暮四
zhāo sān mù sì
To change one's mind frequently
Chinese people used the phrase 朝三暮四 to illustrate the idea that the wise are good at tricks and the foolish are easily taken in. Nowadays this idiom is used for someone who changes his mind easily.
Literal meaning: have three acorns in the morning and four in the evening
Explanation: the wise are good at tricks and the foolish are easily taken in; to change one's mind frequently.
E.g
他今天说想当钢琴家,明天又说想当足球运动员; 他这样朝三暮四下去,最终只会一事无成.
tā jīn tiān shuō xiǎng dāng gāng qín jiā ,míng tiān yòu shuō xiǎng dāng zú qiú yùn dòng yuán ; tā zhè yàng zhāo sān mù sì xià qù ,zuì zhōng zhī huì yī shì wú chéng .
One day he said he wants to be a pianist, the other day he said he wants to be a football player; if he keeps changing his mind frequently like this, he will ultimately achieve nothing.
