Level 3 Lesson 27.2 – 差一刻两点了，怎么办？
GRAMMAR: How to Tell Time in Chinese with 半 (bàn); 刻 (kè); 差 (chà); 过 (guò)
In this HSK 3 video lesson we'll learn how to tell time in Chinese with 半 (bàn); 刻 (kè); 差 (chà); 过 (guò).
- 半 (bàn ▸ half)
- 刻 (kè ▸ a unit to measure time on clocks and watches, equaling 15 minutes)
- 差 (chà ▸ to fall short of; to be short of)
- 过 (guò ▸ to go pass)
GRAMMAR
Grammar 1. 半 bàn ▸ half
Grammar 2. 刻 kè ▸ a unit to measure time on clocks and watches, equaling 15 minutes
Previously, we have learned how to tell time in Chinese with this structure: …点…分.
 See also How To Tell Time with …点…分. |
In today's lesson, we'll learn how to tell Chinese in Chinese with 半 and 刻. We use the following structures:
…点半
| …点半 | …点…(分) | |
| 11:30 | shí yī diǎn bàn 十一点半 |
shí yī diǎn sān shí (fēn) 十一点三十(分) |
| 5:30 | wǔ diǎn bàn 五点半 |
wǔ diǎn sān shí (fēn) 五点三十(分) |
…点…刻
| …点…刻 | …点…分/…点… | |
| 8:15 | bā diǎn yí kè 八点一刻 |
bā diǎn shí wǔ (fēn) 八点十五(分) |
| 12:15 | shí 'èr diǎn yí kè 十二点一刻 |
shí 'èr diǎn shí wǔ (fēn) 十二点十五(分) |
| 6:45 | liù diǎn sān kè 六点三刻 |
liù diǎn sì shí wǔ (fēn) 六点四十五(分) |
| 11:45 | shí yī diǎn sān kè 十一点三刻 |
shí yī diǎn sì shí wǔ (fēn) 十一点四十五(分) |
Below are more examples:
- sì yuè shí ’èr rì xiàwǔ yī diǎn bàn
四月十二日下午一点半
April 12, 1:30pm - zhè ge xīngqītiān shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn yí kè
这个星期天上午九点一刻
this Sunday 9:15am - xià ge yuè qī hào zhōngwǔ shí ’èr diǎn bàn
下个月七号中午十二点半
next month 7th, noon 12:30 - cóng zǎoshang bā diǎn bàn dào wǎnshang shí diǎn yí kè
从早上八点半到晚上十点一刻
from 8:30am to 10:15pm
Reading The Clock vs. Duration of Time
| Reading The Clock | Duration of Time |
| sān diǎn sān fēn 三点三分 3:03 |
sān fēn zhōng 三分钟 3 minutes |
| wǔ diǎn yí kè 五点一刻 5:15 |
yí kè zhōng 一刻钟 15 minutes |
| shí diǎn bàn 十点半 10:30 |
bàn xiǎo shí / bàn ge xiǎo shí 半小时/半个小时 half an hour |
Grammar 3. 差 chà ▸ to fall short of; to be short of
Grammar 4. 过 guò ▸ to go pass
In today's lesson, we'll also learn how to tell Chinese in Chinese with 差 and 过. We use the following structures:
差… …点
| 差… …点 | |
| 01:45 | chà yí kè liǎng diǎn 差一刻两点 |
| liǎng diǎn chà yí kè 两点差一刻 |
|
| 09:55 | chà yí kè shí diǎn 差一刻十点 |
| shí diǎn chà yí kè 十点差一刻 |
…点过…
| …点过… | |
| 02:15 | liǎng diǎn guò yí kè 两点过一刻 |
| 10:05 | shí diǎn guò wǔ fēn 十点过五分 |
Below are more examples:
- Wǒ míngtiān zǎoshang qī diǎn guò yí kè yào qù yīyuàn kànbìng.
我明天早上七点过一刻要去医院看病。
I tomorrow morning 15-minutes-past-7-o’clock need to go to (the) hospital to (have my) sickness looked-at. - Tā kàn le kàn shǒubiǎo, yǐjīng wǎnshang shí ’èr diǎn guò ’èr shí le.
他看了看手表，已经晚上十二点过二十了。
He looked-at (the) watch “really quick”, (it) already (is) night 20-minutes-past-12-o’clock. - Yínháng měi tiān xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn chà yí kè guānmén.
银行每天下午五点差一刻关门。
(The) bank every day afternoon 15-minutes-to-5-o’clock closes.