七时 (qī shí) — seven o'clock (formal/written style)

Definition

A formal, written way to say 'seven o'clock' — used in schedules, announcements, and news (e.g. 七时二十五分 '7:25'). In everyday speech, learners should prefer 七点.

noun
seven o'clock (formal/written style)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 七时。
    Háng bān jiāng yú qī shí èr shí wǔ fēn zhǔn shí qǐ fēi.
    The flight will take off at exactly 7:25.
  • 七时，。
    qī shí De liè chē yǐ jīng jìn zhàn, qǐng lǚ kè jǐn kuài shàng chē.
    The 7:00 train has already arrived at the platform; passengers please board quickly.
  • 七时，。
    Huì yì dìng yú míng zǎo qī shí kāi shǐ, qǐng wù bì zhǔn shí chū xí.
    The meeting is scheduled to start at 7:00 tomorrow morning; please be sure to attend on time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

七qīseven
时shíhour

七 specifies the hour 时.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 七 comes from two crossing lines: the top line runs left to right, and the next line goes down and across.

Open 七 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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