何时 (hé shí) — when? (formal, literary)

Definition

何时 is a literary/formal written equivalent of 什么时候, common in prose, essays, and rhetorical questions.

pronoun

when? (formal, literary)

何时？
hé shí Cái néng shí xiàn hé píng?
When can peace be achieved?
何时，。
Wǒ men hé shí chū fā, hái xū děng tōng zhī.
When we depart still awaits notice.
何时。
Jūn wèn guī qī hé shí yǒu.
You ask when I will return.

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.

何 means what, and 时 means time, so together they ask when.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form of 何 drew a person carrying something on their shoulder. If the carried thing was a 戈, the 人 and 戈 parts together showed that picture.

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

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.

Appears in