NumbersHSK 3
Structure of times (advanced)
To express times where the minutes are less than 10, Chinese uses 零 between the hour and minute, similar to 'o' in English. The word 分 for 'minute' is often omitted in spoken Chinese but is grammatically correct. A common pitfall is forgetting to insert 零, which can cause confusion.
Structure
Number + 点 + 零 + Number (+ 分)
分 is optional and frequently dropped in spoken Chinese
Examples
- 两点零九分Liǎng diǎn líng jiǔ fēn2:09
- 三点零八分Sān diǎn líng bā fēn3:08
- 五点零三分Wǔ diǎn líng sān fēn5:03
- 七点零一分Qī diǎn líng yì fēn7:01
- 八点零五分Bā diǎn líng wǔ fēn8:05
Words that use this
- 零língzero; nought; zero sign; fractional; fragmentary; odd (of numbers); (placed between two numbers to indicate a smaller quantity followed by a larger one); fraction; (in mathematics) remainder (after division); extra; to wither and fall; to wither
- 点diǎnto touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list)
- 差chàdifferent; wrong; mistaken; to fall short; to lack; not up to standard; inferior; Taiwan pr. [chā]
- 分fēnto divide; to separate; to distribute; to allocate; to distinguish (good and bad); (bound form) branch of (an organization); sub- (as in 局); fraction; one tenth (of certain units); unit of length equivalent to 0.33 cm; minute (unit of time); minute (angular measurement unit); a point (in sports or games); 0.01 yuan (unit of money)
- 刻kèquarter (hour); moment; to carve; to engrave; to cut; oppressive; classifier for short time intervals