HSK 6 · Time
期限 qīxiàn “time limit” in Chinese
Same in Traditional
What 期限 means
- time limit
- deadline
- allotted time
How to say 期限
期qī1st tone, high and level
限xiàn4th tone, falling
期限 in a sentence
How 期限 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

期qīperiod
- 其his · qíSound part
- 月moon · yuèMeaning part
月 hints at the meaning (moon); 其 (qí) hints at the sound. Compare it with qī.

限xiànto limit
- 阝placeMeaning part
- 艮stopping · gěnSound part
阝 hints at the meaning (place); 艮 (gěn) hints at the sound. Compare it with xiàn.
How to write 期限
期 12 strokes · 限 8 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

Words related to 期限
Words with 期
星期xīngqī · week星期日Xīngqīrì · Sunday星期天Xīngqītiān · Sunday假期jiàqī · holiday学期xuéqī · term期间qījiān · period of time日期rìqī · date时期shíqī · period过期guòqī · to be overdue期待qīdài · to look forward to
Words with 限
More words: Time & Sequence
FAQs
期限 (qīxiàn) means “time limit” or “deadline”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it qīxiàn: qī with a 1st tone, then xiàn with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 期限 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type qixian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 期限 from the suggestions. Typing qixian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
期限 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.