HSK 4 · Time

当时 dāngshí “then” in Chinese

Traditional 當時

What 当时 means

  1. then
  2. at that time

How to say 当时

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale当dāng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale时shí2nd tone, rising

当时 in a sentence

  1. 我当时是学生。

    Wǒ dāngshí shì xuésheng.

    I was a student at the time.

    Sentence #464948 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 当时我不在办公室，我不知道发生了什么事。

    Dāngshí wǒ bú zài bàngōngshì, wǒ bù zhīdao fāshēng le shénme shì.

    I wasn’t in the office then. I don’t know what happened.

    Sentence #3060489 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 如果他当时再努力一点，他就成功了。

    Rúguǒ tā dāngshí zài nǔlì yìdiǎn, tā jiù chénggōng le.

    If he’d tried a little harder back then, he would have succeeded.

    Sentence #333334 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 当时 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.

The character 当 (dāng) with each of its parts in a different colour
当dāngdong
  • ⺌small form of 小 · xiǎo
  • 彐snout · jì
The character 时 (shí) with each of its parts in a different colour
时shío’clock
  • 日sun · rìMeaning part
  • 寸inch · cùn

Memory aidThe sun 日 marks the time of day. In the full form 時, 寺 (sì) gave the sound.

How to write 当时

当 6 strokes · 时 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

当时 (dāngshí) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 当时 (dāngshí). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 当时

Words with 当

当然dāngrán · of course当dāng · to act as当地dāngdì · local当心dāngxīn · to be careful上当shàngdàng · to be fooled相当xiāngdāng · equivalent to当场dāngchǎng · on the spot当初dāngchū · originally当代dāngdài · contemporary当前dāngqián · current

Words with 时

时候shíhou · time时shí · o’clock小时xiǎoshí · hour时间shíjiān · time有时yǒushí · sometimes小时候xiǎoshíhou · in one’s childhood平时píngshí · ordinarily同时tóngshí · at the same time暂时zànshí · temporary按时ànshí · on time

More words: Time

总是zǒngshì · always最后zuìhòu · last最近zuìjìn · recently本来běnlái · original寒假hánjià · winter holidays将来jiānglái · in the future节jié · festival礼拜天Lǐbàitiān · Sunday

FAQs

当时 (dāngshí) means “then” or “at that time”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it dāngshí: dāng with a 1st tone, then shí with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 当时 is written 當時. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dangshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 当时 from the suggestions. Typing dangshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
当时 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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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.