HSK 6 · Time

时机 shíjī “opportunity” in Chinese

Traditional 時機

What 时机 means

  1. opportunity
  2. the right moment
  3. opportune moment

How to say 时机

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale时shí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale机jī1st tone, high and level

时机 in a sentence

  1. 现在是买它的最好时机。

    Xiànzài shì mǎi tā de zuì hǎo shíjī.

    Now is the best time to buy it.

    Sentence #7771962 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 买房要量力而行，但也要把握时机。

    Mǎifáng yào liànglì'érxíng, dàn yě yào bǎwò shíjī.

    When buying a home you should stay within your means, but you also need to seize the right moment.

    Sentence #3537589 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 你要好好把握这个时机。

    Nǐ yào hǎohǎo bǎwò zhè ge shíjī.

    You should make the most of this opportunity.

    Sentence #759608 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 时机 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 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.

The character 机 (jī) with each of its parts in a different colour
机jīmachine; mechanism
  • 木tree · mù
  • 几table · jī

Memory aidA small table 几 made of wood 木: a machine. 几 (jī) also gives the sound.

How to write 时机

时 7 strokes · 机 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 时机

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当时dāngshí · then平时píngshí · ordinarily同时tóngshí · at the same time暂时zànshí · temporary

Words with 机

飞机fēijī · aeroplane机场jīchǎng · airport手机shǒujī · mobile phone机票jīpiào · air ticket司机sījī · driver机会jīhuì · opportunity相机xiàngjī · camera耳机ěrjī · headphones关机guānjī · to turn off (a device)开机kāijī · to switch on (a device)

More words: Time & Sequence

时而shí'ér · sometimes时常shícháng · often世代shìdài · for generations时光shíguāng · time瞬间shùnjiān · instant随即suíjí · immediately岁月suìyuè · years往常wǎngcháng · usually (in the past)

FAQs

时机 (shíjī) means “opportunity” or “the right moment”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it shíjī: shí with a 2nd tone, then jī with a 1st 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, 时机 is written 時機. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shiji with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 时机 from the suggestions. Typing shiji into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
时机 is an HSK 6 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.