HSK 2 · Time

时间 shíjiān “time” in Chinese

Traditional 時間

What 时间 means

  1. time, period
  2. (concept of) time
  3. (duration of) time
  4. (point in) time

How to say 时间

  • 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间jiān1st tone, high and level

时间 in a sentence

  1. 你有时间跟我吃午饭吗？

    Nǐ yǒu shíjiān gēn wǒ chī wǔfàn ma?

    Do you have time to have lunch with me?

    Sentence #794140 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我现在没有时间。

    Wǒ xiànzài méiyǒu shíjiān.

    I don’t have time right now.

    Sentence #9401141 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 时间到了。

    Shíjiān dào le.

    Time’s up.

    Sentence #5094825 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 时间 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 间 (jiān) with each of its parts in a different colour
间jiānbetween
  • 门gate · mén
  • 日sun · rì

Memory aidSunlight 日 coming through a gap in the gate 门: a gap, the space between, a room.

How to write 时间

时 7 strokes · 间 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 时间

Words with 时

时候shíhou · time时shí · o’clock小时xiǎoshí · hour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按时ànshí · on time

Words with 间

间jiān · (measure word for rooms)房间fángjiān · room中间zhōngjiān · middle洗手间xǐshǒujiān · toilet之间zhījiān · between卫生间wèishēngjiān · bathroom期间qījiān · period of time空间kōngjiān · space间隔jiàngé · interval瞬间shùnjiān · instant

More words: Time

生日shēngrì · birthday小时xiǎoshí · hour早上zǎoshang · morning晚上wǎnshang · evening一起yìqǐ · together已经yǐjīng · already正在zhèngzài · in the process of还hái · still

FAQs

时间 (shíjiān) means “time, period” or “(concept of) time”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it shíjiān: shí with a 2nd tone, then jiān 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, 时间 is written 時間. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shijian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 时间 from the suggestions. Typing shijian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
时间 is an HSK 2 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.