HSK 5 · Time

时刻 shíkè “time” in Chinese

Traditional 時刻

What 时刻 means

  1. time
  2. juncture
  3. moment
  4. period of time
  5. constantly
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • always

Measure word 个 gè or 段 duàn · 一个时刻 yí ge shíkè

How to say 时刻

  • 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 fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale刻kè4th tone, falling

时刻 in a sentence

  1. 这是一个伟大的时刻。

    Zhè shì yí ge wěidà de shíkè.

    This is a great moment.

    Sentence #2027916 from Tatoeba

  2. 我们的方案在最后的时刻失败了。

    Wǒmen de fāng'àn zài zuìhòu de shíkè shībài le.

    Our plans fell through at the last minute.

    Sentence #606795 from Tatoeba

  3. 地震时时刻刻都有可能发生。

    Dìzhèn shíshíkèkè dōu yǒu kěnéng fāshēng.

    Earthquakes can happen at any moment.

    Sentence #10350402 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 时刻 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 刻 (kè) with each of its parts in a different colour
刻kèquarter
  • 亥part of the characterSound part
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāoMeaning part

How to write 时刻

时 7 strokes · 刻 8 strokes

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

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

Words related to 时刻

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 刻

刻kè · quarter hour立刻lìkè · immediately刻苦kèkǔ · hardworking深刻shēnkè · profound片刻piànkè · a moment雕刻diāokè · to carve刻不容缓kèbùrónghuǎn · extremely urgent

More words: Time & Sequence

日期rìqī · date日子rìzi · day如今rújīn · nowadays时代shídài · age时期shíqī · period未来wèilái · future现代xiàndài · modern times夜yè · night

FAQs

时刻 (shíkè) means “time” or “juncture”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it shíkè: shí with a 2nd tone, then kè with a 4th 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, 时刻 is written 時刻. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 个 (gè) or 段 (duàn). For example, one time is 一个时刻 (yí ge shíkè).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shike with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 时刻 from the suggestions. Typing shike into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
时刻 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

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.