HSK 4 · Function Words

准时 zhǔnshí “on time” in Chinese

Traditional 準時

What 准时 means

  1. on time
  2. punctual
  3. on schedule

How to say 准时

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale准zhǔn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale时shí2nd tone, rising

准时 in a sentence

  1. 火车准时到了。

    Huǒchē zhǔnshí dào le.

    The train came on time.

    Sentence #510665 from Tatoeba

  2. 他总是准时到。

    Tā zǒngshì zhǔnshí dào.

    He’s always punctual.

    Sentence #3493108 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 你能准时做好吗？

    Nǐ néng zhǔnshí zuò hǎo ma?

    Can you get it done on time?

    Sentence #336252 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 准时 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 准 (zhǔn) with each of its parts in a different colour
准zhǔnto allow
  • 冫ice · bīngMeaning part
  • 隹short-tailed bird · zhuīSound part

冫 hints at the meaning (ice); 隹 (zhuī) hints at the sound. Compare it with zhǔn.

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 准时

准 10 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.

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

Words related to 准时

Words with 准

准备zhǔnbèi · to prepare标准biāozhǔn · standard准确zhǔnquè · accurate批准pīzhǔn · to approve瞄准miáozhǔn · to aim at准则zhǔnzé · principle

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

More words: Particles & Connectors

只要zhǐyào · if only至少zhìshǎo · at least重新chóngxīn · again专门zhuānmén · specially最好zuìhǎo · best座zuò · measure word for buildings左右zuǒyòu · about重chóng · again

FAQs

准时 (zhǔnshí) means “on time” or “punctual”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it zhǔnshí: zhǔn with a 3rd 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, 准时 is written 準時. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhunshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 准时 from the suggestions. Typing zhunshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
准时 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.