Lesson 3: Daily Routines and Time Expressions

Learn to describe your daily schedule, tell time, and use common time-related expressions in Mandarin Chinese

Lesson 3: Daily Routines and Time Expressions ⏰

Introduction

Welcome to Lesson 3! Now that you can greet people and introduce yourself and your family, it's time to talk about your daily life. In this lesson, you'll learn how to tell time, describe your daily routines, and use time expressions that are essential for HSK 1-2 preparation. These skills will help you schedule meetings, talk about your day, and understand when events happen.

🎯 Learning Objectives:

Tell time in Mandarin Chinese
Describe daily activities using time expressions
Use common verbs for daily routines
Master basic time-related sentence structures
Understand Chinese time logic (it's more logical than you think!)

Core Concept 1: Telling Time in Chinese 🕐

Understanding the Time System

Chinese time expressions follow a beautifully logical pattern. Unlike English where we say "quarter past" or "half past," Chinese uses straightforward numbers. Think of it like reading a digital clock!

Basic Time Structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   NUMBER + 点 (diǎn) + NUMBER + 分 (fēn) │
│      HOUR          MINUTE              │
│                                         │
│   Example: 3:15 = 三点十五分             │
│           (sān diǎn shíwǔ fēn)          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Time Vocabulary

点 (diǎn) - "o'clock" or "hour marker"

Pronunciation: dee-EN (falling-rising tone)
Literally means "point" or "dot"
🧠 Mnemonic: Think of the hour hand pointing to a dot on the clock

分 (fēn) - "minute"

Pronunciation: fən (first tone, like "fun" but with lips rounded)
Literally means "division" or "part"
💡 Tip: Often omitted in casual speech for times like 3:30

半 (bàn) - "half" (used for 30 minutes)

Pronunciation: bahn (falling tone)
Example: 三点半 (sān diǎn bàn) = 3:30
🤔 Did you know? Chinese doesn't say "half past" - just "half"!

刻 (kè) - "quarter" (15 minutes)

Pronunciation: kuh (falling tone)
Less common in modern usage, but useful for HSK
Example: 两点一刻 (liǎng diǎn yī kè) = 2:15

Time Expression Table

┌──────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────┐
│   English    │     Pinyin      │     Chinese      │
├──────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────┤
│   1:00       │  yī diǎn        │     一点          │
│   2:05       │  liǎng diǎn     │     两点零五分     │
│              │  líng wǔ fēn    │                  │
│   3:15       │  sān diǎn       │     三点十五分     │
│              │  shíwǔ fēn      │                  │
│   4:30       │  sì diǎn bàn    │     四点半        │
│   5:45       │  wǔ diǎn        │     五点四十五分   │
│              │  sìshíwǔ fēn    │                  │
│   6:50       │  liù diǎn       │     六点五十分     │
│              │  wǔshí fēn      │                  │
│   12:00      │  shí'èr diǎn    │     十二点        │
└──────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────┘

⚠️ Important Note: For "2 o'clock," use 两 (liǎng) not 二 (èr). This is a special rule for counting hours!

Time of Day Expressions

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         DAILY TIME PERIODS                  │
├──────────────┬──────────────────────────────┤
│  早上/早晨    │  zǎoshang/zǎochén           │
│  (morning)   │  6:00 AM - 9:00 AM          │
├──────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│  上午        │  shàngwǔ                     │
│  (forenoon)  │  9:00 AM - 12:00 PM         │
├──────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│  中午        │  zhōngwǔ                     │
│  (noon)      │  12:00 PM - 1:00 PM         │
├──────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│  下午        │  xiàwǔ                       │
│  (afternoon) │  1:00 PM - 6:00 PM          │
├──────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│  晚上        │  wǎnshang                    │
│  (evening)   │  6:00 PM - 11:00 PM         │
├──────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│  夜里/晚上    │  yèlǐ/wǎnshang              │
│  (night)     │  11:00 PM - 6:00 AM         │
└──────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘

💡 Usage Tip: Time of day comes BEFORE the specific time:

早上七点 (zǎoshang qī diǎn) = 7:00 AM (literally: "morning seven o'clock")
晚上八点半 (wǎnshang bā diǎn bàn) = 8:30 PM

Core Concept 2: Daily Routine Verbs 🏃

Essential Action Verbs

These verbs form the foundation of describing your daily activities. Each one is HSK 1-2 level and extremely practical.

起床 (qǐ chuáng) - "to get up / wake up"

Pronunciation: chee chuahng (both rising tones)
🔤 Word breakdown: 起 (rise) + 床 (bed)
Literally: "rise from bed"

睡觉 (shuì jiào) - "to sleep"

Pronunciation: shway jee-ow (falling + falling)
🔤 Word breakdown: 睡 (sleep) + 觉 (sense of awareness)
💡 Common mistake: Don't forget the 觉! Just 睡 alone sounds incomplete

吃饭 (chī fàn) - "to eat (a meal)"

Pronunciation: chir fahn (first + falling)
🔤 Word breakdown: 吃 (eat) + 饭 (cooked rice/meal)
🎭 Cultural note: 饭 represents meals in general, not just rice!

上班 (shàng bān) - "to go to work"

Pronunciation: shahng bahn (falling + first)
🔤 Word breakdown: 上 (go to/attend) + 班 (shift/work)
Related: 下班 (xià bān) = to get off work

上课 (shàng kè) - "to attend class / have class"

Pronunciation: shahng kuh (falling + falling)
🔤 Word breakdown: 上 (attend) + 课 (class)
Related: 下课 (xià kè) = class is over

回家 (huí jiā) - "to return home / go home"

Pronunciation: hway jyah (rising + first)
🔤 Word breakdown: 回 (return) + 家 (home)
🧠 Mnemonic: 回 looks like a spiral - think of retracing your steps home

看书 (kàn shū) - "to read (books)"

Pronunciation: kahn shoo (falling + first)
🔤 Word breakdown: 看 (look at) + 书 (book)
🆚 Don't confuse with: 看 alone can mean "watch" or "see"

做作业 (zuò zuòyè) - "to do homework"

Pronunciation: dzwaw dzwaw-yeh (falling + falling + falling)
🔤 Word breakdown: 做 (do) + 作业 (homework/assignment)
Note the tone sandhi: second 做 in 作业 changes slightly in natural speech

Meal-Specific Vocabulary

┌───────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────┐
│    Meal       │     Pinyin      │   Chinese    │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┤
│  breakfast    │  zǎofàn         │   早饭       │
│  lunch        │  wǔfàn          │   午饭       │
│  dinner       │  wǎnfàn         │   晚饭       │
├───────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────┤
│  to eat       │  chī            │   吃         │
│  breakfast    │  chī zǎofàn     │   吃早饭     │
│  to eat       │  chī            │   吃         │
│  lunch        │  chī wǔfàn      │   吃午饭     │
│  to eat       │  chī            │   吃         │
│  dinner       │  chī wǎnfàn     │   吃晚饭     │
└───────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────┘

The Golden Rule of Chinese Time Expressions

In Chinese, time ALWAYS comes before the verb. This is opposite to English where we often put time at the end.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│       ENGLISH vs. CHINESE WORD ORDER            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ❌ English: I go to work at 8 o'clock.         │
│              Subject + Verb + Time              │
│                                                 │
│  ✅ Chinese: 我八点上班。                         │
│             Wǒ bā diǎn shàng bān.               │
│             Subject + Time + Verb               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Basic Sentence Pattern

Subject + Time + Verb (+ Object)

Examples:

我七点起床。 (Wǒ qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.)
- I get up at 7 o'clock.
他下午三点上课。 (Tā xiàwǔ sān diǎn shàng kè.)
- He has class at 3 PM.
我们晚上六点吃晚饭。 (Wǒmen wǎnshang liù diǎn chī wǎnfàn.)
- We eat dinner at 6 PM.

Using 在 (zài) for "at" (location/time)

While time usually doesn't need 在, it can appear in more formal contexts:

我在早上看书。 (Wǒ zài zǎoshang kàn shū.)
- I read in the morning.

💡 Tip: For specific clock times, skip 在. For general time periods (morning, evening), 在 is optional but natural.

Frequency Words

┌────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐
│    English     │    Pinyin    │   Chinese    │
├────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤
│  every day     │  měi tiān    │   每天       │
│  every week    │  měi zhōu    │   每周       │
│  every morning │  měi tiān    │   每天早上    │
│                │  zǎoshang    │              │
│  often         │  chángcháng  │   常常       │
│  sometimes     │  yǒushí      │   有时       │
│  usually       │  tōngcháng   │   通常       │
└────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘

Frequency words come BEFORE time expressions:

我每天七点起床。 (Wǒ měi tiān qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.)
- I get up at 7 o'clock every day.
- Order: Subject + Frequency + Time + Verb

Example 1: A Student's Morning Routine 🎒

Let's see how all these elements work together in a realistic scenario:

📖 Mini-Story: 王明的早上 (Wáng Míng's Morning)

王明是学生。他每天早上六点半起床。他七点吃早饭。七点半上课。

(Wáng Míng shì xuésheng. Tā měi tiān zǎoshang liù diǎn bàn qǐ chuáng. Tā qī diǎn chī zǎofàn. Qī diǎn bàn shàng kè.)

Translation: Wang Ming is a student. He gets up at 6:30 every morning. He eats breakfast at 7:00. He has class at 7:30.

🔍 Breakdown:

他每天早上六点半起床
- 他 (tā) = he
- 每天早上 (měi tiān zǎoshang) = every morning
- 六点半 (liù diǎn bàn) = 6:30
- 起床 (qǐ chuáng) = get up
- Notice: Frequency → General time → Specific time → Verb
他七点吃早饭
- Simplified: Just time + verb + object
- 早饭 (zǎofàn) = breakfast
七点半上课
- Even more simplified: Subject dropped (context makes it clear)
- Very natural in Chinese to drop repeated subjects!

💡 Language Pattern: Once you establish the subject, you can drop it in following sentences. This makes Chinese very efficient!

Example 2: Office Worker's Schedule 💼

🎭 Situational Scenario: At the Office

You're chatting with your Chinese colleague about your work schedules.

💬 Dialogue:

A: 你每天几点上班？ (Nǐ měi tiān jǐ diǎn shàng bān?) What time do you go to work every day?

B: 我九点上班。你呢？ (Wǒ jiǔ diǎn shàng bān. Nǐ ne?) I go to work at 9 o'clock. And you?

A: 我八点半上班，下午五点半下班。 (Wǒ bā diǎn bàn shàng bān, xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn bàn xià bān.) I go to work at 8:30 and get off work at 5:30 PM.

B: 你中午吃午饭吗？ (Nǐ zhōngwǔ chī wǔfàn ma?) Do you eat lunch at noon?

A: 吃。我十二点吃午饭。 (Chī. Wǒ shí'èr diǎn chī wǔfàn.) Yes. I eat lunch at 12 o'clock.

🔑 Key Phrases:

几点 (jǐ diǎn) = "what time" (literally: "which o'clock")
你呢？ (Nǐ ne?) = "And you?" / "What about you?"
吗 (ma) = question particle (makes statements into yes/no questions)
吃。 (Chī.) = Short answer meaning "Yes, I eat." (Very natural in Chinese!)

🗣️ Pronunciation Tip: 下班 (xià bān) - the 班 should sound crisp, not drawn out. Think "bahn" with a short 'a' sound.

Example 3: Weekend Activities 🎉

📖 Extended Narrative: 我的周末 (My Weekend)

我周末不上班。我常常九点起床。我十点吃早饭。上午我看书。下午我回家看电视。晚上七点吃晚饭。我十一点睡觉。

(Wǒ zhōumò bù shàng bān. Wǒ chángcháng jiǔ diǎn qǐ chuáng. Wǒ shí diǎn chī zǎofàn. Shàngwǔ wǒ kàn shū. Xiàwǔ wǒ huí jiā kàn diànshì. Wǎnshang qī diǎn chī wǎnfàn. Wǒ shíyī diǎn shuì jiào.)

Translation: On weekends I don't go to work. I often get up at 9 o'clock. I eat breakfast at 10 o'clock. In the morning I read books. In the afternoon I go home and watch TV. At 7 PM I eat dinner. I go to sleep at 11 o'clock.

📊 Time Flow Visualization:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         WEEKEND SCHEDULE                    │
├──────────┬──────────────────────────────────┤
│  9:00    │  起床 (get up)                   │
│  10:00   │  吃早饭 (eat breakfast)          │
│  上午    │  看书 (read books)               │
│  下午    │  回家，看电视 (go home, watch TV)│
│  7:00 PM │  吃晚饭 (eat dinner)             │
│  11:00   │  睡觉 (go to sleep)              │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────┘

🎯 New Vocabulary in Context:

周末 (zhōumò) = weekend
不 (bù) = not/don't (negation marker)
看电视 (kàn diànshì) = watch TV (literally: "look at electric vision")
常常 (chángcháng) = often

⚠️ Important Tone Change: 不 (bù) is normally 4th tone, but changes to 2nd tone (bú) when followed by another 4th tone: 不上 (bú shàng), not (bù shàng).

Example 4: Making Plans 📅

🎭 Real-Life Scenario: Meeting a Friend

You want to meet your Chinese friend for coffee. Here's how you might arrange it:

💬 Conversation:

You: 你明天几点有时间？ (Nǐ míngtiān jǐ diǎn yǒu shíjiān?) What time are you free tomorrow?

Friend: 我下午三点有时间。 (Wǒ xiàwǔ sān diǎn yǒu shíjiān.) I'm free at 3 PM.

You: 好！我们三点半见面，好吗？ (Hǎo! Wǒmen sān diǎn bàn jiànmiàn, hǎo ma?) Great! Let's meet at 3:30, okay?

Friend: 好的。在哪儿？ (Hǎo de. Zài nǎr?) Okay. Where?

You: 在学校。 (Zài xuéxiào.) At school.

🔑 Planning Vocabulary:

明天 (míngtiān) = tomorrow
有时间 (yǒu shíjiān) = have time / be free
见面 (jiànmiàn) = meet / see each other
在哪儿 (zài nǎr) = where / at where
学校 (xuéxiào) = school

💡 Usage Tip: 好吗？(hǎo ma?) at the end of a statement turns it into a suggestion asking for agreement: "Is that okay?" / "How about it?"

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Putting Time After the Verb

❌ Wrong: 我上班八点。(Wǒ shàng bān bā diǎn.) ✅ Correct: 我八点上班。(Wǒ bā diǎn shàng bān.) I go to work at 8 o'clock.

Why: Remember, Chinese time expressions always come BEFORE the verb!

Mistake #2: Using 二 (èr) for 2 O'clock

❌ Wrong: 二点 (èr diǎn) ✅ Correct: 两点 (liǎng diǎn)

Why: When counting things (including hours), use 两 (liǎng) for "two," not 二 (èr). 二 is for counting numbers in sequence (1, 2, 3...) or in complex numbers like 十二 (12).

Mistake #3: Forgetting 觉 (jiào) in "Sleep"

❌ Wrong: 我十一点睡。(Wǒ shíyī diǎn shuì.) ✅ Correct: 我十一点睡觉。(Wǒ shíyī diǎn shuì jiào.)

Why: 睡觉 is a verb-object compound. Using just 睡 sounds incomplete in modern Mandarin.

Mistake #4: Wrong Time-of-Day Term

❌ Wrong: 晚上十点 (wǎnshang shí diǎn) for 10:00 AM ✅ Correct: 上午十点 (shàngwǔ shí diǎn) for 10:00 AM

Why: Pay attention to AM/PM! 晚上 is evening/night (6 PM - 11 PM), not morning.

Mistake #5: Using 在 with Specific Clock Times

❌ Awkward: 我在七点起床。(Wǒ zài qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.) ✅ Better: 我七点起床。(Wǒ qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.)

Why: While not technically wrong, 在 with specific clock times sounds unnatural. Save 在 for general time periods or locations.

Mistake #6: Mixing Up 上 and 下

🆚 Confused Pair:

上班 (shàng bān) = go TO work ("up to work")
下班 (xià bān) = get OFF work ("down from work")
上课 (shàng kè) = attend class ("up to class")
下课 (xià kè) = class is over ("down from class")

Mnemonic: Think of 上 as "getting into" something and 下 as "getting out of" it. Like going up stairs (上) to work and down stairs (下) when leaving!

💡 Key Takeaways

Time Structure Rules:

⏰ Time ALWAYS comes before the verb in Chinese
🔢 Use 两 (liǎng) for "2 o'clock," not 二 (èr)
🕐 Format: Number + 点 + Number + 分 (hour + o'clock + minute + minute)
⏱️ 半 (bàn) means "half" and is used for 30 minutes
🌅 Time of day (早上, 下午, etc.) comes before the specific time

Sentence Structure:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Subject + (Frequency) + Time + Verb + Object│
│                                              │
│  我 + 每天 + 七点 + 吃 + 早饭                 │
│  I    every day  7:00   eat   breakfast     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Essential Daily Verbs:

起床 (qǐ chuáng) - get up
睡觉 (shuì jiào) - sleep
吃饭 (chī fàn) - eat
上班 (shàng bān) - go to work
下班 (xià bān) - get off work
上课 (shàng kè) - attend class
回家 (huí jiā) - go home

HSK Exam Tips:

✅ Know how to write numbers 1-12 in characters for telling time
✅ Memorize time-of-day terms (早上, 上午, 中午, 下午, 晚上)
✅ Practice word order: time before verb!
✅ Remember verb-object compounds: 睡觉, 吃饭, 上班 (don't drop the second character)

🧠 Mnemonic Devices

For remembering 点 (diǎn) = o'clock: "The clock hand POINTS to a DOT" - 点 literally means "point/dot"!

For 上班 vs. 下班: Think of a building: You go UP (上) to your office to work, and come DOWN (下) when you leave!

For time-before-verb rule: "Chinese people FIRST check the TIME, THEN take ACTION" - Time → Verb

For 两 vs. 二: "When COUNTING things (including hours), LIǍNG is the way!" (rhyme to remember)

🤔 Did You Know?

Historical Tidbit: Traditional Chinese timekeeping divided the day into 12 "double hours" (时辰 shíchen), each lasting 2 modern hours. Each period had an animal name from the zodiac! While modern China uses the 24-hour system, you might still hear elderly people refer to times using these traditional names.

Cultural Note: In China, being on time (准时 zhǔnshí) is highly valued in professional settings, but social gatherings might be more flexible. When making plans, Chinese people often confirm the exact time multiple times to ensure clarity!

Language Tip: Chinese doesn't distinguish between "a.m." and "p.m." as abbreviations. Instead, you MUST say the time-of-day word (上午, 下午, etc.) to be clear. This makes Chinese MORE precise than English in some ways!

📋 Quick Reference Card

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║     DAILY ROUTINES QUICK REFERENCE             ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ TIME STRUCTURE:                                ║
║  Number + 点 + (Number + 分)                   ║
║  三点十五分 = 3:15                              ║
║  Use 半 for :30, 两 for 2 o'clock              ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ SENTENCE ORDER:                                ║
║  Subject + (Frequency) + Time + Verb + Object  ║
║  我每天七点起床                                 ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ TIME OF DAY:                                   ║
║  早上 (6-9 AM) | 上午 (9-12 PM) | 中午 (12-1)  ║
║  下午 (1-6 PM) | 晚上 (6-11 PM)                ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ KEY VERBS:                                     ║
║  起床 get up     | 睡觉 sleep                   ║
║  吃饭 eat       | 上班 go to work             ║
║  上课 have class | 回家 go home                ║
║  下班 get off work | 下课 class over           ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ QUESTION WORDS:                                ║
║  几点？ What time?                             ║
║  什么时候？ When?                               ║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ FREQUENCY:                                     ║
║  每天 every day | 常常 often | 有时 sometimes   ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

🔧 Try This: Daily Schedule Exercise

Create your own daily schedule in Chinese! Write 5-7 sentences describing your typical day. Use the pattern:

我 + (frequency) + time + verb + (object)

Example starter:

我每天早上六点半起床。
我七点...
...

🎯 Challenge: Try to use at least three different time-of-day words (早上, 上午, 下午, 晚上) and include both specific times and general time periods!

📚 Further Study

Ready to dive deeper? Check out these resources:

HSK 1 Official Vocabulary List - http://www.chinesetest.cn/godownload.do (Official HSK website with all test vocabulary including time expressions)
Yoyo Chinese Time Expressions - https://www.yoyochinese.com/chinese-learning-resources/mandarin-chinese-time (Video lessons with native pronunciation for time-telling)
Chinese Grammar Wiki: Time Expressions - https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_time (Comprehensive guide to all types of time expressions in Mandarin)

Congratulations! 🎉 You've completed Lesson 3! You can now tell time, describe your daily routine, and understand time-related expressions in Chinese. Practice by describing your schedule to a language partner or writing out your ideal day in Mandarin. In the next lesson, we'll explore shopping and numbers, building on your time-telling skills!

加油！(Jiā yóu - Keep going!)

📝

Ready to practice?

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