Time & Dates: Vocabulary for time, dates, and everyday scheduling

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Pinyin is the standard romanisation used to show Mandarin pronunciation using the Latin alphabet. You’ll often see tone marks on the vowels to show the four tones (plus the neutral tone), for example mā / má / mǎ / mà / ma. “Numbered pinyin” shows the same tones using a number after the syllable instead of tone marks, for example ma1 / ma2 / ma3 / ma4 / ma (sometimes written as ma5 for the neutral tone). Numbered pinyin is handy when you can’t easily type tone marks, while tone-mark pinyin is usually easier to read once you’re used to it.

白天

• Pinyin: bái tiān
• Numbered pinyin: bai2 tian1
• English translation: daytime

半年

• Pinyin: bàn nián
• Numbered pinyin: ban4 nian2
• English translation: half a year

半天

• Pinyin: bàn tiān
• Numbered pinyin: ban4 tian1
• English translation: half a day

点

• Pinyin: diǎn
• Numbered pinyin: dian3
• English translation: o’clock, dot

后天

• Pinyin: hòu tiān
• Numbered pinyin: hou4 tian1
• English translation: the day after tomorrow

今年

• Pinyin: jīn nián
• Numbered pinyin: jin1 nian2
• English translation: this year

今天

• Pinyin: jīn tiān
• Numbered pinyin: jin1 tian1
• English translation: today

马上

• Pinyin: mǎ shàng
• Numbered pinyin: ma3 shang4
• English translation: immediately

明年

• Pinyin: míng nián
• Numbered pinyin: ming2 nian2
• English translation: next year

明天

• Pinyin: míng tiān
• Numbered pinyin: ming2 tian1
• English translation: tomorrow

年

• Pinyin: nián
• Numbered pinyin: nian2
• English translation: year

前天

• Pinyin: qián tiān
• Numbered pinyin: qian2 tian1
• English translation: the day before yesterday

去年

• Pinyin: qù nián
• Numbered pinyin: qu4 nian2
• English translation: last year

日

• Pinyin: rì
• Numbered pinyin: ri4
• English translation: day, date

日期

• Pinyin: rì qī
• Numbered pinyin: ri4 qi1
• English translation: date

上次

• Pinyin: shàng cì
• Numbered pinyin: shang4 ci4
• English translation: last time

上午

• Pinyin: shàng wǔ
• Numbered pinyin: shang4 wu3
• English translation: morning

生日

• Pinyin: shēng rì
• Numbered pinyin: sheng1 ri4
• English translation: birthday

时候

• Pinyin: shí hou
• Numbered pinyin: shi2 hou5
• English translation: time, moment

时间

• Pinyin: shí jiān
• Numbered pinyin: shi2 jian1
• English translation: time

天

• Pinyin: tiān
• Numbered pinyin: tian1
• English translation: day, sky

晚

• Pinyin: wǎn
• Numbered pinyin: wan3
• English translation: evening, late

晚上

• Pinyin: wǎn shang
• Numbered pinyin: wan3 shang5
• English translation: evening

下次

• Pinyin: xià cì
• Numbered pinyin: xia4 ci4
• English translation: next time

下午

• Pinyin: xià wǔ
• Numbered pinyin: xia4 wu3
• English translation: afternoon

先

• Pinyin: xiān
• Numbered pinyin: xian1
• English translation: first

现在

• Pinyin: xiàn zài
• Numbered pinyin: xian4 zai4
• English translation: now

小时

• Pinyin: xiǎo shí
• Numbered pinyin: xiao3 shi2
• English translation: hour

新年

• Pinyin: xīn nián
• Numbered pinyin: xin1 nian2
• English translation: New Year

星期

• Pinyin: xīng qī
• Numbered pinyin: xing1 qi1
• English translation: week

星期日

• Pinyin: xīng qī rì
• Numbered pinyin: xing1 qi1 ri4
• English translation: Sunday

星期天

• Pinyin: xīng qī tiān
• Numbered pinyin: xing1 qi1 tian1
• English translation: Sunday

一会儿

• Pinyin: yī huì r
• Numbered pinyin: yi1 hui4 r5
• English translation: a moment, a while

一块儿

• Pinyin: yī kuài r
• Numbered pinyin: yi1 kuai4 r5
• English translation: together

一下儿

• Pinyin: yī xià r
• Numbered pinyin: yi1 xia4 r5
• English translation: a little bit, once

一起

• Pinyin: yī qǐ
• Numbered pinyin: yi1 qi3
• English translation: together

有时候

• Pinyin: yǒu shí hou
• Numbered pinyin: you3 shi2 hou5
• English translation: sometimes

月

• Pinyin: yuè
• Numbered pinyin: yue4
• English translation: month

再

• Pinyin: zài
• Numbered pinyin: zai4
• English translation: again

早

• Pinyin: zǎo
• Numbered pinyin: zao3
• English translation: early, morning

早上

• Pinyin: zǎo shang
• Numbered pinyin: zao3 shang5
• English translation: morning

正

• Pinyin: zhèng
• Numbered pinyin: zheng4
• English translation: just, exactly

正在

• Pinyin: zhèng zài
• Numbered pinyin: zheng4 zai4
• English translation: in the process of

中午

• Pinyin: zhōng wǔ
• Numbered pinyin: zhong1 wu3
• English translation: noon

最后

• Pinyin: zuì hòu
• Numbered pinyin: zui4 hou4
• English translation: last, finally

昨天

• Pinyin: zuó tiān
• Numbered pinyin: zuo2 tian1
• English translation: yesterday

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