Talking About Your Daily Routine in Chinese: Telling Time & Dialogue ⏰

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and answer questions about time in Mandarin Chinese. Follow along with Wang Wei and Li Na’s conversation as they compare their daily routines, including when they wake up, eat meals, and go to sleep.

💬 Video Transcript

王伟: 李娜，你好！
(Wang Wei: Li Na, hello!)

李娜: 王伟，你好！
(Li Na: Wang Wei, hello!)

王伟: 李娜，现在几点？
(Wang Wei: Li Na, what time is it now?)

李娜: 现在上午十点。
(Li Na: It’s 10:00 AM now.)

王伟: 上午十点。谢谢你。
(Wang Wei: 10:00 AM. Thank you.)

李娜: 不客气。王伟，你早上几点起床？
(Li Na: You’re welcome. Wang Wei, what time do you get up in the morning?)

王伟: 我早上七点起床。你呢？
(Wang Wei: I get up at 7:00 AM. And you?)

李娜: 我也早上七点起床。
(Li Na: I also get up at 7:00 AM.)

王伟: 我们都七点起床。
(Wang Wei: We both get up at 7:00.)

李娜: 是的。你几点吃早饭？
(Li Na: Yes. What time do you eat breakfast?)

王伟: 我七点半吃早饭。你呢，李娜？
(Wang Wei: I eat breakfast at 7:30. And you, Li Na?)

李娜: 我八点吃早饭。
(Li Na: I eat breakfast at 8:00.)

王伟: 你八点吃早饭。我七点半吃早饭。
(Wang Wei: You eat breakfast at 8:00. I eat breakfast at 7:30.)

李娜: 是的。你几点上学？
(Li Na: Yes. What time do you go to school?)

王伟: 我上午九点上学。你呢？
(Wang Wei: I go to school at 9:00 AM. And you?)

李娜: 我也上午九点上学。
(Li Na: I also go to school at 9:00 AM.)

王伟: 我们都九点上学。很好！
(Wang Wei: We both go to school at 9:00. Great!)

李娜: 对。我们都九点上学。
(Li Na: Right. We both go to school at 9:00.)

王伟: 李娜，你中午几点吃午饭？
(Wang Wei: Li Na, what time do you eat lunch at noon?)

李娜: 我中午十二点吃午饭。
(Li Na: I eat lunch at 12:00 PM.)

王伟: 中午十二点？我也十二点吃午饭。
(Wang Wei: 12:00 PM? I also eat lunch at 12:00.)

李娜: 哈哈，我们都十二点吃午饭。
(Li Na: Haha, we both eat lunch at 12:00.)

王伟: 是的。我们一起吃午饭。你下午回家吗？
(Wang Wei: Yes. We eat lunch together. Do you go home in the afternoon?)

李娜: 我下午五点回家。你呢？你几点回家？
(Li Na: I go home at 5:00 PM. And you? What time do you go home?)

王伟: 我下午五点半回家。
(Wang Wei: I go home at 5:30 PM.)

李娜: 你五点半回家，我五点回家。
(Li Na: You go home at 5:30, I go home at 5:00.)

王伟: 对。我回家晚一点。
(Wang Wei: Right. I go home a little later.)

李娜: 你晚上几点吃晚饭？
(Li Na: What time do you eat dinner in the evening?)

王伟: 我晚上七点吃晚饭。你呢？
(Wang Wei: I eat dinner at 7:00 PM. And you?)

李娜: 我晚上六点半吃晚饭。
(Li Na: I eat dinner at 6:30 PM.)

王伟: 你六点半吃晚饭。你吃得早。
(Wang Wei: You eat dinner at 6:30. You eat early.)

李娜: 是的，我喜欢早点吃晚饭。
(Li Na: Yes, I like to eat dinner earlier.)

王伟: 我明白了。
(Wang Wei: I understand.)

李娜: 王伟，你晚上几点睡觉？
(Li Na: Wang Wei, what time do you go to sleep at night?)

王伟: 我晚上十一点睡觉。你呢？
(Wang Wei: I go to sleep at 11:00 PM. And you?)

李娜: 我晚上十点半睡觉。
(Li Na: I go to sleep at 10:30 PM.)

王伟: 你十点半睡觉。我十一点睡觉。
(Wang Wei: You go to sleep at 10:30. I go to sleep at 11:00.)

李娜: 是的。我睡得早一点。
(Li Na: Yes. I sleep a little earlier.)

王伟: 我们的时间差不多。
(Wang Wei: Our schedules are about the same.)

李娜: 是的，差不多。好了，王伟，我要回家了。
(Li Na: Yes, about the same. Okay, Wang Wei, I’m going home now.)

王伟: 好的，李娜。再见！
(Wang Wei: Okay, Li Na. Goodbye!)

李娜: 再见，王伟！
(Li Na: Goodbye, Wang Wei!)

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are some key words and phrases from the video that are essential for talking about time and daily activities in Mandarin.

🔍 Grammar Focus

Let’s break down two key patterns for telling time that appear in the dialogue.

Asking and Telling Time with 几点 (jǐ diǎn)

In Mandarin, the question “What time is it?” is 几点 (jǐ diǎn). To state the time on the hour, you use the number followed by 点 (diǎn), which means “o’clock”.

From the script:

• 王伟: 现在几点？ (Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?) - What time is it now?
• 李娜: 现在上午十点。(Xiànzài shàngwǔ shí diǎn.) - It’s 10 o’clock in the morning now.
• 王伟: 我早上七点起床。(Wǒ zǎoshang qī diǎn qǐchuáng.) - I get up at 7 o’clock in the morning.

Saying “Half Past” with 半 (bàn)

To express “half past” an hour, you simply add the word 半 (bàn), which means “half,” directly after the hour. The structure is: [Hour] + 点 (diǎn) + 半 (bàn).

From the script:

• 王伟: 我七点半吃早饭。(Wǒ qī diǎn bàn chī zǎofàn.) - I eat breakfast at 7:30.
• 李娜: 我晚上六点半吃晚饭。(Wǒ wǎnshang liù diǎn bàn chī wǎnfàn.) - I eat dinner at 6:30 in the evening.

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Use these flashcards to test your memory of the key phrases from the dialogue.

💡 Key Takeaways

Here are the most important points to remember from this lesson:

• To ask “What time is it?”, say 现在几点？ (xiànzài jǐ diǎn?).
• To state the time on the hour, use the number followed by 点 (diǎn). For example, 七点 (qī diǎn) is 7 o’clock.
• To say “half past” an hour, add 半 (bàn) after the hour. For example, 七点半 (qī diǎn bàn) is 7:30.
• Time-of-day words like 早上 (zǎoshang - early morning), 上午 (shàngwǔ - morning), 中午 (zhōngwǔ - noon), 下午 (xiàwǔ - afternoon), and 晚上 (wǎnshang - evening) are placed before the time.

🎯 Practice Quiz

Check your understanding of the lesson with these questions.

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

Let’s test your spelling and memory! Fill in the missing words below. Use correct spelling.