Chinese · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 7 of 12
My day
我的一天Wǒ de yì tiān
Describe your daily routine in Mandarin, tell the time with 点, 半 and 刻, and learn why the time always comes before the verb.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Say what you do every day and when
- Ask and tell the time
- Put the time before the verb
- Put actions in order with 先…然后… (xiān… ránhòu…)
Listen
In Nanjing, retired Mrs Zhou and her young neighbour Gao Fei, a programmer, compare their days while waiting for the lift. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Gao Fei
您好！
Nín hǎo!
Hello!
Mrs Zhou
你好！你每天几点起床？
Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ měi tiān jǐ diǎn qǐchuáng?
Hello! What time do you get up every day?
Gao Fei
七点。我先吃早饭，然后坐地铁上班。
Qī diǎn. Wǒ xiān chī zǎofàn, ránhòu zuò dìtiě shàngbān.
At seven. First I have breakfast, then I take the metro to work.
Mrs Zhou
你几点下班？
Nǐ jǐ diǎn xiàbān?
What time do you finish work?
Gao Fei
晚上七点半下班，八点半回家。您呢？
Wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn xiàbān, bā diǎn bàn huíjiā. Nín ne?
At half past seven in the evening, and I get home at half past eight. And you?
Mrs Zhou
我六点起床，中午十一点半吃饭，晚上九点半睡觉。
Wǒ liù diǎn qǐchuáng, zhōngwǔ shíyī diǎn bàn chīfàn, wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn bàn shuìjiào.
I get up at six, have lunch at half past eleven and go to bed at half past nine.
Gao Fei
九点半？我每天十二点睡觉。
Jiǔ diǎn bàn? Wǒ měi tiān shí'èr diǎn shuìjiào.
Half past nine? I go to bed at twelve every day.
Mrs Zhou
十二点？太晚了！
Shí'èr diǎn? Tài wǎn le!
Twelve? That's far too late!
Understand
Verbs never change; time goes before the verb
Chinese verbs have only one form. (wǒ qǐchuáng), I get up; (tā qǐchuáng), she gets up; (wǒmen qǐchuáng), we get up. There are no endings to learn, for the person or for the time.
The time goes before the verb, never at the end as in English: (wǒ qī diǎn qǐchuáng) is word for word “I seven o'clock get up”. Words like (měi tiān, every day) go in the same place. The place, with (zài) as in chapter 4, comes after the time and also before the verb. So the usual order is: who – when – where – what they do (and the object last).
To put actions in order, use (xiān… ránhòu…), “first… then…”: (wǒ xiān chī zǎofàn, ránhòu shàngbān).
| Who | When | Where | What they do | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (wǒ) | (qī diǎn) | (zài jiā) | (chī zǎofàn) | I have breakfast at home at seven. |
| (wǒmen) | (zhōngwǔ) | (zài zhèr) | (chīfàn) | We have lunch here at midday. |
| (tā) | (měi tiān) | – | (zuò dìtiě shàngbān) | He takes the metro to work every day. |
- 我七点起床。Wǒ qī diǎn qǐchuáng.I get up at seven.
- 他每天坐地铁上班。Tā měi tiān zuò dìtiě shàngbān.He takes the metro to work every day.
- 你几点回家？Nǐ jǐ diǎn huíjiā?What time do you go home?
Telling the time: 点, 半, 刻, 分
(diǎn) is “o'clock”. Ask (jǐ diǎn?), what time?, or (xiànzài jǐ diǎn?), what time is it now? The same words answer “at what time?”: (qī diǎn), at seven. Remember: 2 o'clock is (liǎng diǎn).
(bàn) means half past and (yí kè) a quarter past. (sān kè), three quarters, gives a quarter to the next hour: (qī diǎn sān kè), 7:45. For minutes, add (fēn): (qī diǎn shí fēn), 7:10. Under ten minutes, put (líng, zero) in front: 7:05 is (qī diǎn líng wǔ fēn).
| Time | Chinese |
|---|---|
| 7:00 | (qī diǎn) |
| 7:10 | (qī diǎn shí fēn) |
| 7:15 | (qī diǎn yí kè) |
| 7:30 | (qī diǎn bàn) |
| 7:45 | (qī diǎn sān kè) or (qī diǎn sìshíwǔ) |
| 2:00 | (liǎng diǎn) |
Parts of the day and verb + object words
Chinese goes from big to small: part of the day first, then the clock time. (wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn bàn), 9:30 in the evening. The parts of the day are (zǎoshang, early morning), (shàngwǔ, morning), (zhōngwǔ, midday), (xiàwǔ, afternoon) and (wǎnshang, evening, night).
Many everyday actions are a verb with its own object: (chīfàn, to eat, have a meal) is literally “eat rice”; (shuìjiào, to sleep) is “sleep a sleep”; (shàngbān) is “go on shift”. You don't need to add anything to them. To name the meal, swap the object: (chī zǎofàn), to have breakfast.
More in the grammar: Time and dates · Verb + object words (离合词) · Word order: subject, time, place, verb
New words
- 每天měi tiānevery day · Goes before the verb.
- 点diǎno'clock · (jǐ diǎn?), What time?
- 起床qǐchuángto get up · Literally “rise from bed”.
- 早饭zǎofànbreakfast · (chī zǎofàn), to have breakfast.
- 然后ránhòuthen, after that · (xiān… ránhòu…), first… then…
- 坐地铁zuò dìtiěto take the metro · (zuò), to sit; to travel by.
- 上班shàngbānto go to work; to be at work
- 下班xiàbānto finish work
- 晚上wǎnshangevening, night · (wǎn) on its own means “late”.
- 半bànhalf · (qī diǎn bàn), half past seven.
- 回家huíjiāto go home, to come home · (huí), to return.
- 中午zhōngwǔmidday, noon
- 吃饭chīfànto eat, to have a meal · (chī), to eat; (fàn), rice, meal.
- 睡觉shuìjiàoto sleep, to go to bed
Practise
1.How do you say “I get up at seven”?
2.Put the words in order, starting with (wǒ): I get up at seven every day.
Tap the words below in the right order.I get up at seven every day.
3.Match the daily activities.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.It's 8:30. How do you say it?
5.Put the words in order: first I have breakfast, then I take the metro to work.
Tap the words below in the right order.First I have breakfast, then I take the metro to work.
6.Put the words in order, starting with (wǒ): I have breakfast at home at seven.
Tap the words below in the right order.I have breakfast at home at seven.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
我每天七点起床。
Wǒ měi tiān qī diǎn qǐchuáng.
I get up at seven every day.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.