Time Measure Words (时量词)
时量词
Use 日 / 号 / 岁 / 点 / 分 / 年 / 天 to count time itself
时量词 (time measure words) attach DIRECTLY to a number — no extra measure word in between. 三天 (three days), 五年 (five years), 十岁 (ten years old), 八点 (eight o'clock).
Most measure words need an intermediate counter ("two BOOKS" needs 本: 两本书). Time measure words SKIP this step — the time word IS the measure word.
Lesson Targets
Podcast
Podcast: Time Measure Words (时量词) (时量词)
Listen to Jason & Amy explain the 时量词 pattern
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Understanding 时量词
Time in Chinese has its own private set of measure words. You don't say "three things of days" — you say 三天 (three days). Likewise 五年 (five years), 十岁 (ten years old), 八点 (eight o'clock). The HSK 3.0 syllabus lists the HSK 1 set explicitly: 日, 号, 岁, 点, 分, 年, 天. Each one is BOTH the noun ("day," "year," "minute") AND its own measure word — number plus time word, done. This means time expressions slot into Chinese sentences much more compactly than into English ones, and learning the seven is enough to read clocks, calendars, ages, and durations at HSK 1.
Key Points
- 天 (day) and 日 (date / day) — 三天 (three days), 三月五日 (March 5th).
- 号 — colloquial counterpart of 日 for dates: 五号 (the 5th).
- 年 (year) — 一年 (one year), 二〇二六年 (year 2026).
- 岁 (years-of-age) — 我二十岁 (I am twenty years old).
- 点 (o'clock) — 三点 (3 o'clock); 分 (minute) — 三十分 (thirty minutes).
- No extra measure word is needed: 三天, NOT 三个天.
- 半 (half) and 多 (over / more than) slip in naturally: 半个小时 (half an hour), 三年多 (more than three years).
- Common pitfalls: 小时 (hour) DOES need 个 — 三个小时 (three hours). Same goes for 月 in some contexts.
Chinese flows from BIG to SMALL: 二〇二六年三月五日星期五下午三点 — year, month, day, weekday, time. The exact opposite of English ("3 p.m. Friday, March 5, 2026"). Once you internalise this big-to-small habit, dates and times feel surprisingly orderly.
Key Vocabulary
Example Sentences
我学了三年中文。
I've studied Chinese for three years.
Duration: number + 年, no intermediate MW.
弟弟今年八岁。
My younger brother is eight this year.
Age: number + 岁.
现在三点半。
It's 3:30 right now.
Clock: 点 + 半 (half).
我等了你二十分钟。
I waited for you twenty minutes.
分钟 = "minute(s)" as a duration counter.
今天是三月五号。
Today is March 5th.
Date: 月 + 号 (colloquial).
我休息了两天。
I rested for two days.
两 (not 二) before measure words.
飞机晚上九点起飞。
The plane takes off at 9 p.m.
我妈妈五十多岁。
My mom is in her fifties.
多 = "more than"; slips between number and time-MW.
我在中国住了一年半。
I lived in China for a year and a half.
会议三点开始，五点结束。
The meeting starts at 3 and ends at 5.
Common Mistakes
年 / 天 / 岁 / 点 / 分 are their OWN measure words. Don't stick 个 in between the number and the time word.
Before a measure word, "2" is 两, not 二. This applies to 两天, 两年, 两点, 两个 — anywhere a measure word follows.
半 (half) comes AFTER 点: 三点半. The order is number + 点 + 半, never number + 半 + 点.
Practice Exercises
Tips & Tricks
Memorise the HSK 1 seven: 日 / 号 / 岁 / 点 / 分 / 年 / 天. Each one is BOTH the time noun and its own measure word.
Before a time-MW, 2 is always 两, never 二. 两天, 两年, 两点, 两岁.
Date order is BIG → SMALL: year → month → day → weekday → hour. Memorising this rhythm makes you sound naturally Chinese.
Watch out for the impostor 小时 (hour): it DOES take 个 (三个小时). It's a noun, not a time-MW like 点 / 分.
Homework
Write eight sentences using six different time measure words from the HSK 1 set (日 / 号 / 岁 / 点 / 分 / 年 / 天). At least two should use 半 (half) or 多 (more than) inside the count.