How to use 点、半
(Date / Part of day +) Hour + 点 (+ 半)
To give a clock hour in Mandarin, put the hour number before 点. The longer 点钟 is also possible for a whole hour. Specify morning, afternoon, or evening before the clock time when the hour alone would be ambiguous. A date or weekday goes before that part of the day.
For half past the hour, add 半 immediately after 点: 三点半 is 3:30 and 下午两点半 is 2:30 p.m. Use 两点 for two o’clock, not 二点. The number twelve still uses 二: 十二点 is twelve o’clock, and 十二点半 is 12:30. These expressions give a time of day. To measure a duration instead, use 小时: 两个小时 means two hours, and 半个小时 means half an hour.
Examples with pinyin and English
九点
9 o’clock
两点
2 o’clock
上午七点半
7:30 a.m.
下午两点半
2:30 p.m.
中午十二点
12 noon
十二点半
12:30
What to remember
- Put the hour before 点.
- Use 两 for two o'clock.
- Place 半 after 点 for half past.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation and examples written for Laowai using the grammar curriculum as a topic reference. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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