时 (shí): time, hour
时 (shí) is a Chinese character meaning “time, hour.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 日 (semantic) and 寸 (structural). It ranks #25 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 时 day. Its radical form 日 (sun) appears in many related characters such as 日 (rì, sun, day), 早 (zǎo, early, morning), 明 (míng, bright, tomorrow).
Definitions
- time, hour
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 时 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 时
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 时候noun | shí hou | time | 1 |
| 时间noun | shí jiān | (concept of) time | 1 |
| 小时noun | xiǎo shí | hour | 1 |
| 当时noun | dāng shí | then | 4 |
| 同时noun/conjunction | tóng shí | at the same time | 4 |
| 有时adverb | yǒu shí | sometimes | 2 |
| 有时候adverb | yǒu shí hou | sometimes | 2 |
| 时刻noun/adverb | shí kè | time | 5 |
| 随时adverb | suí shí | at any time | 5 |
| 时光noun | shí guāng | time (esp. as sth that passes) | 6 |
| 时代noun | shí dài | age | 5 |
| 暂时adjective | zàn shí | temporary | 4 |
| 时尚noun/adjective | shí shàng | fashion | 6 |
| 小时候noun | xiǎo shí hou | in one's childhood | 2 |
| 时机noun | shí jī | opportunity | 6 |
| 时期noun | shí qī | period | 5 |
| 平时noun | píng shí | ordinarily | 3 |
| 临时adverb/adjective | lín shí | as the time draws near | 5 |
| 及时adjective/adverb | jí shí | timely | 4 |
| 一时noun/adverb | yī shí | a period of time | 6 |
| 准时adjective | zhǔn shí | on time | 4 |
| 此时noun | cǐ shí | now | 5 |
| 过时verb/adjective | guò shí | old-fashioned | 6 |
| 按时adverb | àn shí | on time | 4 |
| 时速noun | shí sù | speed per hour | 6 |
| 时间表noun | shí jiān biǎo | schedule | 4 |
| 时常adverb | shí cháng | often | 5 |
| 不时adverb/noun | bù shí | from time to time | 6 |
| 实时adverb | shí shí | (in) real time | 6 |
| 时差noun | shí chā | time difference | 5 |
| 定时verb/noun | dìng shí | to fix a time | 6 |
| 顿时adverb | dùn shí | immediately | 6 |
时 appears in 118 compound words: 39 as the first character, 47 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 时 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (54)
untimely; premature; inopportune; ill-timed; out of fashion; behind the times
out of step with current thinking; outmoded; inappropriate for the occasion
to show no understanding of the times; to not be able to adapt to current circumstances; to lack judgement
to conceal one's abilities and wait (idiom); to lie low and await the opportune moment
to conceal one's abilities and wait (idiom); to lie low and await the opportune moment
Showing 12 of 54 idioms containing 时.
Example Sentences
时间很紧，我们需要加快进度才能按时完成任务。
Shíjiān hěn jǐn, wǒmen xūyào jiākuài jìndù cáinéng ànshí wánchéng rènwu.
Time is tight; we need to speed up progress to complete the task on time.
上观时评|“马上”体祝福里的民生期盼·新世说
shàng guàn shí píng mǎ shàng tǐ zhù fú lǐ de mín shēng qī pàn xīn shì shuō
Shangguan Commentary|" Immediately, "the people's livelihood expectations in the blessing of the new world said
不到30小时连夺3金!他们的每一滴热泪,都写着“值....
bù dào 3 0 xiǎo shí lián duó 3 jīn ! tā men de měi yī dī rè lèi , dōu xiě zhe zhí . . . .
Win 3 gold medals in less than 30 hours! Every tear they shed was written "Value....
王心迪:在自己圆梦的同时,也帮助徐梦桃圆梦了
wáng xīn dí : zài zì jǐ yuán mèng de tóng shí , yě bāng zhù xú mèng táo yuán mèng le
Wang Xindi: While realizing his dream, he also helped Xu Mengtao realize his dream
...峡段4座梯级水电站累计发电破100亿千瓦时
. . . xiá duàn zuò tī jí shuǐ diàn zhàn lěi jì fā diàn pò yì qiān wǎ shí
The four-stage hydropower stations in the gorge section have cumulatively generated over 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
普通人也能开飞机回家过年了?飞2小时油费只要200..
pǔ tōng rén yě néng kāi fēi jī huí jiā guò nián le ? fēi xiǎo shí yóu fèi zhī yāo . .
Can ordinary people really fly home for the New Year? A two-hour flight costs just 200 yuan in fuel...
你好汤姆！你什么时候来的？
Nǐhǎo Tāngmǔ! nǐ shénmeshíhou lái de?
Hello Tom! When did you come?
你明天这个时候会是在做什么？
Nǐ míngtiān zhège shíhou huì shì zài zuò shénme?
What'll you be doing at this time tomorrow?
我们什么时候到达？
Wǒmen shénmeshíhou dàodá?
When do we arrive?
你上次去京都是什么时候？
Nǐ shàngcì qù Jīngdū shì shénme shíhou?
When did you visit Kyoto last?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 日 (day) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 时 (shí) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 时 have?
What is the radical of 时?
What are the components of 时?
What are common words containing 时?
What characters sound the same as 时 (shí)?
Is 时 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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