The character 时 — “time”: how to write it and what it means
time
The Chinese character 时 is read shí and means “time”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 时
时 has 7 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 时, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 时 is made of
On the left, 日 “sun”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 时
- 时间timeHSK 1
- 时候moment, timeHSK 1
- 小时hour (duration)HSK 1
- 有时sometimesHSK 2
- 小时候in childhoodHSK 2
- 平时usually, ordinarilyHSK 3
- 准时punctual, on timeHSK 4
- 按时on time, on scheduleHSK 4
- 及时in time, timelyHSK 4
- 暂时temporarily, for nowHSK 4
- 当时at that time, thenHSK 4
- 同时at the same timeHSK 4
- 时间表schedule, timetableHSK 4
- 此时at this momentHSK 5
- 随时at any timeHSK 5
- 时刻moment; constantlyHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 时?
时 has 7 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 时 mean?
时 means “time”. It appears in 时间 (“time”), 时候 (“moment”), 小时 (“hour”), 有时 (“sometimes”).
How do you pronounce 时?
时 is read shí. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 时 have?
7 strokes.
← 第 ordinal prefix间 interval →
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 时 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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