小时

• Pinyin: xiǎo shí
• Hanzi breakdown: 小 = small; 时 = 日 (sun) + 寺 (phonetic) — time, hour

Meaning

Hour. The standard unit of time equal to sixty minutes.

The everyday word for 'hour' in Mandarin. Used in telling duration and schedules. To express a number of hours, place the number before 小时: 一小时 (one hour), 两小时 (two hours). Note that 点 or 点钟 is used for clock times (e.g. 三点 = three o'clock), while 小时 is used for durations.

Examples

1. 我每天学习两个小时中文。 I study Chinese for two hours every day.
2. 从这里到机场要一个小时。 It takes one hour from here to the airport.
3. 电影有两个小时。 The film is two hours long.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, time

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 我等了你一个小时。(I waited for you for an hour.)
• 还有半个小时就到了。(We'll arrive in half an hour.)

Don't Say

• 说'三小时点'表示三点钟。(Don't use 小时 for clock times — say 三点 for 3 o'clock, and 三个小时 for three hours' duration)

Origin & History

Composed of 小 (small/lesser) + 时 (time/hour). Originally referred to half of a 时辰 (the two-hour unit in the traditional Chinese timekeeping system), giving the sense of a 'small' or shorter unit of time.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal