学时

• Pinyin: xué shí
• Hanzi breakdown: 学 = to study/learn; 时 = 日 (sun/day) + 寸 (inch/moment), time or hour

Meaning

Class hour; credit hour. A unit measuring the duration of instruction for a course.

One 学时 typically equals 45 to 50 minutes of instruction. Universities use 学时 to define how much time is officially allocated to a course. Closely related to 学分, though not always interchangeable.

Examples

1. 这门课程共有四十八个学时，每周上三次课。 This course has a total of 48 class hours, meeting three times a week.
2. 实验课的学时比理论课少一些。 Lab sessions have slightly fewer class hours than lecture classes.
3. 按规定，完成这个项目需要一百二十个学时。 According to the regulations, completing this project requires 120 class hours.

Usage Guide

Context: academic, education

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这门课一共多少学时？(How many class hours does this course have in total?)
• 本学期的教学计划规定了每门课的学时数。(The semester teaching plan specifies the number of class hours for each course.)

Don't Say

• 把'学时'和'学分'混用 (Don't confuse 学时 with 学分 — 学时 measures hours of instruction, while 学分 measures the credit value of a course)

Origin & History

A compound of 学 (to study) and 时 (time/hour). Adopted as Chinese universities formalised course-load measurement in the twentieth century.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal