下午
afternoon
xiàwǔ
What does 下午 mean?
下午 (xiàwǔ) means 'afternoon,' literally 'below noon' (下 'below/after' + 午 'noon'). It covers roughly noon to 6 pm in everyday Chinese usage. Like other time words, 下午 comes before the verb: 我下午有课 'I have class in the afternoon.' To specify a clock time, the time word goes first: 下午三点 'three p.m.' Note the parallel set: 上午 (shàngwǔ) 'morning / a.m.' (literally 'above noon'), 中午 (zhōngwǔ) 'noon,' 下午 'afternoon / p.m.' Together they cover the day. The greeting 下午好 (xiàwǔ hǎo) 'good afternoon' exists but is rarely used between friends — Chinese speakers usually just say 你好 regardless of the time of day.
Character breakdown
below; after; down
noon
Memory hook: 下 'after' + 午 'noon' = the time after noon = afternoon.
Example sentences
我下午有课。
Wǒ xiàwǔ yǒu kè.
I have class in the afternoon.
neutral
我们下午三点见。
Wǒmen xiàwǔ sān diǎn jiàn.
Let's meet at 3 p.m.
spoken
今天下午我去图书馆。
Jīntiān xiàwǔ wǒ qù túshūguǎn.
This afternoon I'm going to the library.
neutral
明天下午你有空吗？
Míngtiān xiàwǔ nǐ yǒu kòng ma?
Are you free tomorrow afternoon?
spoken
Common phrases with 下午
Don't confuse 下午 with
上午 is the morning (before noon, roughly 8 a.m. to noon). 下午 is after noon. Same suffix 午 'noon,' opposite prefix (上 vs 下).
中午 is 'noon / lunchtime' (around 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.). 中午吃饭 'eating lunch,' 下午上班 'going to work in the afternoon.' Don't lump them together.
晚上 is 'evening / night' (after about 6 p.m.). 下午 ends where 晚上 begins. Saying 下午八点 (8 p.m.) sounds odd — use 晚上八点.