at that time; then
HSK level
当时 is written with 13 strokes (当: 6, 时: 7). The animation replays automatically.
当时 (dāngshí) is a time word meaning 'at that time' or 'back then' — it refers to a specific past moment already established in the conversation, and functions like an adverb or time adverbial to anchor a statement to that moment.
It is neutral and used constantly in storytelling: 当时我不知道 (at that time I didn't know), 当时他很生气 (he was angry then). Unlike English 'then,' 当时 never means 'next / after that' in a sequence — it only means 'at that specific past moment,' so it cannot chain events the way English 'then I did X, then Y' can. It also differs from 那时候 (nà shíhòu), which is more colloquial; 当时 often carries a sense of 'right at that moment, in the situation as it was.'
Character by character
Memory hook: 当 (that very) + 时 (time) = 'at that very time' → back then.
当时我还是个学生。
Dāngshí wǒ háishì ge xuésheng.
At that time I was still a student.
neutral
听到这个消息，他当时就哭了。
Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā dāngshí jiù kū le.
When he heard the news, he cried right then and there.
spoken
当时的情况很复杂，很难解释。
Dāngshí de qíngkuàng hěn fùzá, hěn nán jiěshì.
The situation at that time was complicated and hard to explain.
neutral
如果当时我早点出门就好了。
Rúguǒ dāngshí wǒ zǎo diǎn chūmén jiù hǎo le.
If only I had left earlier back then.
spoken
那时候 is more colloquial and can point to a broader stretch of past time ('back in those days'). 当时 is tighter, meaning 'right at that particular moment,' and sounds slightly more written or precise.
那会儿 is casual, spoken Beijing-flavored speech for 'back then.' 当时 is register-neutral and safe in writing and speech alike.
Acquire it by listening
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