time
HSK level
时间 is written with 14 strokes (时: 7, 间: 7). The animation replays automatically.
时间 (shíjiān) is the abstract noun 'time' — duration, the resource you spend, the concept itself.
It is the word you use to say you have time, are short on time, or need time: 我有时间 ('I have time'), 没时间 ('no time'), 时间不够 ('not enough time'). It covers both 'how long' (duration) and 'when' (a point on the clock or calendar), but for clock time English-speakers should note: to ask 'what time is it,' Chinese normally uses 几点 (jǐ diǎn, 'what o'clock'), not 什么时间.
时间 also doesn't take 个 as a measure word the way English-speakers might expect; use 段 (duàn) for a stretch of time or 点 (diǎn) for a small amount. Related but distinct: 时候 (shíhou) means 'a moment / when,' used inside time clauses (吃饭的时候 'when eating'), while 时间 is the noun you handle and possess.
Character by character
Memory hook: 时 (hour) + 间 (interval) = the interval between hours — time itself.
你今天有时间吗？
Nǐ jīntiān yǒu shíjiān ma?
Do you have time today?
spoken
对不起，我没时间。
Duìbuqǐ, wǒ méi shíjiān.
Sorry, I don't have time.
spoken
学中文要花很多时间。
Xué Zhōngwén yào huā hěn duō shíjiān.
Learning Chinese takes a lot of time.
neutral
我们的时间不够了。
Wǒmen de shíjiān bú gòu le.
We're running out of time.
neutral
时候 means 'when / the moment / point in time' and lives inside time clauses: 我小的时候 ('when I was little'). 时间 is the noun 'time' you have or lack. 'Do you have time?' = 你有时间吗? not 你有时候吗.
时光 ('time / hours') is poetic / literary, with a wistful feel — 美好的时光 ('wonderful times'). Use 时间 for everyday speech; reserve 时光 for emotional or written contexts.
Acquire it by listening
Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 时间 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.
