How to Say ‘What time is it?’ in Simplified Chinese
几点了？
jǐ diǎn le
[jee diǎn le]
💬 Usage Tip: 几 (jǐ) "how many" sits exactly where the number would go in the answer: 几点了？ → 三点了。 "It's three." The 了 adds a sense of "by now".
Phrase Breakdown
几
jǐ
[jee]
how many; what
a question word used to ask an unspecified small number; in time expressions it helps ask what time
你几点到？这里的几用来问时间。
What time will you arrive? Here, 几 is used to ask about time.
点
diǎn
[diǎn]
o'clock
A term used to express a specific time on the hour.
会议在八点开始。
The meeting starts at eight o'clock.
了
le
[le]
change-of-state particle
Sentence-final particle showing a new situation; in time questions it means 'already, by now'.
八点了，起床吧。
It's eight o'clock now, get up.
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