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How to Say ‘It usually takes seven working days.’ in Simplified Chinese

一般要七个工作日。

yì bān yào qī gè gōng zuò rì

[yìbān yào qī guh gōngzuòrì]

💬 Usage Tip: Here 要 (yào) means "takes" for amounts of time or money: 要两天 "takes two days", 要五十块 "costs fifty yuan".

Phrase Breakdown

一般要

yì bān yào

usually takes

一般 (yìbān) means 'usually/generally'. 要 (yào) here means 'to take/require (time)'. Note that 一 changes to the fourth tone yì before the first-tone 般.

Example

坐车一般要半个小时。

The ride usually takes half an hour.

Words in this phrase

一般

yì bān

[yìbān]

usually; generally

Describes what normally happens.

Example

我一般八点上班。

I usually start work at eight.

要

yào

[yào]

to take (time); to require

Indicates the time or amount needed.

Example

坐车要一个小时。

It takes an hour by car.

七个工作日。

qī gè gōng zuò rì

seven working days.

This is the amount of time needed: 七个 (qī ge) means 'seven' and 工作日 (gōngzuòrì) means 'working days'.

Example

退款要七个工作日。

The refund takes seven working days.

Words in this phrase

七

qī

[qī]

seven

The number 7.

Example

我有七本书。

I have seven books.

个

gè

[guh]

measure word

A general classifier used with nouns such as 活动.

Example

说“这个活动”时,要用量词“个”。

When saying “this event,” you need the measure word 个.

工作日

gōng zuò rì

[gōngzuòrì]

weekday; working day

Monday to Friday, days when people work.

Example

工作日餐厅人不多。

The restaurant isn't crowded on weekdays.

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