How to Say ‘It's getting late.’ in Simplified Chinese
天不早了。
tiān bù zǎo le
[tyen bù zǎo le]
🇨🇳 In China: This is the polite cue that a visit is ending. Either the host or a guest can say it to start the goodbyes without sounding abrupt.
Phrase Breakdown
天
tiān
[tyen]
day; sky
Refers to the period between sunrise and sunset, or the expanse of space visible from Earth.
今天的天气很好。
The weather today is very nice.
不
bù
[bù]
not
Used to form the negative of verbs.
他不想参与。
He does not want to participate.
早
zǎo
[zǎo]
early
Adjective meaning early in time.
他每天起得很早。
He gets up very early every day.
了
le
[le]
change-of-state particle
Used with 快…了 to show something is about to happen.
火车快来了。
The train is about to arrive.
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