How to Say ‘Could we push the time back half an hour?’ in Simplified Chinese
时间能不能往后推半个小时？
shí jiān néng bù néng wǎng hòu tuī bàn gè xiǎo shí
[shir-jyen néng bu néng wǎnghòu tuī ban guh xiǎoshí]
💬 Usage Tip: The topic comes first and the question follows: 时间 "as for the time", then "could we push it back?". Putting the thing you're talking about at the front is very common in Chinese.
Phrase Breakdown
时间能不能
shí jiān néng bù néng
can the time
时间 (shíjiān) means time and is the topic of the sentence. It is followed by the question pattern 能不能 (néng bu néng).
时间能不能改一下？
Can the time be changed?
Words in this phrase
时间
shí jiān
[shir-jyen]
time
Refers to time in general or a specific time slot or schedule.
你什么时候有时间？
When do you have time?
能不能
néng bù néng
[néng bu néng]
can or cannot; could you
Used to ask politely whether something is possible.
你能不能等我一下？
Could you wait for me a moment?
往后推
wǎng hòu tuī
be pushed back
往后推 (wǎng hòu tuī) means to postpone. Say 往 with a dipping third tone.
可以往后推吗？
Can it be postponed?
Words in this phrase
往后
wǎng hòu
[wǎnghòu]
later; backward
Toward a later time or further back.
会议往后改了一天。
The meeting was moved one day later.
推
tuī
[tuī]
to push back; postpone
To delay or move a time later.
晚饭推到七点吧。
Let's push dinner to seven.
半个小时？
bàn gè xiǎo shí
by half an hour?
This gives the amount of the delay. Raise your intonation slightly because it ends the question.
晚半个小时可以吗？
Is half an hour later OK?
Words in this phrase
半
bàn
[ban]
half
One of two equal parts.
他吃了一半的蛋糕。
He ate half of the cake.
个
gè
[guh]
measure word
A general classifier used with nouns such as 活动.
说“这个活动”时，要用量词“个”。
When saying “this event,” you need the measure word 个.
小时
xiǎo shí
[xiǎoshí]
hour
A unit of time of sixty minutes.
我睡了八个小时。
I slept for eight hours.
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