How to Say ‘How long does it take?’ in Simplified Chinese
要多久？
yào duō jiǔ
[yaow dwaw-jyoh]
💬 Usage Tip: [要多久？] literally asks "need how long?" and is the natural way to ask duration in Chinese. The same [要 + time] pattern shows up in answers too, like [要十分钟] — "it takes ten minutes."
Phrase Breakdown
要
yào
[yaow]
to take; to need
要 here means to require or take, usually time.
到机场要一个小时。
It takes one hour to get to the airport.
多久
duō jiǔ
[dwaw-jyoh]
how long
多久 asks about the length of time.
从这里到车站要多久？
How long does it take from here to the station?
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