ABSTRACT
To tell the time, the key words are dikn (o’clock), fbn (minute), bàn (half ), kè (quarter) and chà (lacking/minus). The hour comes first, then the minute. For example:
A 7:10 qc diKn shí fBn B 8:05 ba diKn wo fBn or ba dikn líng wo C 9:15 jio diKn yc kè or jio diKn shí wo fBn D 10:30 shí diKn sanshí fbn or shí diKn bàn E 2:45 likng dikn sìshíwo fBn or likng dikn san kè or san
diKn chà yc kè or san dikn chà shí wo
Note that (a) the minute word fbn can be omitted once the minute is over ten; (b) if you want to omit the word fbn when the minute is less than ten, put the word líng (zero) after dikn (see B above); (c) do not use the word fbn when kè or bàn is used; (d) use the number likng (two) not èr in telling the time; (e) to say ‘2:45’, use any of the four expressions in (E) above. Because there are no terms equivalent to the English abbreviations a.m. and p.m. in Chinese, it is either the context or the adding of words such as zKoshang ba dikn (lit. ‘morning eight o’clock’), xiàwO likng dikn (lit. ‘afternoon two o’clock’) or wKnshang ba dikn (lit. ‘evening eight o’clock’) which enables people to make such a distinction.
