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时 — o'clock; time; when

o'clock; time; when; hour; season; period

Pinyin
shí · Shí
Strokes
7
HSK level
HSK 1
Handwriting
required

This character has more than one reading — shí, Shí — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.

How to write 时: 7 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.

时 — 7 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 时

Words with 时 in the HSK syllabus: 51

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 时候shíhoutime; length of time; moment; periodHSK 1
  2. 时间shíjiāntime; time; timeHSK 1
  3. 小时xiǎoshíhourHSK 1
  4. 时shío'clock; time; when; hour; season; periodHSK 2
  5. 小时候xiǎoshíhouin one's childhoodHSK 2
  6. 有时yǒushísometimes; now and thenHSK 2
  7. 平时píngshíordinarily; in normal times; in peacetimeHSK 3
  8. 按时ànshíon time; before deadline; on scheduleHSK 4
  9. 当时dāngshíthen; at that timeHSK 4
  10. 及时jíshítimely; at the right time; promptly; without delayHSK 4
  11. 时间表shíjiānbiǎoschedule; timetableHSK 4
  12. 同时tóngshíat the same time; simultaneouslyHSK 4
  13. 暂时zànshítemporary; provisional; for the time beingHSK 4
  14. 准时zhǔnshíon time; punctual; on scheduleHSK 4
  15. 此时cǐshínow; this momentHSK 5
  16. 临时línshías the time draws near; at the last momentHSK 5
  17. 时差shíchātime difference; time lag; jet lagHSK 5
  18. 时常shíchángoften; frequentlyHSK 5
  19. 时代shídàiTime, US weekly news magazineHSK 5
  20. 时刻shíkètime; juncture; moment; period of time; constantlyHSK 5
  21. 时期shíqīperiod; phaseHSK 5
  22. 随时suíshíat any time; at all timesHSK 5
  23. 不时bùshífrom time to time; now and then; occasionallyHSK 6
  24. 定时dìngshíto fix a time; fixed time; timedHSK 6
  25. 顿时dùnshíimmediately; suddenlyHSK 6
  26. 过时guòshíold-fashioned; out of dateHSK 6
  27. 时光shíguāngtimeHSK 6
  28. 时机shíjīopportunity; opportune momentHSK 6
  29. 时尚shíshàngfashion; fad; fashionableHSK 6
  30. 实时shíshíreal time; instantaneousHSK 6
  31. 时速shísùspeed per hourHSK 6
  32. 一时yìshía period of time; a while; for a short whileHSK 6
  33. 倒计时dàojìshíto count down; countdownHSK 7–9
  34. 耗时hàoshítime-consuming; to take a period ofHSK 7–9
  35. 划时代huàshídàiepoch-markingHSK 7–9
  36. 即时jíshíimmediateHSK 7–9
  37. 届时jièshíwhen the time comes; at the scheduled timeHSK 7–9
  38. 历时lìshíto last; to take; period; diachronicHSK 7–9
  39. 时隔shí géseparated in timeHSK 7–9
  40. 时而shí’éroccasionally; from time to timeHSK 7–9

And 11 more across the higher levels — the full lists are on the level pages.

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.