Time Expressions in Cantonese

In Brief

Use 今日 (gam1 jat6, today), 聽日 (ting1 jat6, tomorrow), and 尋日 (cam4 jat6, yesterday) for days around the present. For clock time, put the hour before 點 (dim2): 三點 is 3:00, 三點半 is 3:30, and 三點三個字 is 3:15 because each 個字 represents five minutes. Time expressions usually come before the verb: 我聽日返工 means “I’m going to work tomorrow.”

Overview

Time expressions let you arrange a meeting, ask when something happens, and talk about yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This is an A1 topic, but it brings together several useful parts of Cantonese: numbers, question words, classifiers, and the tendency to show time through context rather than by changing the verb.

English verbs often change to distinguish present and past, as in “go” versus “went.” Cantonese verbs do not conjugate (change form) for tense. A time word can therefore do much of the work: 我尋日返工 (ngo5 cam4 jat6 faan1 gung1) is understood as “I went to work yesterday,” while 我聽日返工 refers to tomorrow. Other particles may add information about completion or the speaker’s attitude, but the verb 返工 itself remains unchanged.

The beginner system is compact: learn the three day words, 而家 (ji4 gaa1, now), 幾時 (gei2 si4, when), and the clock patterns with 點, 半, and 個字. Later, you can add parts of the day, exact minutes, durations, dates, and more conversational ways of giving an approximate time.

How It Works

Days around today

These common words can stand on their own; they do not need a preposition equivalent to English “on.”

Cantonese	Jyutping	Meaning
尋日	cam4 jat6	yesterday
今日	gam1 jat6	today
聽日	ting1 jat6	tomorrow
前日	cin4 jat6	the day before yesterday
後日	hau6 jat6	the day after tomorrow
而家	ji4 gaa1	now, at present

In ordinary Hong Kong Cantonese, 尋日 and 聽日 are the natural spoken forms. Written Chinese from other varieties may use 昨天 or 明天, but copying those forms into everyday Cantonese can sound less local.

Asking “when” and “what time”

Use 幾時 when you want to know when an event happens:

• 你幾時返嚟？ (nei5 gei2 si4 faan1 lai4?) — When are you coming back?
• 你幾時得閒？ (nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4?) — When are you free?

Use 幾點 when the answer should be a clock time:

• 而家幾點？ (ji4 gaa1 gei2 dim2?) — What time is it now?
• 幾點開門？ (gei2 dim2 hoi1 mun4?) — What time does it open?

Cantonese question words normally stay in the position where the answer would appear. Compare 三點開門 (“It opens at three”) with 幾點開門？ (“What time does it open?”). You do not move the question phrase to the beginning simply because it is a question.

Whole hours and half hours

The basic pattern is:

number + 點 + optional minutes

Time	Cantonese	Jyutping	Literal shape
1:00	一點	jat1 dim2	one o’clock
3:00	三點	saam1 dim2	three o’clock
7:30	七點半	cat1 dim2 bun3	seven o’clock half
10:30	十點半	sap6 dim2 bun3	ten o’clock half

半 (bun3) comes directly after 點. Do not add a word equivalent to “past”: 三點半, not “half past three” in English order.

You may hear 點鐘 (dim2 zung1) instead of 點, especially when the hour is being stated clearly: 三點鐘 means “three o’clock.” The shorter 三點 is completely normal.

Five-minute intervals with 個字

A distinctive Cantonese pattern counts five-minute units with 個字 (go3 zi6). Multiply the number before 個字 by five:

Time	Cantonese	Jyutping	Calculation
3:05	三點一個字	saam1 dim2 jat1 go3 zi6	1 × 5 minutes
3:10	三點兩個字	saam1 dim2 loeng5 go3 zi6	2 × 5 minutes
3:15	三點三個字	saam1 dim2 saam1 go3 zi6	3 × 5 minutes
3:25	三點五個字	saam1 dim2 ng5 go3 zi6	5 × 5 minutes

Because 個 is a classifier (a counting word placed between a number and certain nouns), “two units” uses 兩個字 (loeng5 go3 zi6), not 二個字. In quick speech, the classifier may be omitted after numbers above one, so 三點三個字 may be shortened to 三點三. As a learner, the full pattern is safest and clearest.

Exact minutes

For a time that is not conveniently expressed as a five-minute unit, say the number of minutes after 點. 分 (fan1) or 分鐘 (fan1 zung1) can make the unit explicit:

• 三點十二分 (saam1 dim2 sap6 ji6 fan1) — 3:12
• 九點四十分 (gau2 dim2 sei3 sap6 fan1) — 9:40

In everyday speech, speakers often simply say the digits or minute number when the meaning is obvious: 三點十二 for 3:12. Learn the explicit form first, then notice shorter forms in real conversations.

Parts of the day

A clock time can be ambiguous without a part-of-day expression. Put the period before the clock time:

Cantonese	Jyutping	Typical meaning
凌晨	ling4 san4	after midnight / very early morning
朝早	ziu1 zou2	morning
中午	zung1 ng5	noon / around midday
下晝	haa6 zau3	afternoon
夜晚	je6 maan5	evening / night

For example, 朝早九點 is 9 a.m., while 夜晚九點 is 9 p.m. These ranges are practical descriptions, not rigid divisions with universally fixed boundaries.

Where time goes in a sentence

A time expression generally appears before the verb. It may come at the beginning as the topic, or after the subject (the person or thing the sentence is about):

• 聽日我去中環。 — Tomorrow, I’m going to Central.
• 我聽日去中環。 — I’m going to Central tomorrow.
• 我哋下晝三點見。 — We’ll meet at three in the afternoon.

Both of the first two orders are natural. Starting with 聽日 makes tomorrow the frame for the whole sentence. Unlike English, Cantonese normally does not put a bare time expression after the verb as a default pattern.

Days of the week

In Hong Kong speech, 星期 (sing1 kei4) and 禮拜 (lai5 baai3) are both common. Add the number one through six; Sunday has a special ending.

Day	With 星期	With 禮拜
Monday	星期一	禮拜一
Tuesday	星期二	禮拜二
Saturday	星期六	禮拜六
Sunday	星期日 / 星期天	禮拜日 / 禮拜天

Thus 今日禮拜一 means “Today is Monday.” A copula such as 係 (“to be”) is often omitted in this simple calendar statement, though 今日係禮拜一 is also possible.

Examples in Context

Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Note
而家幾點？	ji4 gaa1 gei2 dim2?	What time is it now?	Asks for clock time
而家三點半。	ji4 gaa1 saam1 dim2 bun3.	It is 3:30 now.	半 follows 點
我哋聽日見。	ngo5 dei6 ting1 jat6 gin3.	See you tomorrow.	Literally “We tomorrow meet”
今日禮拜一。	gam1 jat6 lai5 baai3 jat1.	Today is Monday.	Copula omitted
你幾時返嚟？	nei5 gei2 si4 faan1 lai4?	When are you coming back?	General “when” question
間舖幾點開門？	gaan1 pou3 gei2 dim2 hoi1 mun4?	What time does the shop open?	Requests an exact time
朝早八點開門。	ziu1 zou2 baat3 dim2 hoi1 mun4.	It opens at eight in the morning.	Part of day precedes time
我哋下晝三點三個字見。	ngo5 dei6 haa6 zau3 saam1 dim2 saam1 go3 zi6 gin3.	Let’s meet at 3:15 p.m.	Three five-minute units
佢尋日冇返工。	keoi5 cam4 jat6 mou5 faan1 gung1.	They didn’t go to work yesterday.	Day word sets past context
我後日去澳門。	ngo5 hau6 jat6 heoi3 ou3 mun4.	I’m going to Macao the day after tomorrow.	Verb does not change form
夜晚十一點先返屋企。	je6 maan5 sap6 jat1 dim2 sin1 faan1 uk1 kei2.	I won’t get home until eleven at night.	先 marks the relatively late time
三點十二分開車。	saam1 dim2 sap6 ji6 fan1 hoi1 ce1.	The vehicle leaves at 3:12.	Exact minutes

Common Mistakes

Using 幾時 for a clock-time answer

• Less precise: 間舖幾時開門？ when you specifically need the hour
• Better: 間舖幾點開門？
• Why: 幾時 asks “when” broadly; an answer could be tomorrow or next week. 幾點 specifically asks “what time?”

Copying English word order for half hours

• Wrong: 半三點
• Right: 三點半
• Why: Cantonese gives the hour first, then 點, then 半: “three-o’clock-half.”

Treating 個字 as one minute

• Wrong: Interpreting 三點三個字 as 3:03
• Right: 三點三個字 is 3:15
• Why: Each 個字 represents five minutes, so three units equal fifteen minutes.

Adding unnecessary prepositions before days

• Wrong: Trying to translate every word of “on Monday” or “on tomorrow” with an extra location word
• Right: 我星期一返工。 — I work / will work on Monday.
• Why: A day expression can directly set the time of an event. It does not require an equivalent of English “on.”

Putting the time after the verb by default

• Awkward beginner pattern: 我見你聽日三點。
• Natural: 我聽日三點見你。
• Why: Cantonese normally places the time before the verb: subject + time + action.

Using 二 before the classifier in 兩個字

• Wrong: 三點二個字
• Right: 三點兩個字
• Why: Before the classifier 個, everyday Cantonese normally uses 兩 for “two.” The time is 3:10.

Usage Notes

Cantonese time expressions range from very concise to very explicit. If everyone knows whether a meeting is in the morning or afternoon, 三點見 is enough. If confusion is possible, say 下晝三點見. The 24-hour clock appears in schedules and formal written information, but daily conversation commonly combines a 12-hour time with 朝早, 下晝, or 夜晚.

Approximate time can be marked with 左右 (zo2 jau6, about/around), placed after the time: 三點左右 means “around three.” 幾 can also mean “a little over” when it follows an hour: 三點幾 means sometime after three but before four, not “what time?” Context and word order distinguish it from 幾點, the question phrase.

For duration, do not confuse a point on the clock with an amount of time. 三點 is 3:00, while 三個鐘 (saam1 go3 zung1) is a duration of three hours. 一個鐘頭 (jat1 go3 zung1 tau4) is another common way to say “one hour.” English uses “three” in both “at three” and “for three hours,” but Cantonese marks the distinction clearly.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following patterns at A1, but you will hear them later.

Cantonese can count backward to the next hour with 差 (caa1, lacking/minus): 差十分四點 means “ten minutes to four,” literally “four o’clock lacking ten minutes.” Saying 三點五十分 is also clear and avoids this extra pattern.

Speakers may omit predictable material in casual conversation. 三點三 can mean 3:15, with 個字 understood, and an answer to 幾點？ may be just 三點半 without a full sentence. Such shortening depends on shared context; use the full forms until they feel familiar.

Calendar time introduces another counting system. Dates use 號 (hou6) in speech, as in 七月十二號 (“July 12”), while formal writing often uses 日. Years are usually read digit by digit, and months use a number plus 月. These patterns build on numbers but are separate from the clock-time role of 點.

Finally, a time word does not always provide every aspectual detail (information about whether an event is completed, ongoing, or merely planned). 尋日 establishes a past setting, but particles such as 咗 and 過 can further describe the event. Likewise, 聽日 can indicate future time without a future verb ending. As your Cantonese develops, treat time expressions and aspect particles as complementary rather than interchangeable.

Practice Tips

1. Build times from a clock face. Pick ten random times and say each first with exact minutes, then with 半 or 個字 where possible. Always include Jyutping tones when checking your answer.
2. Make a three-day diary. Write two short sentences each for 尋日, 今日, and 聽日. Keep the time before the verb and notice that the verb itself does not change.
3. Listen for short answers. When watching Cantonese media, collect examples after 幾點？ and 幾時？ Note whether speakers use 點鐘, 個字, a part of the day, or an abbreviated form.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers and Counting — supplies the numbers used for hours, minutes, weekdays, and five-minute units.