Time Measure Words

By the end of this lesson, you will use Mandarin time measure words accurately, distinguishing duration (how long) from reference points (when), and express elapsed time naturally.

Time Expressions: Two Roles

In Mandarin, time words serve two distinct roles:

1. Reference points — specifying when something happens (today, last year, Monday)
2. Duration — specifying how long something lasts (for three hours, for two years)

English often uses the same words for both: "three years" can mean "in three years" or "for three years." Mandarin makes this clearer through context and sentence position.

The Six Core Time Measure Words

年 (nián) — years

Chinese	Pinyin	English
一年	yī nián	one year (duration)
三年	sān nián	three years
今年	jīnnián	this year (reference point)
明年	míngnián	next year
去年	qùnián	last year

我学了一年汉语。 (Wǒ xué le yī nián Hànyǔ.) — I studied Chinese for one year. 今年我去中国。 (Jīnnián wǒ qù Zhōngguó.) — This year I'm going to China.

月 (yuè) — months

月 doubles as both "month" (measure word) and a reference to months of the year:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
一个月	yī gè yuè	one month (duration)
三个月	sān gè yuè	three months
一月	yīyuè	January (month name — no 个)
这个月	zhège yuè	this month
上个月	shàng gè yuè	last month
下个月	xià gè yuè	next month

Important: Duration uses 个月 (measure word + 月), but month names drop 个:

• Duration: 我住了三个月。(I lived there for three months.)
• Reference: 三月很冷。(March is cold.)

天/日 (tiān / rì) — days

天 is the spoken measure word for days; 日 is more formal/written: