How to say first, then and when in Chinese

…的时候 — whenHSK 1

How do you say "when" or "while" in Chinese?

Put 的时候 after a phrase to mean 'when / while …': 天气冷的时候 = when the weather is cold.

天气冷的时候，我爱喝热茶。 — When the weather is cold, I love drinking hot tea.

Seen in 我的杯子看电影一起做饭教室里 +3

number + 点 — telling timeHSK 1

How do you tell the time in Chinese?

To say a specific hour, put a number directly before 点.

现在七点。— It's seven o'clock now.

Seen in 请问我的一天

一…就… — as soon as…, then…HSK 2

一 + V1，就 + V2 shows the second action happens right after the first.

我一听，马上就起床了。 — As soon as I heard that, I got up right away.

Seen in 已经十点了追剧遥远的朋友火锅与朋友 +3

从 A 到 B — from A to BHSK 2

Works for both time and place: 从九点到十一点 (from 9 to 11), 从北京到上海 (from Beijing to Shanghai).

我们从九点玩儿到十一点。 — We play from nine to eleven.

Seen in 我爱运动我累了卖西瓜的人功夫电影

…以后，就… — after …, right awayHSK 2

以后 follows the first action (听了以后 = after hearing), and 就 before the second verb shows it happened immediately.

他听了以后，就不看手机了。 — After hearing that, he stopped looking at his phone.

Seen in 别玩手机了银行开户

从…开始 — starting from…HSK 2

从 + time + 开始 marks when a new habit or plan begins: 从明天开始, 从今年开始.

从明天开始，我要早点儿起床。— Starting tomorrow, I'll get up a bit earlier.

Seen in 迟到了手表和时间

先……，然后……HSK 3

先…然后… links two actions in order: 'first ..., then ...'. Each part is a full verb phrase, e.g. 先吃饭，然后看书.

我先借了两本别的书，然后把名字写在借书卡上。 — I first borrowed two other books, then wrote my name on the library card.

Seen in 借书刷牙洗脸发烧感冒怎么用 +2

先……再……HSK 3

'First ..., then ...' — states the order of two planned actions.

我们先去宾馆,再去见客人。

Seen in 出差广告的秘密

How to use this page

These 8 patterns all do the same job in Chinese, so they are worth seeing side by side — the differences between them are easier to feel when they are next to each other than when they are spread across six HSK levels. They range from HSK 1–3.

Grammar sticks through reading, not through lists. Each entry links to the reading it was taken from. Skim the page, then go read one of them and come back when a sentence stops making sense.

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