请问 Excuse Me in Chinese

今天jīntiān早上zǎoshang，我wǒ在zài外面wàimiàn，看见kànjiàn一个yí ge老师lǎoshī。

This morning, I'm outside, and I see a teacher.

我wǒ说shuō：“老师lǎoshī，请问qǐngwèn，现在xiànzài几点jǐ diǎn？”

I say, "Teacher, excuse me, what time is it now?"

老师lǎoshī说shuō：“现在xiànzài七点qī diǎn。”

The teacher says, "It's seven o'clock now."

我wǒ说shuō：“谢谢xièxie！”

I say, "Thank you!"

现在xiànzài，我wǒ去qù学校xuéxiào了le。

Now, I go to school.

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

请问qǐngwènexcuse me; may I ask

看见kànjiànto see

老师lǎoshīteacher

现在xiànzàinow

几点jǐ diǎnwhat time

谢谢xièxiethank you

请问 — polite way to open a question

Say 请问 before asking a stranger something; it politely gets their attention first, like "Excuse me, ..."

请问，现在几点？— Excuse me, what time is it now?

几点 — asking what time it is

几点 asks for a clock time; put it right after 现在 to ask "what time is it now?"

现在几点？— What time is it now?

number + 点 — telling time

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

现在七点。— It's seven o'clock now.

1. What does 请问 mean before asking a question?

2. What time does the teacher say it is?

3. What does the narrator do after thanking the teacher?

After this reading

I'm Fei, and I teach Mandarin one-on-one on Preply. Bring this text to a trial lesson — we'll fix your tones and turn it into a real conversation.