Beginner Level 初级 (chūjí)
The correct answer to this test is A.
Analysis:
A: 七点十分 (qīdiǎn shífēn) means 7:10 – ten past seven.
B: 七点 (qīdiǎn) means 7:00 – seven o’clock.
C: 七点半 (qīdiǎnbàn) means 7:30 – half past seven.
The ways of telling the time:
In Chinese, referring to time, when the minutes are inferior or equal to ten, one must say “分” or directly say “零 …;” when the minutes are superior to ten, “分” can be omitted or not.
The ways of telling the time can be classified as follows:
1. 7:00 七点 (qīdiǎn) seven o’clock
“点 (diǎn)” means “o’clock” or “the hour of.”
2. 7:05 七点五分/七点零五（分）(qīdiǎn wǔfēn/qīdiǎn língwǔ (fēn)) five past seven
“分 (fēn)” means minute. “零 (líng)” means zero.
3. 7:15 七点十五分 (qīdiǎn shíwǔfēn) a quarter past seven
“十五分 (shíwǔfēn)” means fifteen minutes.
4. 7:30 七点半 (qīdiǎnbàn) half past seven
“七点 (qīdiǎn)” means seven o’clock and “半 (bàn)” means half.
5. 7:55 七点五十五/差五分八点 (qīdiǎn wǔshíwǔ/chà wǔfēn bādiǎn) five to eight
“差 (chà)” means lack.
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Can you also say “yi ke” for :15 minutes past? Thanks!
Got it! Thanks a lot again for heilpng me out!
Hi
Yes, you can say “一刻(yíkè)” for “15 minutes,” for example, 八点一刻: a quarter past eight.
I have learned some Mandarin through free online Mandarin lessons. I guessed the answer was A. And I think “分 (fēn)” is “minute(s).” Am I right?
Yes. In chinese, “点 (diǎn)” means “the hour of,” “分 (fēn)” means “minute(s),”
“秒(miǎo)” means “second (s).”
From some free online Mandarin material, I know that “点 (diǎn)” means more than just “the hour” in Chinese but is also a marker for decimal points.