💡Choom Guide | Learn Time Words in Chinese: From Now to Next Year (今天/明天/后天…)

✨ Let’s Begin

Have you ever wanted to say “today,” “tomorrow,” or “every weekend” in Chinese?

Good news — Chinese time words are actually super simple! 🎉
You don’t need to memorize tricky grammar or word order rules.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

🕐 How to say time expressions like “now,” “next week,” and “every year”
🧠 The easiest rule to place time in a sentence

Let’s get started — it’s time to talk about… time! 😉⏰


⏰Key Time Words

✅ Basic Time Words

现在 (xiànzài) — now

最近 (zuìjìn) — recently

刚才 (gāngcái) — just now / earlier

☀️ Time of Day

早上 (zǎoshang) — morning

中午 (zhōngwǔ) — noon

晚上 (wǎnshang) — evening

凌晨 (língchén) — early morning

上午 (shàngwǔ) — a.m.

下午 (xiàwǔ) — p.m.

📅 Days

前天 (qiántiān) — the day before yesterday

昨天 (zuótiān) — yesterday

今天 (jīntiān) — today

明天 (míngtiān) — tomorrow

后天 (hòutiān) — the day after tomorrow

📅 Years

前年 (qiánnián) — the year before last

去年 (qùnián) — last year

今年 (jīnnián) — this year

明年 (míngnián) — next year

后年 (hòunián) — the year after next

📆 Week Patterns

上个星期 (shàng ge xīngqī) — last week

这个星期 (zhè ge xīngqī) — this week

下个星期 (xià ge xīngqī) — next week

📆 Month Patterns

上个月 (shàng ge yuè) — last month

这个月 (zhè ge yuè) — this month

下个月 (xià ge yuè) — next month

🔁 Frequency Words

上次 (shàngcì) — last time

这次 (zhècì) — this time

下次 (xiàcì) — next time

每次 (měicì) — every time

每天 (měitiān) — every day

每个星期 (měi ge xīngqī) — every week

每个月 (měi ge yuè) — every month

每年 (měinián) — every year


🧠 Pro Tip

In Chinese, time words can come before or after the subject — both are totally fine!

✅ (Time) + Subject + Verb
✅ Subject + (Time) + Verb

明天我去北京。 → Tomorrow I’m going to Beijing.
我明天去北京。 → I’m going to Beijing tomorrow.

👉 The key is: just make sure the subject is clear.
Time can go before or after it — no problem!

And the best part?
You don’t need prepositions like “on,” “in,” or “at”! 🙌
Just the word. That’s it.😉🎉


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