Cantonese time, dates, and telling the time
Telling the time and saying dates in Cantonese follows a few small, regular patterns. Once you know dim2 for o’clock, the words for minutes, and how to count days, weeks, months, and years, you can make plans and talk about when things happen. This guide covers everything a beginner needs.
Telling the time: dim2 點 and dim2 zung1 點鐘
To say the hour, you put the number in front of dim2 點. Adding zung1 鐘 (literally clock) makes it dim2 zung1 點鐘, which sounds a little fuller and is very common for a whole, round hour. To ask the time you use gei2 dim2 幾點, where gei2 幾 means how many.
The hour two o’clock is loeng5 dim2 兩點, not ji6 dim2. Cantonese uses loeng5 兩 (not ji6 二) for counting two of most things, and the clock is no exception. One o’clock stays jat1 dim2 一點. This is the single most common slip for beginners telling the time.
Minutes: 半, 個字, and 個骨
Cantonese has a charming way of reading minutes off an old clock face. bun3 半 is half past. Each number on the dial is one go3 zi6 個字, worth five minutes, so two zi6 is ten past, three zi6 is fifteen past, and so on. A quarter has its own word, go3 gwat1 個骨, borrowed from the English word quarter.
| Word | Meaning | Example reading |
|---|---|---|
| bun3 半 | Half past | saam1 dim2 bun3 三點半 (3:30) |
| go3 zi6 個字 | A five minute block on the dial | saam1 dim2 saam1 go3 zi6 三點三個字 (3:15) |
| go3 gwat1 個骨 | A quarter | saam1 dim2 jat1 go3 gwat1 三點一個骨 (3:15) |
Days of the week: 星期
The days are wonderfully regular. Start with sing1 kei4 星期 (week) and add the number for Monday through Saturday. Monday is day one, right through to Saturday as day six. Sunday breaks the pattern: it is sing1 kei4 jat6 星期日, using jat6 日 (sun, day) rather than a number.
So the full week runs like this:
- sing1 kei4 jat1 星期一 Monday
- sing1 kei4 ji6 星期二 Tuesday
- sing1 kei4 saam1 星期三 Wednesday
- sing1 kei4 sei3 星期四 Thursday
- sing1 kei4 ng5 星期五 Friday
- sing1 kei4 luk6 星期六 Saturday
- sing1 kei4 jat6 星期日 Sunday
Months and dates: 月 and 號
Months are simply the number plus jyut6 月 (month). January is jat1 jyut6 一月, February is ji6 jyut6 二月, and so on up to December, sap6 ji6 jyut6 十二月. Dates use the number plus hou6 號 (day of the month). To give a full date, you say the month first, then the date, the same order you would write it.
Relative days: 今日 聽日 琴日 前日 後日
For talking about days near now, Cantonese has a tidy set of words. gam1 jat6 今日 is today, ting1 jat6 聽日 is tomorrow, and kam4 jat6 琴日 is yesterday. Going one more step out, cin4 jat6 前日 is the day before yesterday and hau6 jat6 後日 is the day after tomorrow.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cin4 jat6 前日 | The day before yesterday |
| kam4 jat6 琴日 | Yesterday |
| gam1 jat6 今日 | Today |
| ting1 jat6 聽日 | Tomorrow |
| hau6 jat6 後日 | The day after tomorrow |
Years: X年
A year is the number plus nin4 年 (year). For a calendar year you read the digits one by one, then add nin4 年. So 2026 is read as two zero two six, ji6 ling4 ji6 luk6 nin4 二零二六年. To say this year, last year, and next year you use gam1 nin4 今年, gau6 nin4 舊年, and ceot1 nin4 出年.
Common mistakes
Saying ji6 dim2 for two o’clock
Two o’clock is loeng5 dim2 兩點, not ji6 dim2. The clock counts the hour as a quantity, and Cantonese counts two of something with loeng5 兩, not ji6 二. The same goes for two minute blocks: ten past is loeng5 go3 zi6 兩個字, never ji6 go3 zi6.
Confusing 個字 with literal minutes
go3 zi6 個字 does not mean one minute. Each zi6 字 is a number on the clock face, worth five minutes. saam1 go3 zi6 三個字 is fifteen minutes, not three. If you want to say exact minutes off the dial, you can use fan1 分 instead, as in saam1 dim2 sap6 ng5 fan1 三點十五分.
Numbering Sunday like the other days
Sunday is sing1 kei4 jat6 星期日, using jat6 日, not a number. There is no sing1 kei4 cat1 星期七. Only Monday through Saturday take the numbers one through six.
