Chinese Conversation · Level 25
90 words
Chinese word
刻
Pronunciation
Pinyinkè
Meaning
- nounquarter
Example
现在是三点一刻。xiàn zài shì sān diǎn yí kè
It is a quarter past three now.
More examples
火车还有一刻到站。huǒ chē hái yǒu yí kè dào zhàn
The train will arrive at the station in fifteen minutes.
Core concept
A notch in the flow of time: one standard quarter of an hour or a short span that passes quickly.
Common phrases
一刻钟yí kè zhōng
quarter of an hour
三点一刻sān diǎn yí kè
three fifteen
还有一刻hái yǒu yí kè
have fifteen minutes left
Similar words
一刻yí kè: A quarter of an hour used to state a time or duration.
半小时bàn xiǎo shí: A half-hour period lasting thirty minutes.
分fēn: A single minute used as a unit of time.
Definition in Chinese
指钟表或时间的分段单位，通常指十五分钟，也可用于表示短促的瞬间或一段时间。zhǐ zhōng biǎo huò shí jiān de fēn duàn dān wèi tōng cháng zhǐ shí wǔ fēn zhōng yě kě yòng yú biǎo shì duǎn cù de shùn jiān huò yí duàn shí jiān
Word origin
刻 (kè, "to carve") connects a physical mark with a marked point in time, so the word came to name a measured time interval.
Usage tips
- In clock expressions, 点 (diǎn, "hour") names the hour and 刻 (kè, "quarter-hour") counts fifteen-minute steps after it, so the number before it shows which step has arrived.
Other meanings
- timenoun
- momentnoun