Chinese word

整天

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhěng tiān

Meaning

  • adverball day

Example

我整天都很忙。wǒ zhěng tiān dōu hěn máng

I am very busy all day long.

Illustration for 整天 (all day)

More examples

他整天没休息，终于生病了。tā zhěng tiān méi xiū xī zhōng yú shēng bìng le

He did not rest all day and finally got sick.

Core concept

The entire day forms one long span occupied by an activity or state, whether it continues without a break or keeps recurring.

Common phrases

  • 整天没空zhěng tiān méi kòng

    have no free time all day

  • 整天学习zhěng tiān xué xí

    study all day

Similar words

一直yì zhí: Shows that an activity or state keeps going without a break for a period of time.
总是zǒng shì: Shows that an action or behavior happens repeatedly as a usual pattern.
经常jīng cháng: Shows that an action or event occurs frequently.
一天到晚yì tiān dào wǎn: Shows that an activity or state continues from morning to night for almost the entire day.

Definition in Chinese

表示某人在一天之内整段时间里反复或持续地做某事，常含抱怨或强调的语气。biǎo shì mǒu rén zài yì tiān zhī nèi zhěng duàn shí jiān lǐ fǎn fù huò chí xù dì zuò mǒu shì cháng hán bào yuàn huò qiáng diào de yǔ qì

Word origin

整天 (zhěngtiān, "all day") combines 整 (zhěng, "whole") + 天 (tiān, "day"), turning an entire day into an adverbial time span.

Usage tips

  • English time phrases can cover many days, but this word normally frames the behavior within one day and often adds a note of complaint or emphasis.

Other meanings

  • all the timeadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word