Chinese word

这时

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhè shí

Meaning

  • pronounthen

Example

我走到门口，这时他回来了。wǒ zǒu dào mén kǒu zhè shí tā huí lái le

I walked to the door, and then he came back.

Illustration for 这时 (then)

More examples

他在厨房做饭，这时有人敲门。tā zài chú fáng zuò fàn zhè shí yǒu rén qiāo mén

He was cooking in the kitchen when someone knocked on the door.

Core concept

A pointer to a specific moment in a story, linking one event to what happens around that time.

Common phrases

  • 这时正好zhè shí zhèng hǎo

    right then

  • 这时就zhè shí jiù

    then immediately

Similar words

现在xiàn zài: Refers to the current time or what is happening at the present moment.
那时nà shí: Refers to a time in the past viewed as distant from the speaker or the present story.
刚才gāng cái: Refers to the moment just before now, for an event that happened only a short time ago.
当时dāng shí: Refers to the moment during which a certain event happened or a situation existed.

Definition in Chinese

在叙述中用以标示某一特定时刻，通常与动词连用，前后句常含同时或紧接发生的关系。zài xù shù zhōng yòng yǐ biāo shì mǒu yí tè dìng shí kè tōng cháng yǔ dòng cí lián yòng qián hòu jù cháng hán tóng shí huò jǐn jiē fā shēng de guān xì

Word origin

这 (zhè, "this") + 时 (shí, "time") combine literally as "this time," creating a compact pointer to the moment under discussion.

Usage tips

  • In a story, this word usually connects a new event to a moment already being described, so it is not a general marker for every later step in a sequence.

Other meanings

  • at that momentadverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word