小时

小時

xiǎoshí

noun HSK 1 #302

Meanings

Literally 'small time' — the smaller unit of time (compared to 大时 which was the traditional Chinese double-hour).

我每天学习两个小时。

Wǒ měitiān xuéxí liǎng gè xiǎoshí.

I study for two hours every day.

从这里到机场要一个小时。

Cóng zhèlǐ dào jīchǎng yào yí ge xiǎoshí.

It takes one hour from here to the airport.

history

Traditional Chinese time was divided into 12 double-hours (时辰). When Western clocks arrived, the new shorter hour was called 小时 (small hour).

grammar

Always use 个 as the measure word: 一个小时, 两个小时, 三个小时.

小 xiǎo

时 shí