150: Expressing time in Chinese

Tadeusz asks: "Do Chinese concepts of time differ from English?"

In this episode:

In this episode, I'm joined by Chris Parker. We discuss...

How to express time in Chinese Potential confusion with English Similarities in Cantonese and Japanese Language Examples:

Before and after, not really front and behind

5 years ago - 5年以前 = 5 years before (not really front)

5 years time - 5年以后 = 5 years after (not really behind) (trad chars = 五年以後）

前 = before or in front 后 = after + behind 上个星期 last week (upper week) （上個星期 trad chars) 这个星期 this week （這個星期 trad chars） 下个星期 next week (lower week) （下個星期 trad chars)

(for weeks and months)

For series of books or films etc:

上 the one on the top - part 1 (中) the one in the middle - part 2 下 the one on the bottom - part 3

or 上 first part 下 second part

上下 approximately (upper + lower) 左右 approximately (left + right) 前年 - the year before last (before year) 去年 - last year (gone/left year) 今年 - this year 明年 - next year 后年 - the year after next (year after) trad=後面 Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Fluent In Mandarin - Chris Parker's awesome website about learning Chinese Start speaking today

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