Reading Prices and Clock Times

Chinese grammar · HSK 1 · 钱数与时刻表达法 · By Carson 木林森 · Updated October 2026

Prices and clock times are read with fixed units. 块 (kuài) is the spoken word for yuan, so 3.50元 is 三块五, and 点 (diǎn) marks the hour, so 三点 is three o'clock.

Clock Times (时刻):
- X点 = X o'clock
- X点Y分 = X:Y (hours and minutes)
- 半 = half past → 两点半 = 2:30
- 差X分Y点 = Y:00 minus X minutes → 差五分八点 = 7:55

Examples:
- 8:00 → 八点
- 10:30 → 十点半
- 2:15 → 两点十五分

Worked examples

Word by word

Each word in this pattern on its own: what it does here, the structure, three more examples, and the mistake to avoid.

块 (kuài)

The spoken word for a yuan, the main unit of Chinese money.

Structure: Number + 块 (+ 钱)

Not: 这杯茶二块。 Say 两块 for two yuan, not 二块。

In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 1, measure words (名量词).

点 (diǎn)

Means 'o'clock' and is the hour in a clock time.

Structure: Number + 点 (+ 半 / number + 分)

Not: 现在二点。 Say 两点 for two o'clock, not 二点。

In the official HSK 3.0 grammar outline: level 1, measure words (时量词).

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Reading Prices and Clock Times across 12 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

What this opens up

These patterns list Reading Prices and Clock Times among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.

• Ordinals and Room/Bus Numbers

Questions about Reading Prices and Clock Times

What does 钱数与时刻表达法 (Reading Prices and Clock Times) mean in Chinese?

Prices and clock times are read with fixed units. 块 (kuài) is the spoken word for yuan, so 3.50元 is 三块五, and 点 (diǎn) marks the hour, so 三点 is three o'clock. It is an HSK 1 grammar point.

How do you use 钱数与时刻表达法 (Reading Prices and Clock Times) in a sentence?

这本书三十块钱。 — Zhè běn shū sān shí kuài qián. — This book costs 30 yuan. Price: Number + 块 + 钱 (optional).

Where does 钱数与时刻表达法 (Reading Prices and Clock Times) come in the HSK sequence?

HSK 1, and none of its prerequisites are grammar points — nothing else on this reference has to come first, so you can start here.

What does 钱数与时刻表达法 (Reading Prices and Clock Times) lead to?

Ordinals and Room/Bus Numbers (HSK 2). Each of them names 钱数与时刻表达法 (Reading Prices and Clock Times) among its own prerequisites.

How do I say 2:30 in Chinese?

Say 两点半, and note that 两, not 二, is used for the hour two. For 5:15 say 五点十五分 or 五点一刻。

How do I say 3.50 yuan out loud?

In speech you say 三块五, leaving off the last unit. In writing or in formal speech it is 三元五角。

Related guides: All 195 grammar points · HSK 1 grammar · How to pass HSK 1 · The HSK levels, explained