小时 (xiǎo shí) — hour in Mandarin
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#398 most common word · HSK 2 · CEFR A2
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
小时 is pronounced xiǎo shí. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
Yī xiǎo shí yǒu liù shí fēn zhōng.
One hour has sixty minutes.
Hear it, then say it right
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Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 小时 mean?+
小时 (xiǎo shí) means "hour" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 小时?+
小时 is pronounced xiǎo shí. It uses the tone 3 (rising/dipping), then the tone 2 (rising). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 小时 in Mandarin?+
小时 is the #398 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Where 小时 fits
Every HSK 2 word with tone-coloured pinyin and audio.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
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