秋天
qiūtiān/t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
The English word 'autumn' can be translated into Chinese as 秋天 (qiūtiān), 秋季 or чютян.
Meaning: season (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 秋天 | qiūtiān | /t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn²/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 秋季 | qiūjì | /t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /t͡sʰɐu̯⁵⁵ kʷɐi̯³³/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) |
|
| 秋天 | chhiu-thiⁿ | /t͡sʰiu⁴⁴⁻³³ tʰĩ⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Lukang, Yilan, Tainan, Kinmen, Taichung, Philippines, Sinological IPA, Magong, Hsinchu) /t͡sʰiu³³ tʰĩ³³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Lukang, Yilan, Tainan, Kinmen, Taichung, Philippines, Sinological IPA, Magong, Hsinchu) |
Hokkien |
秋天 is the standard, most common noun used in daily conversation to refer to the season of autumn.
Which one should you use?
While 秋天 is the common way to say autumn, 秋季 is a more formal term often used in technical, meteorological or official contexts, such as referring to an 'autumn season'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
чютян is the Dungan form. 秋天 (romanized as chhiu-thiⁿ) is the Hokkien form.
How do you pronounce it?
The Hokkien form 秋天 is pronounced as /tɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/ (chhiu-thiⁿ).
Did you know?
- The Dungan form чютян is written using the Cyrillic alphabet because Dungan is a Mandarin-based language spoken by people in Central Asia who were influenced by Soviet administration.
- In ancient Chinese astrology, the season of autumn is governed by the element of metal.
- The phrase 秋后算账 literally means 'settling accounts after autumn'. It refers to punishing someone after a task is completed or after a specific period of grace has passed.
Examples in context
- 秋天風很大。It's windy in the autumn.The first example shows how to describe the weather during 秋天.Tatoeba #13552181 by LeviHighway, translation #13018365 by Ioan_Cristian
- 秋天是我最喜爱的季节。Autumn is my favorite season.The second example is useful for expressing a personal preference for the season 秋天.Tatoeba #1706499 by sadhen, translation #680303 by Source_VOA
- 雨让秋天的日子阴沉沉的。The rain made the autumn day dismal.The third example illustrates how weather can affect the atmosphere of a day in 秋天.Tatoeba #9484558 by jin1, translation #26942 by sundown
- 19 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are chatting about the weather.
- 志强 Zhiqiang秋天快到了。qiūtiān kuài dào le.Autumn is coming soon.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我很喜歡秋天。wǒ hěn xǐhuān qiūtiān.I really like autumn.
- 志强 Zhiqiang秋天的天氣很涼快。qiūtiān de tiānqì hěn liángkuai.The autumn weather is very cool.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen是啊，我也覺得。shì a, wǒ yě juéde.Yes, I think so too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “autumn” translations and entries 秋天, 秋季, 秋天, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
