分钟
The English phrase "minutes" is translated into Chinese as 分钟.
分钟 is used to express a duration of time, such as 五分钟 (five minutes) or 二十五分钟 (twenty-five minutes). For a more informal way to say "a quarter of an hour", you can use 一刻钟.
Which one should you use?
分钟 is used specifically to express a duration of time (for example, "five minutes"), while 分 is more commonly used to denote a specific point in time on a clock.
How does it change in a sentence?
Unlike English, the word 分钟 does not change its form to indicate plurality. The number preceding it indicates how many minutes there are.
Did you know?
- If you are talking about 'minutes' in a business meeting, like 'the meeting minutes', you would not use 分钟 at all, but rather 会议记录.
- The term 一刻钟 for fifteen minutes comes from the ancient practice of using a water clock. A 'ke' 刻 was the interval marked by a specific notch or carve on the vessel.
- The character 钟 in 分钟 originally referred to a bell or a heavy clock, grounding the concept of minutes in the sound of a striking bell.
Examples in context
- 再等十分钟！Wait ten more minutes!This sentence is useful for expressing a request to wait a certain number of minutes using 分钟.Tatoeba #9992081 by GlossaMatik, translation #13187529 by atitarev
- 再给我五分钟。Give me five more minutes.This sentence is useful for asking for a specific amount of time using 分钟.Tatoeba #5613717 by verdastelo9604, translation #3822409 by CK
- 我还要等五分钟。I'll wait another five minutes.This sentence is useful for stating how much longer you will wait using 分钟.Tatoeba #504639 by GlossaMatik, translation #31688 by CK
- 今天的会议将在三十分钟后开始。The meeting today will start in thirty minutes.
- 会议预计持续两个小时零十五分钟。The meeting is expected to last two hours and fifteen minutes.
- 我们还有五分钟到达目的地。We will reach our destination in five minutes.
- 我需要再等一刻钟。I need to wait for another quarter of an hour.
- 他只休息了十五分钟。He rested for only fifteen minutes.
- 66 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are waiting for a bus.
- 浩然 Haoran还有几分钟才到？Hái yǒu jǐ fēnzhōng cái dào?How many minutes until it arrives?
- 梓涵 Zihan看起来还有十分钟。Kàn qǐlái hái yǒu shí fēnzhōng.It looks like there are ten minutes left.
- 浩然 Haoran梓涵，那我们先走走吧。Zǐhán, nà wǒmen xiān zǒuzǒu ba.Zihan, let's take a walk then.
- 梓涵 Zihan好啊，浩然。Hǎo a, Hàorán.Okay, Haoran.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
