thời gian
[tʰəːj˨˩ zaːn˧˧]
The English word time is translated into Vietnamese as thời gian.
thời gian is used to refer to the measurement of a quantity of time. For example, if you want to talk about minutes, you would use the word phút.
Meaning: measurement of a quantity of time (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term thời gian is a compound of thời (period or season) and gian (interval or space).
Which one should you use?
While thời gian refers to the abstract concept of duration, you should use giờ when asking for the time of day or referring to specific clock hours. Additionally, do not use thời gian when referring to an instance or occurrence, such as 'one time' or 'three times'. Use lần instead for those situations.
Did you know?
- While thời gian is a Sino-Vietnamese word, it shares a direct structural ancestor with the Japanese word for time, jikan.
- Because thời gian is a Sino-Vietnamese compound, it is often used in formal writing, while shorter native words are preferred in casual speech.
Examples in context
- Thời gian đã hết.Time is up.This sentence shows how to say that time is up using thời gian.Tatoeba #6709921 by haoluong, translation #31334 by CK
- Tom có thời gian.Tom has time.This sentence shows how to express that someone has time using thời gian.Tatoeba #13599308 by leucammieuvu, translation #5195199 by AlanF_US
- Nó cần thời gian.It took time.This sentence shows how to say that something took time using thời gian.Tatoeba #13634508 by leucammieuvu, translation #4394839 by CK
- 7 giờ7 o'clock
- 10 giờ sáng10 AM
- 8 giờ tối8 PM
- 9 giờ 30 phút9:30
- 1 giờ 45 phút chiều1:45 PM
- 11 giờ 20 phút sáng11:20 AM
- Bây giờ mấy giờ rồi?What time is it now?
- Có xem đồng hồ chưa?Have you checked the time yet?
- 145 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mai and Minh are discussing a project deadline.
- MaiChúng ta không còn nhiều thời gian.We don't have much time left.
- MinhTôi sẽ cố gắng làm nhanh hơn.I will try to work faster.
- MaiBạn cần bao nhiêu thời gian nữa?How much more time do you need?
- MinhCho tôi thêm một tiếng nữa nhé.Give me one more hour, please.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry thời gian, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gian, thời, thời gian, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
