When talking about time in Chinese, you will often find it is much more descriptive than in English. For example, rather than having a single word for midnight, Chinese offers us a choice of two. They are 半夜 (bànyè) and 午夜 (wǔyè). Both mean midnight. So what's the difference?
午夜 (wǔyè) refers to 12:00 am exactly, a specific point in time. However, 半夜 (bànyè) is more often used to refer to the period of time in the middle of the night. This is commonly any time from 10:00 pm until 2:00 am or 3:00 am. Therefore, it is important to remember when choosing between these words, that it is a question of general time versus a precise moment.
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O que aprender depois
Pré-requisitos
Aprenda a seguir
Avançado
Memorize
Mnemônico
Think of 'half night'. 半 (bàn) means half, and 夜 (yè) means night. So, 半夜 is literally 'halfway through the night' or midnight.
Associação visual
Imagine a clock. When the big hand is pointing up at 12, it's the 'half' point of the night, as in the middle of it. So, 半夜 is midnight.
Word Web
Desafio
Try to say what you do at midnight. For example, '我半夜睡觉' (Wǒ bànyè shuìjiào - I sleep at midnight) or '我半夜看书' (Wǒ bànyè kànshū - I read at midnight).
Teste-se 12 perguntas
她___睡觉了。(Tā ___ shuìjiào le.) She went to sleep at midnight.
The sentence indicates someone went to sleep very late, which matches 'midnight'.
我们___见面。(Wǒmen ___ jiànmiàn.) We meet at midnight.
'半夜' means midnight, which fits the context of meeting at a specific time.
他工作到___。(Tā gōngzuò dào ___.) He worked until midnight.
Working until a very late hour is best described by 'midnight'.
___的时候，我很困。(___ de shíhou, wǒ hěn kùn.) At midnight, I was very sleepy.
Being very sleepy at midnight is a common occurrence.
商店___关门。(Shāngdiàn ___ guānmén.) The store closes at midnight.
Some stores stay open until midnight, which fits the context.
___了，我们回家吧。(___ le, wǒmen huíjiā ba.) It's midnight, let's go home.
When it's midnight, it's common to suggest going home.
她常常工作到___，非常辛苦。
The sentence describes working late and being tired, so 'midnight' fits the context best.
外面传来奇怪的声音，原来是猫在___叫。
Strange sounds at night often happen at 'midnight'.
由于时差，我总是___睡不着。
Jet lag usually affects sleep during the 'midnight' hours.
我们讨论方案一直到___，才得出结论。
Discussing a plan until a conclusion is reached often implies working late into the 'midnight' hours.
那家店的开门时间是___，通常人不多。
A store opening at 'midnight' would typically not have many customers.
我发现他___还在网上看电影。
Watching movies online late at night is typically done around 'midnight'.
/ 12 correct
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