| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| Do you remember how the character said, |
| "Check-in starts at 3 p.m." |
| 入住下午3点开始。(Rùzhù xiàwǔ sān diǎn kāishǐ.) |
| 入住下午3点开始。(Rùzhù xiàwǔ sān diǎn kāishǐ.) |
| This sentence follows the pattern here: |
| Noun + (从) + [starting time] + 开始 |
| [Noun] + (cóng) + [starting time] + kāishǐ |
| "[Something] starts at [time]" |
| In Chinese, when you want to say when something starts, you can use this pattern, |
| The word 开始 (kāishǐ) means "to start." |
| The word 从 (cóng), meaning "from," is sometimes added before the time to emphasize the starting point, but it's optional in simple sentences. |
| Let's see how the line from the dialogue uses the pattern. |
| 入住下午3点开始。(Rùzhù xiàwǔ sān diǎn kāishǐ.) |
| "Check-in starts at 3 p.m." |
| First, we see the noun 入住 (rùzhù), meaning "check-in," |
| 下午3点 (xiàwǔ sān diǎn) is "3 p.m." |
| Finally, we see 开始 (kāishǐ), which means "to start." |
| The word 从 (cóng), meaning "from," is often included when talking about a range or when emphasis is needed, but it's optional in this pattern when the starting time is directly stated. |
| So, 入住下午3点开始 means "Check-in starts at 3 p.m." |
| Now you know how to talk about hotel policies, business hours, and event times in everyday situations in Chinese. |
| In Chinese, the word 到 (dào) is used to express "to" or "until" when talking about time. |
| It shows the end of a time period. |
| S, if you want to say how long something lasts or when it ends, just use 到 before the time. |
| For example, with this pattern: |
| 从 + [starting time] + 到 + [ending time] |
| cóng + [starting time] + dào + [ending time] |
| Meaning: |
| "From [starting time] to [ending time]" |
| It's a simple word, but very useful when talking about schedules and opening hours. |
| Now, let's look at some speaking examples. |
| 我从早上9点到下午5点工作。(Wǒ cóng zǎoshang jiǔ diǎn dào xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn gōngzuò.) |
| "I work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m." |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| 我 (wǒ) — "I" |
| 从 (cóng) — "from" |
| 早上9点 (zǎoshang jiǔ diǎn) — "9 a.m." |
| 到 (dào) — "to" (used for time ranges) |
| 下午5点 (xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn) — "5 p.m." |
| 工作 (gōngzuò) — "work" |
| This sentence doesn't use the verb 开始, but it still shows how to express a time range starting from a specific point, just like the hotel check-in sentence. You can think of it as a variation of the same time structure. |
| Here's another example |
| 电影从中午12点开始。(Diànyǐng cóng zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn kāishǐ.) |
| "The movie starts at 12 noon." |
| 电影从中午12点开始。(Diànyǐng cóng zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn kāishǐ.) |
| "The movie starts at 12 noon." |
| Let's try one more, |
| 早餐服务从早上6点半开始。(Zǎocān fúwù cóng zǎoshang liù diǎn bàn kāishǐ.) |
| "Breakfast service starts at 6:30 a.m." |
| 早餐服务从早上6点半开始。(Zǎocān fúwù cóng zǎoshang liù diǎn bàn kāishǐ.) |
| "Breakfast service starts at 6:30 a.m." |
| Another one. |
| 这个派对从7点到11点。(Zhège pàiduì cóng qī diǎn dào shíyī diǎn.) |
| "This party is from 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock." |
| 这个派对从7点到11点。(Zhège pàiduì cóng qī diǎn dào shíyī diǎn.) |
| "This party is from 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock." |
| One last example. |
| 这个超市开门到10点。(Zhège chāoshì kāimén dào shí diǎn.) |
| "This supermarket opens until 10 o'clock." |
| 这个超市开门到10点。(Zhège chāoshì kāimén dào shí diǎn.) |
| "This supermarket opens until 10 o'clock." |
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