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時候

简时候 · 繁時候

Mandarin · pinyin shí hou

time
length of time
moment
period

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Characters in this entry

時: shí · time, season; era, age, period
候: hòu · wait; expect; visit; greet
时: shí · time, season; era, age, period

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–5 · shi2 hou5

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

時候 · find source passages ↗ · 时候 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

si4 hau6

Cantonese word readings for 時候. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

period of time
a point in time
(Classical) season and climate

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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