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什麼時候

简什么时候 · 繁什麼時候

Mandarin · pinyin shén me shí hou

when?; at what time?

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Characters in this entry

什: shén · file of ten soldiers; mixed, miscellaneous
麼: me · interrogative final particle; insignificant, small, tiny
時: shí · time, season; era, age, period
候: hòu · wait; expect; visit; greet
么: me · interrogative particle; small
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

2–5–2–5 · shen2 me5 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.

什麼時候 · find source passages ↗ · 什么时候 · find source passages ↗

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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.

adv

when; what time

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

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