Ask About Departure Times in Chinese

Asking When the Next Bus or Train Leaves

To find out the departure time, you can ask a simple question. The recording «下一班车几点走？» means 'What time does the next bus/train leave?' This works for both bus and train. If you want to be specific about a bus, use «下一班公交车几点开？», which means 'What time does the next bus leave?' For a train, use «下一班火车几点出发？», meaning 'What time does the next train depart?' Practice saying each question clearly. You can use these questions at a station or bus stop.

Understanding the Answer

When you ask, you may hear a time like «八点半。», which means '8:30.' In a fuller exchange, someone might ask «请问，下一班公交车几点开？» (Excuse me, what time does the next bus leave?) and get the reply «八点半。» (8:30). To make sure you have enough time, you can ask «现在几点？» (What time is it now?) and hear «现在八点二十，还有十分钟。» (It's 8:20 now, ten more minutes). This tells you the current time and how long you have to wait. Listen for the time and the word for minutes.

Putting It Together

Now you can combine the question and answer. Imagine you are at a bus stop. You ask «请问，下一班公交车几点开？» and the staff replies «八点半。». Then you ask «现在几点？» and they say «现在八点二十，还有十分钟。». This gives you the full picture: the bus leaves at 8:30, it is now 8:20, so you have ten minutes. Practice both roles: one person asks, the other answers. Swap roles to get comfortable with both.

Listen once, then say the phrase yourself. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.

Checking available voices…

Read one side aloud, then answer in your own words. The goal is to make the exchange yours.

Common questions