Mandarin Minutes

Are you busy? Are you free? Do you have time?  This question is different from “Do you have the time?” which is really just a way to say “What time is it?”. In Mandarin, if you wish to make an appointment with someone, just ask:

nǐ yǒu méi yǒu shí jiān = 你有没有时间 = Do you have time?

To ask about a specific time, such as “tomorrow” or “tomorrow afternoon” or “tomorrow at 2 pm” (saying “pm” as “in the afternoon”), insert the time period after the first word “nǐ “.

For example:

nǐ míng tiān xià wǔ yǒu méi yǒu shí jiān = 你明天下午有没有时间 = Do you have time tomorrow afternoon?

míng tiān = 明天 = tomorrow

xià wǔ = 下午 = afternoon

míng tiān xià wǔ  = 明天下午 = tomorrow afternoon