You're telling a friend about your habits — what you like to do while eating, what you did as a kid, what helps when you're bored. In English, "when" can go almost anywhere in a sentence. In Mandarin, the time clause has a fixed home: before the main action, never at the end.
The pattern 的时候 (de shíhou) means "when" or "while" and attaches to a verb or clause to form a time clause. The structure is: Verb/Clause + 的时候 + Main Clause. The key rule — this time clause always comes before the main action.
Example: 我吃饭的时候喜欢听音乐 (wǒ chī fàn de shí hòu xǐ huan tīng yīn yuè) — "When I eat, I like to listen to music."
Here, 吃饭 (chī fàn, "eat") is the action that 的时候 attaches to, and 喜欢听音乐 (xǐ huan tīng yīn yuè, "like to listen to music") is the main clause that follows.
This is a live conversation lesson: you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin in real time, by voice. In roughly 10 minutes, you'll practice forming sentences with 的时候 (de shíhou) in natural conversation — describing what you enjoy when you eat, what you did when you were young, or what you do when you feel bored. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation as you talk and adapts to your level.
The first lesson is free to try.
You can also reinforce what you learn with the free printable Chinese worksheet generator, which offers ready-made packs covering HSK 1–3 words.
Ready for more HSK 3 grammar? Visit the HSK 3 lessons hub page for the full list. You might also enjoy another HSK 3 live lesson on saying how long an action lasts or a lesson on 被 (bèi) for basic passive voice.
的时候 (de shíhou) means "when" or "while." You place it after a verb or clause to create a time clause, then follow with the main action. For example, 我吃饭的时候喜欢听音乐 means "When I eat, I like to listen to music." The time clause always comes before the main clause.
In Mandarin, the time clause formed with 的时候 (de shíhou) always goes before the main clause — never at the end of the sentence. This differs from English, where "when I eat" can appear after the main action. In the "Talking About When" pattern, the structure is: Verb/Clause + 的时候 + Main Clause.
In this 10-minute live conversation lesson, you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin. She asks you to describe what you do during specific moments — eating, feeling bored, things you did when young — using 的时候 (de shíhou). She corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level.
Yes, this lesson targets HSK 3 learners and focuses on one specific grammar pattern: 的时候 (de shíhou) for "When/While" Time Clauses. You can try the first lesson free, and the HSK 3 lessons hub page lists additional live conversation lessons covering other grammar points.