Making Plans in Chinese — Time, Place and Delays

State the time and the place separately, and confirm both before you hang up. Chinese does not need a long preamble to arrange something — a clear proposal is polite as well as useful, and most misfires come from an unconfirmed meeting point rather than from grammar.

Proposing a time

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
我们几点见？	Wǒmen jǐ diǎn jiàn?	What time shall we meet?
你什么时候有空？	Nǐ shénme shíhou yǒu kòng?	When are you free?
三点怎么样？	Sān diǎn zěnmeyàng?	How about three o’clock?
明天下午可以吗？	Míngtiān xiàwǔ kěyǐ ma?	Would tomorrow afternoon work?
我那天有事。	Wǒ nà tiān yǒu shì.	I have something on that day.

有空 (yǒu kòng) is “to have free time” — note the reading kòng, not kōng. Its opposite in practice is 有事 (yǒu shì), “to have something on”, which is the normal, complete reason for declining; you are not expected to say what the thing is.

…怎么样？ (… zěnmeyàng?) turns any proposal into a question: 三点怎么样？ (Sān diǎn zěnmeyàng?), 周六怎么样？ (Zhōuliù zěnmeyàng?). It invites a counter-proposal more openly than 可以吗？ (kěyǐ ma?), which pushes toward yes or no.

Time expressions run from the largest unit to the smallest: 明天下午三点 (míngtiān xiàwǔ sān diǎn) is “tomorrow, afternoon, three o’clock” in that order, and they go before the verb, not after it — 我们明天下午三点见 (Wǒmen míngtiān xiàwǔ sān diǎn jiàn).

Fixing the place

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
在哪里见？	Zài nǎlǐ jiàn?	Where shall we meet?
在地铁站出口见。	Zài dìtiězhàn chūkǒu jiàn.	Let us meet at the subway exit.
我们在入口见。	Wǒmen zài rùkǒu jiàn.	Let us meet at the entrance.
我把位置发给你。	Wǒ bǎ wèizhi fā gěi nǐ.	I will send you the location.

Name a landmark, not just a building. Large stations have several exits and shopping centers have several entrances, so 出口 (chūkǒu) or 入口 (rùkǒu) plus a number or a shop name saves the ten minutes usually lost to standing in the wrong place. When in doubt, 我把位置发给你 (Wǒ bǎ wèizhi fā gěi nǐ) — sending a map pin settles it.

Conversation: agree a time and a meeting point

Friend: 我们几点见？
(Wǒmen jǐ diǎn jiàn?)
Learner: 三点怎么样？在地铁站出口见。
(Sān diǎn zěnmeyàng? Zài dìtiězhàn chūkǒu jiàn.)
Friend: 好，哪个出口？
(Hǎo, nǎge chūkǒu?)
Learner: B出口，我把位置发给你。
(B chūkǒu, wǒ bǎ wèizhi fā gěi nǐ.)

Changing or cancelling

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
我想改一下时间。	Wǒ xiǎng gǎi yíxià shíjiān.	I would like to change the time.
可以改到四点吗？	Kěyǐ gǎi dào sì diǎn ma?	Could we move it to four?
今天恐怕去不了了。	Jīntiān kǒngpà qù bu liǎo le.	I am afraid I cannot make it today.
我们改天再约。	Wǒmen gǎitiān zài yuē.	Let us arrange another day.

去不了 (qù bu liǎo) is the potential form of 去 (qù): “cannot manage to go”, as opposed to 不去 (bú qù), “am not going”. The first reports an obstacle, the second a choice — a distinction worth getting right when you cancel on someone.

改天再约 (gǎitiān zài yuē) is the standard way to keep the plan alive without naming a date on the spot. If you do mean it, propose the new day in the same message; otherwise it is heard, correctly, as a soft close.

Running late

Learner: 对不起，我会晚十分钟。
(Duìbuqǐ, wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng.)
Friend: 没关系，你到了告诉我。
(Méi guānxi, nǐ dào le gàosu wǒ.)
Learner: 好，我大概三点十分到。
(Hǎo, wǒ dàgài sān diǎn shí fēn dào.)

Give a number, not 马上到 (mǎshàng dào, “almost there”). 晚十分钟 (wǎn shí fēnzhōng) and 三点十分到 (sān diǎn shí fēn dào) both let the other person decide what to do with the gap; a vague reassurance does not.

你到了告诉我 (nǐ dào le gàosu wǒ), “tell me when you arrive”, shows the pattern for “when A, then B”: the completed clause with 了 (le) comes first, with no word for “when” at all.

Confirm the details that prevent confusion

Before ending a plan, say the time, the exact meeting point, and what happens if either of you is late. 那我们三点在B出口见 (Nà wǒmen sān diǎn zài B chūkǒu jiàn) takes two seconds and is far better than assuming you both heard the same thing. For appointments made by phone with a business rather than a friend, calls and bookings has the register you need.

Takeaway

Time expressions go before the verb, largest unit first: 明天下午三点 (míngtiān xiàwǔ sān diǎn).
有空 (yǒu kòng) asks, 有事 (yǒu shì) declines — and needs no further explanation.
Name an exit or entrance, and send a map pin when it matters.
When late, give a number of minutes or an arrival time, never 马上到 (mǎshàng dào).

Related: everyday conversation for making the invitation, calls and bookings for changing it later, and Chinese numbers for hearing times and dates reliably.

By the end of this chapter, you can say

我在入口等你。我会晚十分钟。 (Wǒ zài rùkǒu děng nǐ. Wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng.)

Practical note for this chapter

Keep a daily exchange moving: small talk, plans, messages, shopping and visits. In this chapter, practice giving a short response and then checking what matters.

Use it in context

A: 你在哪里等我？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ děng wǒ?)
B: 我在入口等你。我会晚十分钟。 (Wǒ zài rùkǒu děng nǐ. Wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng.)

Phrase map for this chapter

Question or situation: 你在哪里等我？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ děng wǒ?)
Central response: 我在入口等你。我会晚十分钟。 (Wǒ zài rùkǒu děng nǐ. Wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng.)
Another natural way to say it: 我会晚十分钟，到了一定告诉你。 (Wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng, dào le yídìng gàosu nǐ.); Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.
How to use it: Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

Turn the model into three conversation turns

1. Open the situation你在哪里等我？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ děng wǒ?)
2. Say the central response我在入口等你。我会晚十分钟。 (Wǒ zài rùkǒu děng nǐ. Wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng.)
3. Add an alternative我会晚十分钟，到了一定告诉你。 (Wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng, dào le yídìng gàosu nǐ.)

Before acting, check the point most likely to cause a misunderstanding. This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

A useful variation

Keep the same purpose, then change the person, time or place to make it your own.

我会晚十分钟，到了一定告诉你。 (Wǒ huì wǎn shí fēnzhōng, dào le yídìng gàosu nǐ.)

Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.

Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

A common trap

For important details, do not decide from what you think you heard; check written information when needed.

约见时要同时确认时间、地点和迟到情况。 (Yuējiàn shí yào tóngshí quèrèn shíjiān, dìdiǎn hé chídào qíngkuàng.)

This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

Three-step practice

Open the situation in one short phrase
Say the central response
Add one detail of your own