How to Say “It is dinner time” in Chinese
Time and dates · HSK 2
"It is dinner time" in Chinese is 该吃晚饭了 (gāi chī wǎn fàn le). 该…了 (gāi..
Primary translation
该吃晚饭了
gāi chī wǎn fàn le
Traditional: 該吃晚飯了
Variants by register
Formal
到晚饭时间了
dào wǎn fàn shí jiān le
Casual
开饭啦！
kāi fàn la
When to use it
该…了 (gāi...le) is the idiomatic way to say 'it's time to…'; literally 'should [do X] already.' 该吃晚饭了 is what a parent shouts up the stairs or what a host says to pull guests to the table. 开饭啦! ('food's ready!') is the cheerful household version, often with the particle 啦 (la) adding warmth. In China, dinner (晚饭 or 晚餐) is typically eaten earlier than Western schedules; 6–7 PM is common; and it's the family meal, even more so than lunch. Note that 晚饭 is everyday, while 晚餐 (wǎncān) feels slightly more formal and often appears on menus and hotel signs.
Example sentences
孩子们，该吃晚饭了，快下来！
Háizimen, gāi chī wǎnfàn le, kuài xiàlái!
Kids, it's dinner time, come down quickly!
开饭啦，大家上桌吧。
Kāifàn la, dàjiā shàng zhuō ba.
Food's ready, everyone come to the table.
已经七点了，到晚饭时间了。
Yǐjīng qī diǎn le, dào wǎnfàn shíjiān le.
It's already seven, it's dinner time.