How to Say “How long does it take?” in Chinese
Getting around · HSK 3
"How long does it take?" in Chinese is 要多长时间？ (Yào duō cháng shíjiān?). 多久 (duō jiǔ) is the most natural everyday version; taxi drivers, Didi drivers, and friends will all use this. 多长时间 is slightly more formal and what you'll hear in announcements or written directions.
Primary translation
要多长时间？
Yào duō cháng shíjiān?
Traditional: 要多長時間？
Variants by register
Formal
请问需要多长时间？
Qǐngwèn xūyào duō cháng shíjiān?
Casual
要多久？
Yào duō jiǔ?
When to use it
多久 (duō jiǔ) is the most natural everyday version; taxi drivers, Didi drivers, and friends will all use this. 多长时间 is slightly more formal and what you'll hear in announcements or written directions. The pattern 多 + adjective ('how + adj') is huge in Chinese: 多远 (how far), 多贵 (how expensive), 多大 (how old/big). In China, travel time estimates are usually given in minutes even for longish trips; someone will happily say 四十分钟 rather than switching to hours. For train journeys, use 小时 (xiǎoshí).
Example sentences
师傅，到机场要多久？
Shīfu, dào jīchǎng yào duō jiǔ?
Driver, how long to the airport?
高铁到上海要几个小时？
Gāotiě dào Shànghǎi yào jǐ gè xiǎoshí?
How many hours does the bullet train to Shanghai take?
走路去的话大概二十分钟。
Zǒulù qù dehuà dàgài èrshí fēnzhōng.
If you walk, it's about twenty minutes.