How to Say “How long have you been here?” in Chinese
Small talk and travel · HSK 3
"How long have you been here?" in Chinese is 你来这儿多久了？ (Nǐ lái zhèr duō jiǔ le?). The 了 at the end is doing heavy lifting; it signals the situation is still ongoing ('you came and are still here'), which is exactly how English present perfect works. 多久 (duō jiǔ) is colloquial; 多长时间 (duō cháng shí jiān) is slightly more formal and common in northern Mainland.
Primary translation
你来这儿多久了？
Nǐ lái zhèr duō jiǔ le?
Traditional: 你來這兒多久了？
Variants by register
Formal
您来这里多长时间了？
Nín lái zhè lǐ duō cháng shí jiān le?
Casual
你来多久了？
Nǐ lái duō jiǔ le?
When to use it
The 了 at the end is doing heavy lifting; it signals the situation is still ongoing ('you came and are still here'), which is exactly how English present perfect works. 多久 (duō jiǔ) is colloquial; 多长时间 (duō cháng shí jiān) is slightly more formal and common in northern Mainland. Taiwanese speakers tend to say 这里 (zhè lǐ) rather than 这儿 (zhèr); the -r ending is a Beijing thing. If you're asking about a specific city, swap 这儿 for 北京, 上海, etc.
Example sentences
你来中国多久了？
Nǐ lái zhōng guó duō jiǔ le?
How long have you been in China?
我来这儿三个月了。
Wǒ lái zhèr sān ge yuè le.
I've been here three months.
您在北京多长时间了？
Nín zài běi jīng duō cháng shí jiān le?
How long have you been in Beijing?