---
title: "该…了 in Chinese Grammar: It’s time to …, With Examples"
description: "该…了: it’s time to …. 该…了: it is time for something to happen. 3 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/gai-le"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 该…了

It’s time to …

该…了: it is time for something to happen.

## In stories

玉皇大帝已经坐了那么多年，也**该换我坐坐了**。

[五行山下 · Under the Five-Element Mountain](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/under-the-five-element-mountain-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-8#library-word-155-161) HSK 5

“芒种”提醒人们，**该抓紧时间种地了**。

[二十四节气是什么？ · What are the 24 solar terms?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/what-are-the-24-solar-terms#library-word-489-497) HSK 6

现在**该我了**！”

[紧箍咒 · The Tightening Spell](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-tightening-spell-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-11#library-word-137-140) HSK 3

[Read 五行山下](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/under-the-five-element-mountain-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-8#library-word-155-161)

## More patterns

- [verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long) for … (how long … lasts)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/duration)
- [verb + 了 + verb … briefly; … a little](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-le-v)
- [太 + adjective + 了 so …!](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/tai-le)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [快(要)…了 about to …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/kuai-le)
- [为了…(而)… in order to …, …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/weile-er)

## What does 该…了 mean in Chinese?

It’s time to …. 该…了: it is time for something to happen.

## How common is 该…了?

It comes up in 3 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.