How do I say 'when'?

什么时候 is conceptually simple but its position in the sentence follows strict rules that English does not share. In Chinese, time expressions come before the verb — 你什么时候去？(literally “you when go?”) not 你去什么时候？. Getting this right is one of the fastest ways to sound less translated.

For clock-time precision, switch to 几点: 几点开始？(“what time does it start?”). For day-level precision, 哪天: 你哪天走？(“which day are you leaving?”). 什么时候 covers both and is the safe default when you are unsure which level of precision is needed.

In casual speech, 啥时候 (shá shíhou) replaces 什么 with the northern colloquial 啥 — same meaning, more casual texture. Common in text messages and everyday conversation north of the Yangtze.