省时 (shěng shí) is a verb meaning 'to save time' — literally 'to reduce time'. The character 省 means 'to save', 'to economize', or 'to omit', and 时 means 'time'. Together, they form a compact, commonly used compound expressing efficiency in time usage. It emphasizes actively cutting down unnecessary time expenditure rather than merely passing time quickly.

This word appears frequently in practical, everyday contexts: productivity advice, work instructions, life hacks, and technology descriptions (e.g., apps or tools designed to streamline tasks). It’s neutral in register — appropriate in both spoken and written Chinese — and often appears in phrases like 省时又省力 (‘saves time and effort’) or as part of verb-object constructions (e.g., 省时的方法). While it can stand alone as a verb, it’s more commonly used attributively (e.g., 省时的方案) or adverbially with 的 or 地.