Bhaisaab time kya hua? (Brother, what is the time?)

'What time is the flight?', 'When is the meeting scheduled?', 'Arre bhai aur kitna time lagega?' (oh brother! How much longer will it take?)

'Remember time and tide wait for no one.'

Time is such an essential part of our lives. Even in the most mundane tasks of daily life, such as waking up on time, catching a flight, going to a movie with friends, or rushing to that important interview, the importance of time cannot be underestimated.

If you don't know how to tell time, you can't do anything properly anywhere in the world. Have you ever wondered how to tell the time in Hindi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in India, Fiji, and several other countries?

If you are planning to land in India or to be more specific, any Hindi-speaking state, you will need to learn to tell the time in Hindi and become familiar with time expressions in Hindi.

Telling time in Hindi

We have therefore brought you this Hindi time-telling guide. This guide teaches you how to tell the time in Hindi, as well as how to ask “What time is it?” in Hindi. So, let’s get started:

Time - The two most common words the native speakers use for 'time' are samay (समय) in Hindi and waqt (वक़्त) in Urdu.

For example:

Samay par so jana - 'go to bed on time'. 

Dawa Lene kaa vaqt ho gaya hai - it’s time for your medicine'.

Hour – 'Hour' in Hindi is known as घंटा (ghanta). The plural form, 'hours', can be translated as घंटे (ghante).

O’clock - For the term “o’clock,” the common Hindi word is बजे (baje/ba-jay). For example, if we say, it’s 10 o’clock, then we will say 10 baje hai.

Fun fact - One important thing to remember is that in Hindi, “hours” and “o’clock” are not interchangeable. They actually mean two different things.

Let’s learn the difference with the help of an example sentence.

'Train chaar ghante der se aayegi' - 'the train is late by four hours'

'Train chaar baje aayegi' - 'the train will arrive at four o’clock'

As you can see, the word ghante or hours stands for the duration; the word baje or o’clock refers to the time on the clock.

The Twelve-Hour Clock - The twelve-hour clock is more common in India than the twenty-four-hour clock. Adding to that, Indians don’t typically use the terms a.m. and p.m., but rather the hours are usually described depending upon the phase of the day.

For instance:

4 p.m. would be expressed as “shaam ke chaar baje” (shaam = evening)

7 a.m. would be expressed as “subah ke saat baje”  (subah = morning)

2 p.m. would be expressed as “dopahar ke do baje”  (dopahar = afternoon)

Telling the time in Hindi would be so boring if all we did was use digits!

Minutes and Seconds

“Minute” in Hindi is pronounced as मिनट (minat) and “Second” in Hindi is pronounced as सेकेंड (Sekend).

• If you're dealing with the first half of the hour, then the rule is (the hour) बजकर bajkar +(minutes) मिनट हो गए minat ho gae.

 6.20, will be 6 bajkar 20 minat hue hai.

3.8 will be 3 bajkar 8 minat (8 minutes past 3).

• If you're dealing with the second half of the hour, then the rule is (the coming hour) बजने मेँ bajne mein (number of minutes remaining until the next hour) बाकी हैँ baki hain.

3.56 will be 4 bajne me 4 minat baki hai (4 minutes to 4).

12.55 wil be 1 bajne me 5 minute (five minutes to 1)

Telling time in Hindi: the special cases

Half-past – In Hindi, we use the term साढे (saadhe) for half-past. For example, if the time is 4.30, we use saadhe chaar baje hai. (It’s half past 4).

However, there is an exception to saying 1:30 or 2:30 in Hindi. We use the term डेढ बजे (dedh baje) for 1.30 and ढाई बजे (dhai baje) for 2.30

Quarter to - In Hindi, we use the term पौने (paune) for the quarter to. For example, if the time is 4.45, we use paune paanch baje hai. (It’s quarter to 5).

Quarter past- In Hindi, we use the term सवा (sawa) for quarter past. For example, if the time is 4.15, we use sawa chaar baje hai. (It’s quarter past 4).

Asking for the Time in Hindi 

When setting up the time for a plan, it’s pretty common for us to ask each other “at what time.” Translate in Hindi and it becomes कितने बजे (kitne baje).

Needless to say, it’s one of the most frequently used phrases when talking about time.

Whoa! Although this has been a comprehensive lesson, isn't it worth your time? Hopefully, you now have a much better understanding of asking for and giving time in Hindi.

Language Curry is an app that makes learning Hindi such an enjoyable experience that learners can't get enough of it. Join our platform if you haven't done so already and get free access to the best Hindi lessons. The 'Time' and 'Numbers & Denomination' tab in the Vocab section will help you gain a better understanding of how to tell the time in Hindi by giving you phrases and examples. So why wait, when these incredible Hindi resources are free to explore?

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