1.8.2 Telling time

Understanding Time Expressions in Urdu

In this chapter you will learn how to say what time it is and how to ask for the time in Urdu. You already know the basic idea of numbers, so here we focus on how those numbers are used with the word for “time” and with hours and minutes.

The word for “time” and “o’clock”

The key word for telling time is:

• وقت waqt = time

When saying the full phrase “what time is it” or “what is the time,” Urdu usually uses وقت.

• کتنا وقت ہوا ہے؟
  kitna waqt hua hai?
  = What time is it?

Urdu often says “X has happened” to mean “it is X o’clock.”

• تین بجے ہیں۔
  tīn bajay hain.
  = It is three o’clock.

Here, بجے bajay is the key element. It is used like “o’clock” or “at … o’clock”.

• بجنا bajnā = to strike (of a clock), to ring
• بجے bajay = at … o’clock, … o’clock

Asking for the time

There are a few common ways to ask the time. You can choose any of them.

Very common everyday questions

1. کتنے بجے ہیں؟
   kitnay bajay hain?
   Literally: “How many o’clock is it?”
   Meaning: “What time is it?”
2. کیا وقت ہوا ہے؟
   kyā waqt huā hai?
   Literally: “What time has happened?”
   Meaning: “What’s the time?”
3. ابھی کتنے بجے ہیں؟
   abhī kitnay bajay hain?
   = What time is it now?
4. تمہارے پاس وقت ہے؟
   tumhāray pās waqt hai?
   = Do you have the time? (more like “Do you have time?” but sometimes used in context)

For clear time asking, کتنے بجے ہیں؟ is the most useful for beginners.

Short dialogues

• A: ابھی کتنے بجے ہیں؟
  abhī kitnay bajay hain?
  = What time is it now?

B: سات بجے ہیں۔
sāt bajay hain.
= It is seven o’clock.

• A: کیا وقت ہوا ہے؟
  kyā waqt huā hai?
  = What is the time?

B: دو بجے ہیں۔
do bajay hain.
= It is two o’clock.

Saying the full hour: o’clock

To say a full hour, you combine a number with بجے.

For 1 o’clock, you will usually hear:

• ایک بجا ہے۔ aik bajā hai.
  or often in speech
• ایک بجے ہیں۔ aik bajay hain.

You do not need to worry about the verb form here in detail, just remember the full phrase.

Extra examples

• میٹنگ تین بجے ہے۔
  mīṭing tīn bajay hai.
  = The meeting is at three o’clock.
• کلاس آٹھ بجے ہے۔
  klās āth bajay hai.
  = The class is at eight o’clock.
• وہ نو بجے آتا ہے۔
  woh nau bajay ātā hai.
  = He comes at nine o’clock.

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Minutes past the hour

To add minutes, you keep بج کر baj kar between the hour and the minutes.

Structure:

Think of بج کر as “struck and” or “after.”

Common examples

• ایک بج کر پانچ منٹ ہیں۔
  aik baj kar pānch minṭ hain.
  = It is 1:05.
• دو بج کر دس منٹ ہیں۔
  do baj kar das minṭ hain.
  = It is 2:10.
• تین بج کر پندرہ منٹ ہیں۔
  tīn baj kar pandrah minṭ hain.
  = It is 3:15.
• چار بج کر تیس منٹ ہیں۔
  chār baj kar tīs minṭ hain.
  = It is 4:30.

In everyday speech, people often drop the word منٹ minṭ for “minutes” when it is obvious.

• پانچ بج کر پانچ ہیں۔
  pānch baj kar pānch hain.
  = 5:05.
• سات بج کر بیس ہیں۔
  sāt baj kar bīs hain.
  = 7:20.

Very common times in daily life

• سوا سات بجے ہیں۔
  sawā sāt bajay hain.
  = It is quarter past seven. (7:15)
  (You will learn these special fraction words more later.)
• ساڑھے نو بجے ہیں۔
  sāṛhay nau bajay hain.
  = It is half past nine. (9:30)
• پونے پانچ بجے ہیں۔
  ponay pānch bajay hain.
  = It is quarter to five. (4:45)

Even if you do not yet know سوا، ساڑھے، پونے, you can still say:

• سات بج کر پندرہ منٹ ہیں۔ = 7:15
• نو بج کر تیس منٹ ہیں۔ = 9:30
• چار بج کر پینتالیس منٹ ہیں۔ = 4:45

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Minutes to the hour

To say “minutes to” in simple form, you can still use بج کر with the earlier hour, or learn one very frequent expression using کم kam “less”.

Simple safe way: use full minutes

For beginners it is safer to use the “past” structure and mental conversion:

• 4:45
  پانچ بجنے میں پندرہ منٹ ہیں۔
  pānch bajnay mein pandrah minṭ hain.
  Literally: “There are 15 minutes in 5 o’clock.”
  Meaning: It is 4:45, fifteen minutes to five.

Another style:

• پانچ بجنے میں دس منٹ باقی ہیں۔
  pānch bajnay mein das minṭ bāqī hain.
  = There are ten minutes left to five. (4:50)

This “left” style is very natural and works for any “to” time:

• چھ بجنے میں پانچ منٹ باقی ہیں۔
  = It is 5:55.

Short “less than” pattern

With half past, you may also hear:

• چھ بجنے میں دس منٹ کم ہیں۔
  chhay bajnay mein das minṭ kam hain.
  Literally: ten minutes less in 6 o’clock.
  = 5:50.

At this level, try to recognize it when you hear it, but use the clearer style with باقی if you speak.

Using “at” a certain time

To say that something happens at a particular time, you again use the same بجے form without necessarily stating “it is.”

Structure:

Examples with daily activities

• میں چھ بجے اٹھتا ہوں۔
  main chhay bajay uṭhtā hūn.
  = I get up at six o’clock. (male speaker)
• میں چھ بجے اٹھتی ہوں۔
  main chhay bajay uṭhtī hūn.
  = I get up at six o’clock. (female speaker)
• میں نو بجے دفتر جاتا ہوں۔
  main nau bajay daftar jātā hūn.
  = I go to the office at nine o’clock. (male)
• وہ سات بجے گھر آتی ہے۔
  woh sāt bajay ghar ātī hai.
  = She comes home at seven o’clock.
• کلاس دس بجے شروع ہوتی ہے۔
  klās das bajay shurū hotī hai.
  = The class starts at ten o’clock.
• میٹنگ دو بج کر تیس منٹ پر ہے۔
  mīṭing do baj kar tīs minṭ par hai.
  = The meeting is at 2:30.

Note the preposition پر par “at, on” can appear, but you will often just hear:

• میٹنگ دو بج کر تیس منٹ ہے۔
  mīṭing do baj kar tīs minṭ hai.
  = Meeting is at 2:30.

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Morning, afternoon, evening, night

Urdu usually makes the time clearer with a word for the part of day, especially with 1 to 12.

Common words:

Structure:

Examples

• صبح سات بجے۔
  subah sāt bajay.
  = at seven in the morning.
• دوپہر بارہ بجے۔
  dopahar bārah bajay.
  = at twelve noon.
• شام پانچ بجے۔
  shām pānch bajay.
  = at five in the evening.
• رات دس بجے۔
  rāt das bajay.
  = at ten at night.

Full sentences:

• میں صبح سات بجے اٹھتا ہوں۔
  main subah sāt bajay uṭhtā hūn.
  = I get up at seven in the morning.
• ہم شام چھ بجے کھانا کھاتے ہیں۔
  ham shām chhay bajay khānā khātay hain.
  = We eat dinner at six in the evening.
• وہ رات گیارہ بجے سوتی ہے۔
  woh rāt gyārah bajay sotī hai.
  = She sleeps at eleven at night.

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12‑hour vs 24‑hour style

Spoken Urdu commonly uses a 12‑hour pattern with the words for morning, afternoon, evening, or night. For 24‑hour time, especially in timetables, you will often still say the numbers as they are, but very often people “convert” them in their minds to morning or evening.

Some examples:

For now, focus more on 1 to 12 with part of day words, because that is what you will hear most often.

Simple practice sentences

Try to understand these, and then try to make similar ones with other numbers that you know.

1. ابھی چار بجے ہیں۔
   abhī chār bajay hain.
   = It is four o’clock now.
2. اسکول آٹھ بجے شروع ہوتا ہے۔
   iskūl āth bajay shurū hotā hai.
   = School starts at eight o’clock.
3. وہ دوپہر ایک بجے کھانا کھاتا ہے۔
   woh dopahar aik bajay khānā khātā hai.
   = He eats lunch at one in the afternoon.
4. ٹرین نو بج کر بیس منٹ پر آتی ہے۔
   ṭrain nau baj kar bīs minṭ par ātī hai.
   = The train comes at 9:20.
5. میری کلاس شام سات بج کر پندرہ منٹ پر ہے۔
   merī klās shām sāt baj kar pandrah minṭ par hai.
   = My class is at 7:15 in the evening.
6. ابھی پانچ بجنے میں دس منٹ باقی ہیں۔
   abhī pānch bajnay mein das minṭ bāqī hain.
   = There are ten minutes left to five. (It is 4:50.)

Try to answer:

• Q: ابھی کتنے بجے ہیں؟
  abhī kitnay bajay hain?
  A: ابھی چھ بجے ہیں۔
  abhī chhay bajay hain.
  = It is six o’clock now.
• Q: کلاس کب ہے؟
  klās kab hai?
  A: کلاس صبح نو بجے ہے۔
  klās subah nau bajay hai.
  = The class is at nine in the morning.

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New vocabulary from this chapter

Use this vocabulary together with the number words you know to ask and tell the time in many real situations.