How to tell the time in Swahili (Kiswahili), a Bantu language spoken in much of east Africa.
Telling the time | Days of the week | Months of the year | Seasons
Note: in the Swahili-speaking world, daytime runs from sunrise (6am) to sunset (6pm), so saa moja asubuhi ("the first hour of the morning") is equivalent to 7am elsewhere.
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English | Swahili |
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What time is it? | Ni saa ngapi? |
06:00 | Saa Kumi na mbili asubuhi (12:00 in the morning) |
07:00 | Saa moja asubuhi (1:00 in the morning) |
08:00 | Saa mbili asubuhi (2:00 in the morning) |
09:00 | Saa tatu asubuhi (3:00 in the morning) |
10:00 | Saa nne asubuhi (4:00 in the morning) |
11:00 | Saa tano asubuhi (5:00 in the morning) |
12:00 | Saa sita mchana (6:00 in the afternoon) |
13:00 | Saa saba mchana (7:00 in the afternoon) |
14:00 | Saa nana mchana (8:00 in the afternoon) |
15:00 | Saa tisa mchana (9:00 in the afternoon) |
16:00 | Saa kumi jioni (10:00 in the evening |
17:00 | Saa kumi na moja jioni (11:00 in the evening) |
18:00 | Saa kumi na mbili jioni (12:00 in the evening) |
19:00 | Saa moja usiku (1:00 in the night) |
20:00 | Saa mbili usiku (2:00 in the night) |
21:00 | Saa tatu usiku (3:00 in the night) |
22:00 | Saa nne usiku (4:00 in the night) |
23:00 | Saa tano usiku (5:00 in the night) |
00:00 (midnight) | Saa sita usiku (6:00 in the night) |
01:00 | Saa saba usiku (7:00 in the night) |
02:00 | Saa nane usiku (8:00 in the night) |
03:00 | Saa tisa usiku (9:00 in the night) |
04:00 | Saa kumi asubuhi (10:00 in the morning) |
05:00 | Saa kumi na moja asubuhi (11:00 in the morning) |
09:45 | Saa nne kasorobo |
11:30 | Saa tano unusu, Sano tano na nusu |
10:15 | Saa nne na robo |
12:15 | Saa sita na dakika kumi na tano |
in the morning (06:00-11:59) | asubuhi |
in the afternoon (12:00-16:59) | mchana |
in the evening (17:00-18:59) | jioni |
at night (19:00-05:59) | usiku |
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Hear how to tell the time in Swahili:
Monday | jumatatu |
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Tuesday | jumanne |
Wednesday | jumatano |
Thursday | alhamisi |
Friday | ijumaa |
Saturday | jumamosi |
Sunday | jumapili |
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January | januari |
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February | februari |
March | machi |
April | aprili |
May | mei |
June | juni |
July | julai |
August | agosti |
September | septemba |
October | oktoba |
November | novemba |
December | desemba |
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Spring | bamvua |
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Summer | kiangazi |
Autumn/Fall | demani |
Winter | majira ya baridi |
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If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
https://www.swahilipod101.com/blog/2020/07/31/telling-time-in-swahili/
https://www.spokenswahili.com/blog/telling-the-time-in-swahili/
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