EkGuru › Answers › How do you tell the time in Hindi?
How do you tell the time in Hindi?
Use बजे (baje) for the hour: तीन बजे (teen baje) is three o'clock. Half past is साढ़े (saadhe) before the hour — साढ़े तीन is 3:30 — but half past one and two are irregular, डेढ़ (dedh) and ढाई (dhai). Quarter past is सवा (sawa) and quarter to is पौने (paune), both placed before the hour.
The four words that cover most times
बजे (baje) — o'clock. paanch baje, five o'clock.
सवा (sawa) — quarter past. sawa paanch, 5:15.
साढ़े (saadhe) — half past. saadhe paanch, 5:30.
पौने (paune) — quarter to. paune chhah, 5:45 — note it counts toward SIX, not five.
That last one catches people out. पौने is "three quarters of", so it always names the hour you are approaching.
The two you must simply memorise
डेढ़ (dedh) — 1:30. Not saadhe ek.
ढाई (dhai) — 2:30. Not saadhe do.
These two are ancient contractions and there is no logic to recover. Everything from 3:30 onward is regular.
Minutes
बजकर (bajkar) for past, बजने में (bajne mein) for to: paanch bajkar bees minute — twenty past five.
In practice most people round to the nearest quarter and use the words above.
Morning, afternoon, evening, night
सुबह (subah), दोपहर (dopahar), शाम (shaam), रात (raat) — placed before the time: शाम सात बजे, seven in the evening. Hindi rarely uses a 24-hour clock in speech, so this is how you avoid ambiguity.
Booking a lesson
"क्या हम साढ़े छह बजे कर सकते हैं?" — can we do 6:30? Worth learning as a block; it is the sentence you will use most with a tutor.
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