Telling time is an essential skill in any language, and learning how to express time in Nepali can help you communicate more effectively. In this post, we will guide you on how to ask and tell time in Nepali, provide useful phrases, and offer sentences in English and Nepali for better understanding.
Here are some examples of Time in Nepali from my Udemy course, “Study Nepali Language“.
Time: समय samaya
Hour(s): घण्टा ghanta
Now: अहिले ahile
Later: पछि pachi
Before: पहिले pahile
One moment please.
Kripaya! Ekai chin hai. (कृपया! एकै छिन है।)
Telling Time in Nepali
| S.No. | Time in English | Time in Nepali | Pronunciation |
| 1. | One o’clock. | एक बजे। | Ek baje |
| 2. | Two o’clock. | दुई बजे। | Dwe baje |
| 3. | Three o’clock. | तीन बजे। | Tin baje |
| 4. | Four o’clock. | चार बजे। | Char baje |
| 5. | Five o’clock. | पाँच बजे। | Panch baje |
| 6. | Six o’clock. | छ बजे। | Chha baje |
| 7. | Seven o’clock. | सात बजे। | Saat baje |
| 8. | Eight o’clock. | आठ बजे। | Aath baje |
| 9. | Nine o’clock. | नौ बजे। | Nau baje |
| 10. | Ten o’clock. | दश बजे। | Dash baje |
| 11. | Eleven o’clock. | एघार बजे। | Aeghara baje |
| 12. | Twelve o’clock. | बाह्र बजे। | Barah baje |
Asking time in Nepali
What time is it?
Kati bajyo? (कति बज्यो?)
In Nepali, time is expressed using a 12-hour format, just like in English. Here’s how you can express different times:
5:00 – It’s 5 o’clock.
५:०० – Paach bajyo. (पाँच बज्यो।)
5:20 – Twenty past five.
५:२० – Pach bajera bis minet gayo. (पाँच बजेर बिस मिनेट गयो।)
9:10 – It’s 10 minutes past 9.
९:१० – Nau bajera das minute gayo. (नौ बजेर दस मिनेट गयो।)
2:10 – It’s ten past two.
२:१० – Dwe dash. or Dwe bajera dash minet gayo. (दुई दश वा दुई बजेर दश मिनेट गयो।)
11:03 – Three minutes past eleven.
११:०३ – Aghara bajera tin minet gayo. (एघार बजेर तीन मिनेट गयो।)
8:15 – Eight fifteen.
८:१५ – Aath pandra or sawa aath. (आठ पन्ध्र or सवा आठ।)
9:15 – Quarter past nine.
९:१५ – Sawa nau or nau bajera pandra minet gayo. (सवा नौउ or नौउ बजेर पन्द्र मिनेट गयो।)
4:15 – Quarter past four.
४:१५ – Sawa char or char pandra. (सवा चार or चार पन्द्र।)
6:25 – It’s twenty-five past six.
६:२५ – Cha pachis. or Cha bajera pachis minet gayo. (छ पच्चीस वा छ बजेर पच्चिस मिनेट गयो।)
10:30 – Half past ten.
१०:३० – Sade dash or dash tis. (साढे दश or दश तिस।)
2:30 – It’s half-past two.
२:३० – Sade dui bajyo. (साढे दुई बज्यो।)
4:30 – It’s half past four.
४:३० – Sade char bajeko cha. (साढे चार बजेको छ।)
2:50 – It’s ten to three.
२:५० – Tin bajna das minet baki. (तीन बज्न १० मिनेट बाँकी।)
7:50 – Ten minutes to eight.
७:५० – Sat bajera pachas minet gayo or aath bajna dash minet baki cha. (सात बजेर पचास मिनेट गयो or आठ बज्न दश मिनेट बाँकी छ।)
4:45 – It’s a quarter to five.
४:४५ – Pach bajne pandra minet baki. (पाँच बज्न पन्द्र मिनेट बाँकी।)
6:45 – It’s a quarter to seven.
६:४५ – Paune saat bayo. or Saat bajna pandra minet baki. (पौने सात बज्यो।) वा (सात बज्न पन्द्र मिनेट बाँकी।)
12:00 – It’s midnight.
१२:०० – Madhyarat bhayo. (मध्यरात भयो।)
Useful Time-Related Phrases in Nepali
Question: When does the bus leave?
Bus kahile chutcha? (बस कहिले छुट्छ?)
Answer: 9:00 AM
Bihana nau bajae. (बिहान नौ बजे।)
Question: How long will it take?
Kati samaya lagcha? (कति समय लाग्छ?)
Answer: 6 hours
Chha ghanta (६ घण्टा)
English: I need to be there by 3 PM.
Nepali: Ma tin baje samma tyaha pugnuparcha. (म तीन बजे सम्म त्यहाँ पुग्नुपर्छ।)
English: Let’s meet at 6 in the evening.
Nepali: Belukako chha baje bhetau. (बेलुकाको ६ बजे भेटौं।)
Wait here till I’m back.
Ma nafarkiyaesamma yaha parkhanuhos. (म नफर्किएसम्म यहाँ पर्खनुहोस्।)
Ma na-far-ki-yae-samma ya-ha par-kha-nu-hos
We should leave now or we will be late.
Hami aba januparcha natra hami dhilo hunechau. (हामी अब जानुपर्छ नत्र हामी ढिलो हुनेछौं।)
ha-mi aba ja-nu-par-cha na-tra ha-mi dhi-lo hu-ne-chau
Please wait here till I’m back.
Jabasamma ma audina tabasamma timi pratikshya gara. (जब सम्म म आउँदिन तबसम्म तिमी प्रतिक्षा गर।)
Ja-ba-sam-ma ma au-di-na ta-ba-samma ti-mi pra-tik-shya ga-ra.
Should I wait for you here?
Ke mailae timilai yaha kurnuparcha? (के मैले तिमीलाई यहाँ कुर्नुपर्छ?)
ke mai-lae ti-mi-lai ya-ha kur-nu-par-cha
He didn’t wait for me although I had told him to.
Mailae uhalai parkhana bhaneko bhayae pani uhale malai parkhanu bhayena. (मैले उहाँलाई पर्खन भनेको भए पनि उहाँले मलाई पर्खनुभएन।)
Mai-lae uha-lai par-kha-na bha-ne-ko bha-yae pa-ni uha-le ma-lai par-kha-nu bha-ye-na
It departs sharply at 12’o clock.
Yo thik 12 baje prasthan garcha. (यो ठीक १२ बजे प्रस्थान गर्छ।)
yo thik 12 baje pras-than gar-cha.
I have to go to Kathmandu.
Ma Kathmandu janu parchha. (म काठमाडौं जानुपर्छ। )
ma Kathmandu janu parchha.
How long will it take?
Kati samaya lagcha? (कती समय लाग्नेछ?)
Ka-ti sa-ma-ya lag-cha?
Maybe next week.
Sayad arko hapta. (सायद अर्को हप्ता।)
Saa-yad ar-ko hap-ta.
What time do we start our trek?
Hami kati baje trek suru garchau? (हामी कती बजे ट्रेक शुरु गर्छौं?)
ha-mi ka-ti ba-je trek su-ru gar-chau?
How many hours will it take?
kati ghanta lagcha? (कती घण्टा लाग्छ?)
ka-ti ghan-ta lag-cha?
AM and PM meaning in Nepali
In Nepali, the terms “AM” and “PM” are not used as frequently as in English, but they do have Nepali equivalents.
A.M. (Ante Meridiem): This refers to the time before noon (midnight to 11:59 AM).
Nepali: Bihana (बिहान) or Madhyarat pachiko samaya (मध्यरात पछिको समय).
P.M. (Post Meridiem): This refers to the time after noon (12:00 PM to 11:59 PM).
Nepali: Diunso (दिउँसो) or Beluka, sajha (बेलुका, साँझ) for evening, and Rati (राति) for night.
So, in conversation:
10:00 AM can be expressed as Bihanako 10 baje (बिहानको १० बजे).
6:00 PM can be expressed as Sajhako 6 baje (साँझको ६ बजे).
Quarter past meaning in Nepali
“Quarter past” in Nepali is expressed as सवा (Sawaa), which means 15 minutes past a particular hour.
For example:
Quarter past 3 (3:15) = सवा तीन (Sawaa tin).
Quarter past 7 (7:15) = सवा सात (Sawaa saat).
This phrase is commonly used to indicate 15 minutes after the hour.
Conclusion
Mastering how to tell time in Nepali will make your daily interactions smoother and help you adjust to the local culture easily. Start practicing with these phrases, and soon, telling time in Nepali will become second nature.