Telling The Time in Swahili

Chapter 20
Telling the Time in Swahili
I n this chapter, we will learn about the basics of telling the time in
Swahili and other important vocabulary related to telling the time.
Section A: The Basics of Telling

the Time in Swahili
In order to learn how to tell the time in Swahili it is important to know a
little about the geography of Swahili speaking East Africa which lies
close to the Equator. There is very little variation throughout the year in
the time that the sun rises and sets.
The sun rises between 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and sets between 6 p.m. to 7
p.m. This naturally divides a 24 hour day into two equal 12 hour seg-
ments, day and night. This division of a 24 hour day into two halves is
the key to telling time in Swahili. 7 a.m. is considered by the Swahili
people to be the start of the first full hour of daylight, and so it is called
Copyright © 2014. UPA. All rights reserved.
saa moja, literally “hour one.” The Swahili people count forward start-
ing from saa moja (7 a.m.) until saa kumi na mbili (6 p.m.) literally
“hour twelve.” After 6 p.m. darkness starts to set in and so the Swahili
people consider 7 p.m. as the start of the first hour of darkness and so
they begin counting again starting with saa moja until saa kumi na mbili
(6 a.m.).
Below are the times in Swahili and its equivalent in English. Note
that the word saa must always be used when telling the time in Swahili.
Almasi, Oswald, et al. <i>Swahili Grammar for Introductory and Intermediate Levels : Sarufi ya Kiswahili cha Ngazi ya Kwanza
na Kati</i>, UPA, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hselibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1810394.
Created from hselibrary-ebooks on 2019-06-10 11:40:52.
208 Swahili Grammar for Introductory and Intermediate Levels
saa moja – 7 o’clock

saa mbili – 8 o’clock
saa tatu – 9 o’clock
saa nne – 10 o’clock
saa tano – 11 o’clock
saa sita – 12 o’clock
saa saba – 1 o’clock
saa nane – 2 o’clock
saa tisa – 3 o’clock
saa kumi – 4 o’clock
saa kumi na moja – 5 o’clock
saa kumi na mbili – 6 o’clock
As you can see from above, the difference between the Swahili time
and the English time is exactly 6 hours. As stated above, the Swahili
people use saa moja to mean either 7 a.m. if it is daytime or 7 p.m. if it
is nighttime. Since the words saa moja could mean either 7 a.m. or 7
p.m., it is necessary to use additional words for clarification. English
uses the convention of a.m. or p.m. to clarify what “7 o’clock” is being
spoken about, but Swahili instead uses specific adverbs of time that de-
scribe the time of day. Below are the most important examples.
asubuhi – morning – 6:00 a.m. to 11:59 a.m.

mchana – daytime – 12:00 p.m. to 4:59 p.m.
jioni – evening – 5:00 p.m. to 6:59 p.m.
usiku – night – 7:00 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.
One of the above adverbs of time must be combined with a specific

time in order to give the proper time in Swahili. For example, if the time
was 8 a.m. one would say saa mbili asubuhi.
More Examples:
11:00 a.m. – Saa tano asubuhi.

2:00 p.m. – Saa nane mchana.
5:00 p.m. – Saa kumi na moja jioni.
8:00 p.m. – Saa mbili usiku.
Telling the Time in Swahili 209
Certain periods of day and night are denoted by special words that
are derived from the Islamic prayer times. They begin with the phrase
wakati wa which means “time of.” These periods are:
wakati wa alfajiri – dawn prayer time – between 5:45 a.m. to

6:30 a.m.
wakati wa adhuhuri – noon prayer time – between 12:00 p.m. to
12:45 p.m.
wakati wa alasiri – late afternoon prayer time – between 4:00
p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
wakati wa magharibi – late evening prayer time – between 6:30
p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
The above phrases cannot be used in combination with saa moja, saa
mbili etc. as learned previously. These phrases represent a certain time
of day and are sufficient by themselves to indicate the approximate time.
Also, there is a certain period of night that is denoted by special
word:
usiku wa manane – late at night – between 12 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.

(figuratively “dead of night”)
FIGURE 20.1
Swahili Clocks
Practice Exercise A
Translate these times into Swahili.
1. 6:00 a.m.
2. 12:00 p.m.
3. 4:00 p.m.
4. 10:00 p.m.
5. 1:00 a.m.
Section B: Minutes, Quarters and

Half Hours when Telling the Time
In Section A, we were able to tell time in Swahili to the nearest hour.
Now we will learn to tell time in Swahili to the nearest quarter or minute.
The words for minute, quarter and half hour are listed below.
dakika – minute
robo – quarter (of an hour in this case)
nusu – half (of an hour in this case)
Minutes, quarters and half hours can be either added to the hour or
subtracted from the following hour using the words below:
na – and (used to add minutes, quarters and half hours to a whole

hour)
kasoro – less (used to subtract minutes and quarters from a whole
hour)
Note that when kasoro (less) is used with the word robo (quarter), it can
be contracted into the single word kasorobo (less a quarter).
With the terms you have just learned in Section B, you can now tell
the time in hours and minutes as shown below.
Examples:
3:15 p.m. – Saa tisa na robo mchana.
9:55 a.m. – Saa nne kasoro dakika tano asubuhi. OR
Saa tatu na dakika hamsini na tano asubuhi.
12:21 a.m. – Saa sita na dakika ishirini na moja usiku.
11:45 p.m. – Saa sita kasorobo usiku. OR Saa tano na dakika arobaini
na tano usiku.
Practice Exercise B
Translate the following into Swahili.
6. 7:45 a.m.
7. 2:11 p.m.
8. 6:30 p.m.
9. 10:49 a.m.
10. 5:05 p.m.
11. 3:12 p.m.
12. 1:01 a.m.
13. 4:40 a.m.
14. 9:58 p.m.
15. 8:35 a.m.
Section C: Other Important Vocabulary

The following words are used in connection with telling the time in Swahili.
Saa ngapi? – What time is it?

Saa ngapi sasa hivi? – What time is it right now?
kamili – exactly
kama – about
mpaka – until
tangu – since, from
karibu – near
baada ya – after
For example:
Saa kumi kamili mchana. – Exactly 4 p.m.

Ni kama saa kumi na mbili jioni. – It is about 6:00 p.m.
Alipika mpaka saa nane mchana. – He/She cooked until 2:00
p.m.
Alingoja tangu wakati wa adhuhuri. – He/She waited since the
time of noon prayers.
Ni karibu saa mbili asubuhi. – It is near (almost) 8:00 a.m.
Ni baada ya saa moja na nusu usiku. – It is after 7:30 p.m.
Practice Exercise C
Translate the following sentences into Swahili.
16. Mohammad will dig a trench from exactly 1:00 p.m. until
about 5:30 p.m.
17. The engineer finished the model at about 2:15 p.m.
18. The manager surfed the Internet after 7:50 a.m.
19. What time will the technician fix the railroad crossing?
20. What time will the sailors visit the nightclub?
When measuring a period of time, as opposed to telling the time, the

phrase “muda wa” meaning “a period of” must always be used to avoid
confusion. For example:
Lima shamba kwa muda wa saa tatu. – Cultivate the farm for a
period of three hours.
Lima shamba saa tatu. – Cultivate the farm at nine o’clock.
When using quarters and half hours with the phrase “muda wa,” the
word order is reversed so that the word saa comes after the word robo or
nusu. For example:
Muda wa robo saa. – A period of a quarter of an hour.

Muda wa nusu saa. – A period of half an hour.
Muda wa robo tatu ya saa. – A period of three quarters of an hour.
Other examples:
Muda wa dakika saba. – A period of seven minutes.

Muda wa saa nne na dakika ishirini. – A period of four hours
and twenty minutes.
Finally, if telling the time down to the nearest second is required, the
word sekunde (second) is used:
Dakika tano na sekunde ishirini na tano. – Five minutes and

twenty-five seconds.
Practice Exercise D
Translate the following sentences into English.
21. Juliet alisoma shajara kwa muda wa saa saba.
22. Sherehe iliendelea kwa muda wa saa tatu.
23. Ataanza kutoa hotuba saa saba mchana.
24. Kijana alifanya mazoezi ya viungo kwa muda wa robo tatu
ya saa.
25. Mwogeleaji yule anaweza kuzuia pumzi katika maji kwa dakika
tano na sekunde kumi.
26. Mkutubi alitumia kikompyuta kwa muda wa saa mbili na robo.
27. Walifunga bwawa la kuogelea kwa muda wa siku mbili.
28. Sala ziliendelea kwa muda wa dakika ishirini.
29. Ametajirika kwa sababu aliweka akiba ya pesa kwa muda wa
miaka mingi.
30. Mbwa alibweka kwa muda wa dakika kumi.
Section E: Dialogue Practice

Mama: Habari za asubuhi?
Baba: Nzuri sana.
Mama: Unatarajia kwenda kazini saa ngapi?
Baba: Nitaondoka saa mbili kamili asubuhi. Je, watoto waliondoka
kwenda shuleni saa ngapi?
Mama: Waliondoka saa moja na robo asubuhi.
Baba: Je, utapika chakula gani leo jioni?
Mama: Nitapika ugali na mchuzi wa kamba.
Baba: Chakula kitakuwa tayari saa ngapi?
Mama: Inategemea, utarudi saa ngapi?

Baba: Nitarudi baada ya saa kumi na moja na robo jioni.
Mama: Sasa hivi ni saa mbili na dakika mbili. Basi fanya haraka
usije ukachelewa kazini.
Baba: Kwa heri mpenzi. Tutaonana jioni.
Practice Exercise E
Answer the following questions in English.
31. What time did the father say he would leave for work?
32. Did the children leave before the father left?
33. What time did the children leave?
34. What did the mother say she would cook for dinner?
35. What time did the father say he would return?
New Vocabulary
adhuhuri: noon(s), midday(s)
akiba: saving(s), deposit(s)
alasiri: late afternoon(s)
alfajiri: dawn(s)
ambaa: surf
baharia/ma-: sailor(s)
basi: enough, stop, well, then, so
bwawa/ma-: pool(s), swamp(s)
bweka: bark
chimba: dig
fundisanifu/ma-: technician(s)
funga: close, lock
handaki/ma-: trench(es), tunnel(s)
haraka: quick, quickly, rush
hotuba: speech(s)
jioni: evening(s)
kamba: prawn(s), rope(s)
kamili: exactly
kasoro: less, lack
kasorobo: less a quarter
kikompyuta/vi-: laptop computer(s)
klabu: club(s)
magharibi: late evening(s)
mchana: daytime(s), afternoon(s)
mchuzi/mi-: curry(ies), sauce(s)
meneja/ma-: manager(s)
mfano/mi-: model(s), example(s)
mkutubi/wa-: librarian(s)
mpaka: until, as far as, up to

mtandao: the internet
mwogeleaji/wa-: swimmer(s)
ngoja: wait
ondoka: leave, depart
panda: crossing(s), fork(s)
pumzi: breath(s)
reli: rail(s), railway(s)
saa: time(s), hour(s), clock(s)
saa ngapi?: What time is it?
sala: prayer(s)
sekunde: second(s) (unit of time)
shajara: diary(ies)
sherehe: celebration(s), party(ies)
tajirika: become rich
tangu: since, from
tarajia: expect to
tegemea: depend, rely on, expect
tengeneza: fix, repair, manufacture
toa: give, deliver, remove
usiku wa manane: late at night, dead of night
weka: keep, save, set aside
zoezi/ma- la/ya viungo: physical exercise(s)
zuia: hold, stop, prevent
Key to Exercises
Answers to Practice Exercise A
1. Saa kumi na mbili asubuhi.

2. Saa sita mchana.
3. Saa kumi mchana.
4. Saa nne usiku.
5. Saa saba usiku.
Answers to Practice Exercise B

6. Saa mbili kasorobo asubuhi. OR Saa moja na dakika arobaini
na tano asubuhi.
7. Saa nane na dakika kumi na moja mchana.
8. Saa kumi na mbili na nusu jioni.

9. Saa tano kasoro dakika kumi na moja asubuhi. OR Saa nne
na dakika arobaini na tisa asubuhi.
10. Saa kumi na moja na dakika tano jioni.
11. Saa tisa na dakika kumi na mbili mchana.
12. Saa saba na dakika moja usiku.
13. Saa kumi na moja kasoro dakika ishirini usiku. OR Saa kumi
na dakika arobaini usiku.
14. Saa nne kasoro dakika mbili usiku. OR Saa tatu na dakika
hamsini na nane usiku.
15. Saa tatu kasoro dakika ishirini na tano asubuhi. OR Saa
mbili na dakika thelathini na tano asubuhi.
Answers to Practice Exercise C

16. Mohammad atachimba handaki tangu saa saba kamili mchana
mpaka kama saa kumi na moja na nusu jioni.
17. Mhandisi alimaliza mfano kama saa nane na robo mchana.
18. Meneja aliambaa kwenye mtandao baada ya saa mbili kasoro
dakika kumi asubuhi
OR saa moja na dakika hamsini asubuhi.
19. Saa ngapi fundisanifu atatengeneza njia panda ya reli?
20. Saa ngapi mabaharia watatembelea klabu ya usiku?
Answers to Practice Exercise D

21. Juliet read the diary for a period of seven hours.
22. The celebration lasted for a period of three hours.
23. He/She will begin to give a speech at 1:00 p.m.
24. The youth did physical exercises for a period of three quar-
ters of an hour.
25. That swimmer can hold his/her breath underwater for five
minutes and ten seconds.
26. The librarian used the laptop for a period of two hours and
fifteen minutes.
27. They closed the swimming pool for two days.
28. The prayers continued for a period of twenty minutes.
29. He/She became rich because he/she saved money for a pe-
riod of many years.
30. The dog barked for a period of ten minutes.
Answers to Practice Exercise E

31. The father said that he would leave at exactly 8:00 a.m.
32. Yes.
33. The children left at 7:15 a.m.
34. She said she would cook ugali (corn meal) and shrimp curry.
35. The father said he would return after 5:15 p.m.

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Chapter 20

Telling the Time in Swahili

Section A: The Basics of Telling

saa moja – 7 o’clock

asubuhi – morning – 6:00 a.m. to 11:59 a.m.

One of the above adverbs of time must be combined with a specific

11:00 a.m. – Saa tano asubuhi.

wakati wa alfajiri – dawn prayer time – between 5:45 a.m. to

usiku wa manane – late at night – between 12 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.

Section B: Minutes, Quarters and

na – and (used to add minutes, quarters and half hours to a whole

Section C: Other Important Vocabulary

Saa ngapi? – What time is it?

Saa kumi kamili mchana. – Exactly 4 p.m.

When measuring a period of time, as opposed to telling the time, the

Muda wa robo saa. – A period of a quarter of an hour.

Muda wa dakika saba. – A period of seven minutes.

Dakika tano na sekunde ishirini na tano. – Five minutes and

Section E: Dialogue Practice

Mama: Inategemea, utarudi saa ngapi?

mpaka: until, as far as, up to

1. Saa kumi na mbili asubuhi.

Answers to Practice Exercise B

8. Saa kumi na mbili na nusu jioni.

Answers to Practice Exercise C

Answers to Practice Exercise D

Answers to Practice Exercise E

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