Telling the Time — Swahili Grammar

The Swahili clock does not start at midnight. It starts at dawn, because near the equator the sun comes up at about six every day of the year. The result is that every hour number is six ahead of the English one.

The Six-Hour Shift

Seven o'clock in the morning is the first hour of daylight, so it is , hour one.

7am is - hour one
8am is - hour two
9am is - hour three
noon is - hour six
6pm is - hour twelve

Ni saa moja asubuhi.
It is seven in the morning.
Kazi inaanza saa mbili.
Work starts at eight.

To convert in either direction, add six or take six away.

Always Name the Part of the Day

The numbers run from one to twelve twice over, so the period is named to remove any doubt.

- morning
- midday, early afternoon
- evening
- night

Sasa ni saa kumi na mbili na nusu jioni.
Now it is half past six in the evening.
Nilifika nyumbani jana usiku saa nne.
I arrived home last night at ten.

Without or , neither sentence would say which half of the day it meant.

Halves and Quarters

- half past
- quarter past
- quarter to

Ni saa tano na robo asubuhi.
It is a quarter past eleven in the morning.

here is the same and that joins two nouns: literally hour five and a quarter.

Minutes

Minutes are added with and counted plainly.

Ni saa tatu na dakika hamsini na tano.
It is fifty-five minutes past nine.
Nisubiri dakika tano tu; ninakuja sasa.
Wait for me only five minutes; I am coming now.

Asking

Saa ngapi sasa?
What time is it now?
Unaanza kazi saa ngapi?
What time do you start work?

The Same Word, Three Jobs

is a point on the clock, a length of time, and the watch on your wrist. Only the sentence around it decides which.

Nilinunua mahitaji ya jikoni na saa mpya.
I bought kitchen supplies and a new watch.
Lazima saa yangu iwe imeharibika.
My watch must be broken.

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