Language/Bosnian/Vocabulary/Telling-Time
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn how to tell time in Bosnian. Telling time is an essential skill to have when communicating with native speakers or navigating Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to read clocks, express time in different formats, and use time-related vocabulary in daily conversations.
Vocabulary
Here are some words and phrases related to time that you will need to know:
| Bosnian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| vrijeme | vree-yeh-meh | time |
| sat | saht | clock/hour/watch |
| minut | mee-noot | minute |
| sekund | seh-koond | second |
| jutro | yoo-troh | morning |
| dan | dahn | day |
| večer | veh-chehr | evening |
| noć | notch | night |
| jučer | yoo-chehr | yesterday |
| danas | dah-nahs | today |
| sutra | soo-trah | tomorrow |
| prije podne | pree-yeh pohd-neh | AM |
| poslije podne | pohs-lee-yeh pohd-neh | PM |
- Note: In Bosnian, time is expressed using the 24-hour clock. It is also common to use "prije podne" (before afternoon) and "poslije podne" (afternoon and evening) to indicate AM and PM, respectively.
Telling Time
Telling time in Bosnian is fairly simple if you know the basics. The basic format is:
hour + minutes + "je" (is)
For example:
- 10:15 je. (It is 10:15.)
- 3:30 je. (It is 3:30.)
To express the exact minute, simply add the number of minutes after the hour:
- 10:15 je. (It is 10:15.)
- 10:45 je. (It is 10:45.)
Sometimes you may hear people using the phrase "i/and" when telling time, for example:
- 10 i 15. (10 and 15. = 10:15)
- 3 i 30. (3 and 30. = 3:30)
It is common to use ordinal numbers when referring to hours (e.g. first, second, third) in Bosnian, rather than cardinal numbers (e.g. one, two, three). Here are the ordinal numbers from 1-12 in Bosnian:
- prvi (first)
- drugi (second)
- treći (third)
- četvrti (fourth)
- peti (fifth)
- šesti (sixth)
- sedmi (seventh)
- osmi (eighth)
- deveti (ninth)
- deseti (tenth)
- jedanaesti (eleventh)
- dvanaesti (twelfth)
Here is an example of how to tell time using ordinal numbers:
- pet i tri četvrtine. (five and three quarters = 5:45)
To express half past the hour, use the word "pola" followed by the ordinal number for the next hour:
- pola drugi. (half past two = 2:30)
To indicate a quarter past the hour, use the phrase "četvrtina poslije" followed by the ordinal number for the current hour:
- četvrtina poslije peti. (a quarter past five = 5:15)
Similarly, to indicate a quarter to the hour, use the phrase "četvrtina do" followed by the ordinal number for the next hour:
- četvrtina do deseti. (a quarter to ten = 9:45)
Here are some more examples:
- šest. (six o'clock = 6:00)
- pet i dvadeset. (five twenty = 5:20)
- devet i petnaest. (nine fifteen = 9:15)
- deset i pedeset pet. (ten fifty-five = 10:55)
Exercises
1. Translate the following times to Bosnian:
- a) 2:30 PM
- b) 9:00 AM
- c) 8:45 PM
- d) 3:15 AM
2. Express the following times in words:
- a) 5:00
- b) 1:30
- c) 7:45
- d) 12:05
3. Fill in the blanks with the correct phrases or numbers:
- a) _____ i petnaest. (Fifteen past nine.)
- b) Polovina _____. (Half past ten.)
- c) Četvrtina do _____. (A quarter to three.)
- d) _____ i tri četvrtine. (Three quarters past six.)
4. Create your own sentences using the vocabulary and phrases from this lesson.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have successfully learned how to tell time in Bosnian. Keep practicing to reinforce your skills and gain confidence in using time-related vocabulary in everyday conversations. In the next lesson, you will learn about food and drink vocabulary in Bosnian.