Language/Tigrinya/Vocabulary/Telling-Time
In this lesson, you will learn how to tell time in Tigrinya. Telling time is an essential skill that will help you navigate Eritrea and Ethiopia. Additionally, you will learn how to ask and answer questions about the time of day and how to talk about hours and minutes.
Vocabulary
Before learning how to tell time, let's review the numbers from 1 to 10 in Tigrinya.
| Tigrinya | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ኣንድ | ənd | 1 |
| ስለስ | səlass | 2 |
| ማርያም | maryam | 3 |
| ርግብ | rəgb | 4 |
| ሓርበኛ | harəbəgna | 5 |
| ምስሓ | məsḥa | 6 |
| ምስራቅ | məsraḳ | 7 |
| ዘጠኝ | zet'ən | 8 |
| ኣራተኛ | arətəgna | 9 |
| ስምንት | smənt | 10 |
Now that you have reviewed the numbers, let's move on to telling time in Tigrinya.
Telling Time
To tell time in Tigrinya, we use the word "መደመር" (medemer), which means "time".
Asking What Time It Is
To ask what time it is in Tigrinya, you can say "መደመር ኣብ ዘለዎ ሰዓት ነዎ?" (medemer ab zelewo se'at newo?). This question means "What time is it?"
Here is a breakdown of the question:
- "መደመር" (medemer) - time
- "ኣብ" (ab) - at
- "ዘለዎ" (zelewo) - this, now
- "ሰዓት" (se'at) - hour
- "ነዎ" (newo) - is
In response, you can answer with the following:
- "ኣቦ ኣብ ዘለዎ ሰዓት ..." (abo ab zelewo se'at ...) - It's ... o'clock now.
Note that "ኣቦ" (abo) means "it is".
Here are some examples:
- መደመር ኣብ ዘለዎ ሰዓት ነዎ? (medemer ab zelewo se'at newo?) - What time is it now?
- ኣቦ ኣብ ዘለዎ ሰዓት ካልእ (abo ab zelewo se'at kalle?) - It's 1 o'clock.
- ኣቦ ኣብ ዘለዎ ሰዓት ስልክ ከም ስልኩ 'ነዎ (abo ab zelewo se'at səlki kəm səlk'u newo) - It's 2:15.
Talking About Hours
To talk about hours in Tigrinya, we use "ሰዓት" (se'at), which means "hour".
Here are some examples:
- ኣቦ ሰዓት ፩ ከተማ ዘለዎ ካልእ (abo se'at 1 katama zelewo kalle) - It's 1 o'clock in the morning.
- ኣቦ ሰዓት ፪ ከተማ ምስራቅ ዘለዎ ካልእ (abo se'at 2 katama məsraḳ zelewo kalle) - It's 7 o'clock in the evening.
Talking About Minutes
To talk about minutes in Tigrinya, we use "ደቒቕ" (dek'ik), which means "minute".
Here are some examples:
- ኣቦ ሰዓት ፸ ደቒቕ ካልእ (abo se'at 6 dek'ik kalle) - It's 6 minutes past the hour.
- ኣቦ ሰዓት ፲፱ ደቒቕ ወዲ ሰዓት ፪ ካልእ (abo se'at 15 dek'ik we'di se'at 2 kalle) - It's 15 minutes to 2 o'clock.
Summary
In this lesson, you learned how to tell time in Tigrinya, including how to ask and answer questions about the time of day and how to talk about hours and minutes. Keep practicing to become more confident in your Tigrinya skills!
Other Lessons
- Numbers 1 10
- Everyday Actions
- Days of the Week
- Clothes
- Colors
- Basic Greetings
- Express Surprise
- Health
- Dining Phrases
Sources