Language/Irish/Vocabulary/Telling-Time
Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn how to tell the time in Irish. Time is a crucial aspect of our lives, and being able to express it in another language is not only useful but also essential for effective communication. In this lesson, you will learn how to tell the time in Irish, including hours, minutes, and periods of the day. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to express what time it is and understand what someone is saying when they tell you the time.
How to Tell the Time
In Irish, we express time by using the 24-hour clock. This means that the hours are expressed as they would be on a clock face, but 12-hour notation is not commonly used. Instead, we use the 24-hour clock, where the day is divided into two 12-hour periods: morning and afternoon/evening.
To tell the time in Irish, we use the following structure:
I am using some examples to explain the structure of telling the time in Irish.
Hours
Let's start with the hours of the day in Irish:
| Irish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| a haon | ah hain | one o'clock |
| a dó | ah doh | two o'clock |
| a trí | ah tree | three o'clock |
| a ceathair | ah kyah-her | four o'clock |
| a cúig | ah coo-ig | five o'clock |
| a sé | ah shay | six o'clock |
| a seacht | ah shokht | seven o'clock |
| an t-ocht | ahn tokht | eight o'clock |
| an naoi | ahn nee | nine o'clock |
| a deich | ah deh | ten o'clock |
| a haon déag | ah hain jag | eleven o'clock |
| an dara háon | ahn dahr-ah hain | twelve o'clock |
When telling the time in Irish, we follow the format:
- Hour (in Irish)
- A haon deag (eleven o'clock) or an dara haon (twelve o'clock)
- AM/PM (i.n.o, which means in the morning, i.n.a., which means in the afternoon, and i.n.o., which means in the evening)
For example, if you wanted to say that it is one o'clock in the afternoon, you would say:
"Is i.n.a. a haon mé" (Ish i.n.a. ah hain may)
Minutes
When expressing time to the minutes, we simply add the number of minutes after the hour. For example, if you want to say that it is half past two, you would say:
"Is a dó a haon deag tar éis a dó" (Ish ah doh ah hain jag tar aish ah doh)
The "tar éis" part in the sentence means "after."
We also use "fiche" (twenty), "caoga" (fifty), and "leathuair" (half) when expressing the minutes. For example:
- Is fiche tar éis a haon (twenty past one)
- Is caoga tar éis a deich (fifty past ten)
- Is leathuair tar éis a haon (half past one)
Periods of the Day
In Irish, we use different phrases to express the periods of the day, as follows:
- I.N.O. (iarnóin) - In the morning (before noon)
- I.N.A. (i ndiaidh a trí chlog in iarnóin) - In the afternoon (after noon, but before evening)
- I.N.O. (i ndiaidh an aon rí) - In the evening (after dark)
For example:
- Is i.n.o. a ceathair mé (Ish i.n.o. ah kyah-her may) - It is four o'clock in the morning.
- Is i.n.a. a sé mé (Ish i.n.a. ah shay may) - It is six o'clock in the afternoon.
- Is i.n.o. an t-ocht mé (Ish i.n.o. ahn tokht may) - It is eight o'clock in the evening.
Conclusion
In this lesson, you have learned how to tell the time in Irish. You now know the Irish words for the hours of the day, how to express the minutes, and the different phrases used for the periods of the day. Keep practicing, and soon you will be able to tell the time in Irish like a pro!