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In this post we’ll cover basic Swahili vocabulary related to time, days, and dates.
Siku, Usiku: Day, Night
Let’s start with some basic vocabulary related to time of day: siku day; usiku night; asubuhi morning; mchana afternoon; jioni evening.
- Ni mapema/kuchelewa.
It’s early/late. - Nalala usiku.
I sleep at night. - Ninafanya kazi wakati wa mchana.
I work during the day. - Tunasoma jioni.
We read in the evening.
Ni saa ngapi? What time is it?
To ask what time it is, use Ni saa ngapi? The answer will follow the format Ni saa… (it is… o’clock.) The phrase na nusu means and half. If you look closely at the numbers used in the times below, you’ll notice, for example, that 1:00 looks more like seven (saba). That’s because of the way the day is divided in Swahili culture. Check out the grammar tip below for more information.
- Ni saa ngapi?
What time is it? - Ni mchana
It’s noon. - Ni saa saba asubuhi.
It’s 1:00. - Ni saa saba jioni.
It’s 2:00. - Ni saa tisa na nusu asubuhi.
It’s 3:30AM. - Ni saa kumi na moja na dakina arobaine na tano jioni.
It’s 5:45PM. - Treni huondoka saa ngapi?
When does the train leave? - Treni huondoka saa saba na nusu mchana.
The train leaves at one thirty in the afternoon. - Duka linafunguliwa/ linafungwa saa ngapi?
What time does the store open/close? - Duka inafunguliwa saa nne asubuhi.
The store opens at ten o’clock in the morning.
GRAMMAR TIP!
When you give the time in Swahili, you have to rethink your hours based on how the day is divided in Swahili culture. First, think of the day as divided into two twelve-hour segments, the daylight hours starting at 7am and ending at 6pm, and then the night hours starting at 7pm and ending at 6am. So, 7am is the first hour of the daylight segment, and 7pm is the first hour of the night segment. Which means that they’re both saa moja, first hour, rather than seventh hour. Then, you divide the hours even more precisely into:
- alfajiri: early morning, 5am-6am
- asubuhi: morning, 6am-noon
- mchana: noon, early afternoon, noon-3pm
- alasiri: late afternoon, 3pm-5pm
- jioni: evening, 5pm- 7pm
- usiku: night, 7pm-5am
Going back to 7am, we already know that it’s the first hour (saa moja), but more specifically, it falls in the asubuhi (morning time, 6am to noon). Which means that 8am is the second hour (saa mbili) of the asubuhi, and so on.
- Ni saa moja asubuhi.
It’s 7am. (First hour, morning time.) - Ni saa mbili asubuhi.
It’s 8am. (Second hour, morning time.)
This will take some time to get used to! But it’s perfectly logical once you get used to is. Until then, here’s a cheat sheet for you:
- 7am: saa moja asubuhi // 7pm: saa moja jioni
- 8am: saa mbili asubuhi // 8pm: saa mbili usiku
- 9am: saa tatu asubuhi // 9pm: saa tatu usiku
- 10am: saa nne asubuhi // 10pm: saa nne usiku
- 11am: saa tano asubuhi // 11pm: saa tano usiku
- 12pm: saa sita mchana // 12am: saa sita usiku
- 1pm: saa saba mchana // 1am: saa saba usiku
- 2pm: saa nane mchana // 2am: saa nane usiku
- 3pm: saa tisa alasiri // 3am: saa tisa usiku
- 4pm: saa kumi alasiri // 4am: saa kumi usiku
- 5pm: saa kumi na moja jioni // 5am: saa kumi na moja alfajiri
- 6pm: saa kumi na mbili jioni // 6am: saa kumi na mbili asabuhi
Leo ni siku gani? What day is it today?
The days of the week in Swahili are: Jumatatu Monday; Jumanne Tuesday; Jumatano Wednesday; Alhamisi Thursday; Ijumaa Friday; Jumamosi Saturday; Jumapili Sunday. Some other key vocabulary is: leo today, kesho tomorrow, jana yesterday, leo usiku tonight, wiki the week, wikendi the weekend.
- Leo ni siku gani?
What day is it today? - Ninafanya kazi Jumatatu, Jumanne, Jumatano, Alhamisi na Ijumaa.
I work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. - Tunaona marafiki kila Jumamosi.
We see our friends every Saturday. - Unafanya nini leo usiku?
What are you doing tonight? - Ulifanya nini jana?
What did you do yesterday? - Nitakuona wikendi hii.
I’ll see you this weekend.
Hii Wiki: This Week
Some other important vocabulary to know when you’re talking about dates and times are: wiki week; mwezi month; mwaka year.
- wiki hii, mwezi huu, mwaka huu,
this week, this month, this year - wiki iliyopita, mwezi uliopita, mwaka uliopita
last week, last month, last year - wiki ijayo, mwezi ujayo, mwaka ujayo
next week, next month, next year - Darasa linaanza wiki ijayo/mwezi/mwaka.
The class starts next week/ month/ year. - Darasa lilianza juma ililopita/mwezi/mwaka.
The class started last week/ month/ year.
Leo ni tarehe ngapi? What’s the date today?
The months of the year are: Januari January, Februari February, Machi March, Aprili April, Mei May, Juni June, Julai July, Agosti August, Septemba September, Oktoba October, Novemba November, Disemba December.
- Siku yako ya kuzaliwa ni lini?
When is your birthday? - Siku yangu ya kuzaliwa ni tarehe ishirini na nne Novemba.
My birthday is on November twenty-fourth. - Familia yangu inafika tarehe mbili Agosti.
My family arrives on August second. - Tunaenda likizo kutoka tarehe nane Julai hadi tarehe ishirini Julai.
We go on vacation from July eighth through July twentieth.
Do you want to learn Swahili?
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