20 Lesson 1: Ni saa ngapi?

Msamiati for telling time

Telling time in Swahili

Most of East Africa lies near the equator, meaning the sun rises and sets at almost the same time year-round, typically around 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The Swahili clock logically starts its day at sunrise. However, for a significant portion of the population, especially in Swahili-speaking communities, daily life is governed by a traditional timekeeping system that revolves around the rising and setting of the sun. Due to the region’s proximity to the equator, the length of day and night is remarkably consistent year-round, with the sun rising at approximately 6:00 AM and setting at around 6:00 PM. This natural rhythm forms the basis of Swahili time, where the day begins not at midnight, but at sunrise. In this system, 7:00 AM in standard time is considered the first hour of the day, or “saa moja asubuhi” in Swahili.

There are two ways you can convert standard time to Swahili time.

• To convert from standard time to Swahili time, you add or subtract six hours. For example, 8:00 AM standard time is “saa mbili asubuhi” (the second hour of the morning) in Swahili time. Similarly, 2:00 PM standard time is “saa nane mchana” (the eighth hour of the afternoon).
• Conversely, to understand Swahili time in the standard system, you reverse the process. If someone tells you they will meet you at “saa tisa mchana” (the ninth hour of the afternoon), they mean 3:00 PM. Let us check out some examples below.

The Swahili system also uses specific terms to denote different parts of the day, which adds another layer to time-telling:

• Alfajiri: Early morning
• Asubuhi: Morning (from sunrise to around noon)
• Mchana: Afternoon (from around noon to 4:00 PM)
• Adhuhuri: Noon
• Jioni: Evening (from around 4:00 PM to sunset)
• Alasiri: Late evening
• Usiku: Night (from sunset to sunrise)
• Usiku wa manane

Ni saa ngapi?

Mfano;

1. 7:00 – Saa moja (first hour), and add asubuhi or jioni to distinguish a.m. and p.m.
2. 8:00 – Saa mbili (Second hour), and add asubuhi or jioni to distinguish a.m. and p.m.

Just like standard time, Swahili time also has minutes, halves,  and quarters. ‘Nusu’  is used for half past, ‘robo’ for quarter past, and ‘dakika’ for minutes. When it is top of the hour, we use kamili.

e.g. 9:00 a.m. – Saa tatu kamili asubuhi (It’s the third hour of the morning)

4: 15 p.m. – Saa kumi na robo jioni

12:30 p.m. – Saa sita na nusu mchana

3:52 p.m. – Saa tisa na dakika Hamsini na mbili

Photo by Indra Projects on Unsplash

Photo by Luckas spalinger on Unsplash

Photo by Minku Kang on Unsplash

Photo by Malvestida on Unsplash

Photo by Yaniv Knobel on Unsplash

Photo by José Pinto on Unsplash

Photo by Artem R on Unsplash

Photo by Jessica Mangano on Unsplash

Photo by DFY® 디에프와이 on Unsplash