Study notes for Lesson 16: how to ask and tell the time in Persian, with numbers 1 to 12, half past, quarter to, minutes, morning and evening.
How to tell the time in Persian
These grammar notes go with the Lesson 16 video, "What time is it?". Telling the time in Persian is simple: the word ساعت (sâ'at), a number, and sometimes و (and) or به (to). You only need the numbers 1 to 12, plus a few more for minutes.
Asking the time
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ساعت چند است؟ | /sâ'at chand ast?/ | What time is it? |
| ساعت چنده؟ | /sâ'at chande?/ | What time is it? (spoken) |
| ساعت چند؟ | /sâ'at-e chand?/ | At what time? |
| کلاس ساعت چند شروع می‌شود؟ | /kelâs sâ'at-e chand shoru' mishavad?/ | What time does the class start? |
Numbers for the clock
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| یک | /yek/ | 1 |
| دو | /do/ | 2 |
| سه | /se/ | 3 |
| چهار | /chahâr/ | 4 |
| پنج | /panj/ | 5 |
| شش | /shesh/ | 6 |
| هفت | /haft/ | 7 |
| هشت | /hasht/ | 8 |
| نه | /noh/ | 9 |
| ده | /dah/ | 10 |
| یازده | /yâzdah/ | 11 |
| دوازده | /davâzdah/ | 12 |
| پانزده | /pânzdah/ | 15 |
| بیست | /bist/ | 20 |
| بیست و پنج | /bist-o panj/ | 25 |
Saying the time
Say ساعت + the hour. You will hear both sâ'at se and sâ'at-e se for "three o'clock". For minutes past the hour, join them with و, pronounced -o. For minutes before the hour, put the minutes first, then به (be, to) and the next hour.
| Persian | Pronunciation | Time |
|---|---|---|
| ساعت سه است. | /sâ'at se ast./ | It's three o'clock. |
| سه و پنج دقیقه | /se-o panj daghighe/ | 3:05 |
| سه و ربع | /se-o rob'/ | 3:15, quarter past three |
| سه و نیم | /se-o nim/ | 3:30, half past three |
| سه و چهل دقیقه | /se-o chehel daghighe/ | 3:40 |
| یک ربع به چهار | /yek rob' be chahâr/ | 3:45, quarter to four |
| ده دقیقه به چهار | /dah daghighe be chahâr/ | 3:50, ten to four |
| ساعت دوازده ظهر | /sâ'at-e davâzdah-e zohr/ | 12 noon |
A more formal way to say "to" is مانده به (mânde be): ده دقیقه مانده به چهار. In speech یک ربع is usually یه ربع (ye rob').
Morning, afternoon and night
Persian conversation mostly uses the 12-hour clock and adds a part of the day: هفت صبح (haft-e sobh), 7 a.m.; دو بعدازظهر (do-ye ba'd-az-zohr), 2 p.m.; هشت شب (hasht-e shab), 8 p.m. Timetables for trains and flights often use the 24-hour clock: ساعت ۱۸ (sâ'at-e hijdah), 6 p.m.
"At" a time
No preposition is needed. ساعت هشت می‌آیم (sâ'at-e hasht miâyam) means "I'll come at eight". The time phrase usually comes early in the sentence, before the verb.
Examples
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ساعت شش و نیم بیدار شدم. | /sâ'at-e shesh-o nim bidâr shodam./ | I woke up at six thirty. |
| فیلم یک ربع به هشت شروع می‌شود. | /film yek rob' be hasht shoru' mishavad./ | The movie starts at a quarter to eight. |
| الان ساعت هفت و چهل دقیقه است. | /alân sâ'at haft-o chehel daghighe ast./ | It's seven forty now. |
| کلاس ساعت ده و ربع تمام شد. | /kelâs sâ'at-e dah-o rob' tamâm shod./ | The class ended at a quarter past ten. |
| اتوبوس ده دقیقه به نه می‌رسد. | /otobus dah daghighe be noh miresad./ | The bus arrives at ten to nine. |
| ساعت یازده شب خوابیدم. | /sâ'at-e yâzdah-e shab khâbidam./ | I went to bed at eleven p.m. |
| نیم ساعت دیر رسیدیم. | /nim sâ'at dir residim./ | We arrived half an hour late. |
Common mistakes
- Mixing up ساعت یک (sâ'at-e yek, one o'clock) and یک ساعت (yek sâ'at, one hour).
- Using نیم like English "half past" before the hour. Persian says "three and a half": سه و نیم, not "half four" or نیم چهار.
- Forgetting به in times before the hour: ده دقیقه به چهار, not ده دقیقه چهار.
- Adding a word for "at": say ساعت هشت می‌آیم, not در ساعت هشت می‌آیم in normal conversation (the form with در appears in formal writing).
- Saying "late" for a slow clock. A slow clock is عقب (aghab); دیر (dir) is for people and events.
More from Lesson 16
- Lesson 16: New Words (clock and time)
- Lesson 16: More New Words (daily routine)
- Lesson 16: Speaking (what time is it?)
- Lesson 16: Reading (Arash's day)
Practice
-
Say 4:30 in Persian.
Show answer
chahâr-o nim چهار و نیم
-
Say 7:45 in Persian.
Show answer
yek rob' be hasht یک ربع به هشت
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What time is this? نه و ربع
Show answer
9:15
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Translate: "The class starts at ten."
Show answer
kelâs sâ'at-e dah shoru' mishavad. کلاس ساعت ده شروع می‌شود.
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What is the spoken form of this question? ساعت چند است؟
Show answer
sâ'at chande? ساعت چنده؟
This page is part of the free course Learn to Speak Persian Fast. Next: Lesson 16: Speaking, where Arash discovers his watch is slow.
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