If you want to learn Amharic and travel to Ethiopia, learning how to translate words isn’t enough.

You also have to learn how to translate time.

I always tell my students that language and culture are inseparable.

In Ethiopia, time is told very differently than in the West.

If you arrange to meet an Ethiopian friend for coffee, you might be waiting for six hours if you don’t know which clock they’re using!

The system is actually very logical once you get the hang of it.

I’ll explain exactly how the Ethiopian clock works and give you the phrases you need to tell time in Amharic.

How the Ethiopian clock works

In Western countries, the 24-hour day begins in the middle of the night at midnight (12:00 AM).

The Ethiopian clock is different. It’s based on the sun.

Because Ethiopia is close to the equator, the amount of daylight stays pretty much the same all year round. The sun rises around 6:00 AM and sets around 6:00 PM.

Because of this, the Ethiopian day starts at dawn, not midnight.

The day is divided into two 12-hour cycles:

• Daytime: Starts at dawn (6:00 AM Western time is 12:00 Ethiopian time)
• Nighttime: Starts at dusk (6:00 PM Western time is 12:00 Ethiopian time)

So, when the sun comes up at 7:00 AM Western time, it’s 1:00 in the morning Ethiopian time. When it’s 8:00 AM Western time, it’s 2:00 in the morning Ethiopian time, and so on.

The simple math trick to convert time

If you’re looking at your Western watch and want to know what time it is in Ethiopia, there’s a very easy trick.

Just add or subtract 6 from the time.

Here’s how it works:

• If the Western time is between 1 and 6, add 6. (Example: 2:00 PM Western + 6 = 8:00 Ethiopian time)
• If the Western time is between 7 and 12, subtract 6. (Example: 10:00 AM Western - 6 = 4:00 Ethiopian time)

It takes a little bit of practice, but soon this math will become automatic in your head!

Essential vocabulary for telling time

Before we start building sentences, let’s learn the basic words you need for the time of day, as well as the numbers 1 through 12.

Here’s a table of the core time vocabulary:

And here are the numbers 1 to 12 in Amharic, which are essential for the clock:

Asking and answering “what time is it?”

To ask someone for the time in Amharic, you use a very simple and common phrase.

Literally, this translates to “How much hour is it?”

To answer, the basic sentence structure is:

[Time of day] + [Number] + ሰዓት ነው (se’at new).

Let’s look at some examples. Remember to apply the math trick!

If it’s 8:00 AM Western time, you subtract 6 to get 2:00 in the morning Ethiopian time.

If it’s 3:00 PM Western time, you add 6 to get 9:00 in the afternoon Ethiopian time.

If it’s 8:00 PM Western time, you subtract 6 to get 2:00 in the evening Ethiopian time.

Expressing minutes, halves, and quarters

Telling time on the exact hour is great, but what if it’s 2:30 or 4:15?

In Amharic, we use specific words for “half”, “quarter”, and “less/to” just like in English.

• Half / 30 minutes: ተኩል (tekul)
• And a quarter / 15 minutes: ከሩብ (ke rub)
• Quarter to / 45 minutes: ሩብ ጉዳይ (rub guday)

Here’s how you use them in everyday conversation:

If it’s 8:30 AM Western time (2:30 morning Ethiopian time):

If it’s 10:15 AM Western time (4:15 morning Ethiopian time):

If it’s 1:45 PM Western time (7:45 afternoon Ethiopian time). Notice that for “quarter to”, we state the next hour minus a quarter:

If you want to say an exact minute, like 20 minutes past the hour, you use the word ከ (ke), which means “and” in this context:

Here’s a quick summary for practicing the Ethiopian clock:

• Always confirm if a meeting time is in “Habesha time” (Ethiopian time) or “Ferengi time” (Western/Foreigner time).
• Remember the +6 / -6 rule.
• Practice your numbers 1 through 12 until you can say them without thinking.
• Listen to native speakers on the streets of Addis Ababa-they’ll almost always use the Ethiopian 12-hour clock!