How to say "time" in 86 languages
"Time" is tiempo in Spanish, temps in French, Zeit in German, tempo in Italian and Portuguese, время (vremya) in Russian, 时间 (shíjiān) in Chinese, 時間 (jikan) in Japanese, समय (samay) in Hindi and وقت (waqt) in Arabic. Here is the word in 86 languages, with how to say it.
The word for time around the world
| Language | Word | Sounds like | Where it's spoken | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | tiempo | TYEM-poh | Spain, Latin America | Clock time is hora: ¿Qué hora es? |
| French | temps | tahn | France, Canada, Africa | Clock time is heure: Quelle heure est-il ? |
| Italian | tempo | TEM-poh | Italy | Clock time is ora |
| Portuguese | tempo | TEM-poo | Portugal, Brazil | Clock time is hora |
| Catalan | temps | tems | Catalonia, Andorra | |
| Romanian | timp | teemp | Romania, Moldova | |
| Latin | tempus | TEM-poos | Ancient Rome | The root of tempo, temporary and contemporary |
| German | Zeit | tsite | Germany, Austria, Switzerland | Clock time is Uhrzeit |
| Dutch | tijd | tayt | Netherlands, Belgium | |
| Afrikaans | tyd | tayt | South Africa, Namibia | |
| Swedish | tid | teed | Sweden | Same root as English tide |
| Norwegian | tid | teed | Norway | |
| Danish | tid | teedh | Denmark | |
| Icelandic | tími | TEE-mi | Iceland | A close cousin of English time |
| Yiddish | צייט | tsayt | Jewish communities worldwide | |
| Irish | am | awm | Ireland | |
| Welsh | amser | AM-ser | Wales | |
| Scottish Gaelic | àm / tìde | awm / CHEE-juh | Scotland | |
| Basque | denbora | den-BOH-rah | Spain, France | Borrowed from Latin tempora |
| Greek | χρόνος | KHROH-nos | Greece, Cyprus | Also means 'year'; root of chronology |
| Albanian | kohë | KOH-huh | Albania, Kosovo | |
| Russian | время | VRYE-mya | Russia | |
| Ukrainian | час | chas | Ukraine | |
| Belarusian | час | chas | Belarus | |
| Polish | czas | chahs | Poland | |
| Czech | čas | chahs | Czechia | |
| Slovak | čas | chahs | Slovakia | |
| Slovenian | čas | chahs | Slovenia | |
| Croatian / Bosnian | vrijeme | VRYEH-meh | Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Also means 'weather' |
| Serbian | време / vreme | VREH-meh | Serbia | Also means 'weather' |
| Bulgarian | време | VREH-meh | Bulgaria | Also means 'weather' |
| Lithuanian | laikas | LAI-kas | Lithuania | |
| Latvian | laiks | laiks | Latvia | |
| Finnish | aika | AI-kah | Finland | |
| Estonian | aeg | ag | Estonia | |
| Hungarian | idő | EE-duh | Hungary | Also means 'weather' |
| Turkish | zaman | zah-MAHN | Turkey, Cyprus | Clock time is saat |
| Azerbaijani | vaxt / zaman | vakht | Azerbaijan | |
| Georgian | დრო | dro | Georgia | |
| Armenian | ժամանակ | zhah-mah-NAHK | Armenia | |
| Kazakh | уақыт | wa-KUT | Kazakhstan | From Arabic waqt |
| Uzbek | vaqt | vakt | Uzbekistan | From Arabic waqt |
| Mongolian | цаг | tsag | Mongolia | |
| Arabic | وقت | waqt | Middle East, North Africa | Also zaman; clock time is sāʿa |
| Hebrew | זמן | z'MAN | Israel | |
| Persian (Farsi) | زمان / وقت | zah-MAHN / vaght | Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan | |
| Pashto | وخت | wakht | Afghanistan, Pakistan | |
| Kurdish (Kurmanji) | dem | dem | Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran | |
| Hindi | समय | SUM-ay | India | Also waqt; clock time is baje |
| Urdu | وقت | waqt | Pakistan, India | |
| Bengali | সময় | SHAW-moy | Bangladesh, India | |
| Punjabi | ਸਮਾਂ | SUH-maan | India, Pakistan | |
| Marathi | वेळ | vel | India | |
| Gujarati | સમય | SUH-may | India | |
| Tamil | நேரம் | NAY-rum | India, Sri Lanka, Singapore | |
| Telugu | సమయం | SUH-muh-yum | India | |
| Kannada | ಸಮಯ | SUH-muh-yuh | India | |
| Malayalam | സമയം | SUH-muh-yum | India | |
| Nepali | समय | SUH-muh-yuh | Nepal | |
| Sinhala | කාලය | KAA-luh-yuh | Sri Lanka | |
| Mandarin Chinese | 时间 / 時間 | shí-jiān | China, Taiwan, Singapore | |
| Cantonese | 時間 | si gaan | Hong Kong, Guangdong | |
| Japanese | 時間 | ji-kan | Japan | Same characters as Chinese, read differently |
| Korean | 시간 | shi-gan | South and North Korea | From the same Chinese characters |
| Vietnamese | thời gian | tuh-ee zahn | Vietnam | Also from the Chinese 時間 |
| Thai | เวลา | weh-LAH | Thailand | |
| Lao | ເວລາ | weh-LAH | Laos | |
| Khmer | ពេលវេលា | pel-wey-LEAH | Cambodia | |
| Burmese | အချိန် | a-CHAYN | Myanmar | |
| Indonesian | waktu | WAHK-too | Indonesia | From Arabic waqt |
| Malay | masa / waktu | MAH-sah | Malaysia, Brunei | |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | oras / panahon | OH-ras | Philippines | Oras, from Spanish hora, means clock time |
| Swahili | wakati | wah-KAH-tee | Kenya, Tanzania, East Africa | From Arabic waqt |
| Amharic | ጊዜ | GEE-zeh | Ethiopia | |
| Somali | waqti | WAKH-tee | Somalia, Djibouti | From Arabic waqt |
| Hausa | lokaci | loh-KAH-chee | Nigeria, Niger | |
| Yoruba | àkókò | ah-KOH-koh | Nigeria, Benin | |
| Igbo | oge | OH-geh | Nigeria | |
| Zulu | isikhathi | ee-see-KAH-tee | South Africa | |
| Xhosa | ixesha | ee-KEH-shah | South Africa | |
| Malagasy | fotoana | foo-TWAH-nah | Madagascar | |
| Haitian Creole | tan | tahn | Haiti | From French temps |
| Hawaiian | manawa | mah-NAH-vah | Hawaii | |
| Māori | wā | wah | New Zealand | |
| Samoan | taimi | TAI-mee | Samoa | Borrowed from English time |
| Esperanto | tempo | TEM-poh | Constructed language |
Pronunciations are simplified English approximations. Many languages have more than one word; we show the most common word for time in general.
Families of words
- From Latin tempus: Spanish tiempo, French temps, Italian and Portuguese tempo, Romanian timp, Catalan temps, Haitian Creole tan, Basque denbora.
- From the Germanic root behind English "tide": German Zeit, Dutch tijd, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish tid. English time and Icelandic tími come from a close sister word meaning a division or stretch of time.
- From Slavic: Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian use vremya/vreme, which also means "weather"; Polish, Czech, Ukrainian and Slovak use čas/czas, which in Russian means "hour".
- From Arabic waqt: Urdu, Persian, Turkish (vakit), Swahili (wakati), Somali, Indonesian (waktu), Kazakh and Uzbek.
- From Sanskrit samaya: Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
- From Chinese 時間: Mandarin shíjiān, Japanese jikan, Korean sigan and Vietnamese thời gian.
Where does the English word come from? Old English tīma, from a root meaning "to divide". See what time means and 70+ words about time.
Questions people ask
How do you say 'time' in Spanish?
Tiempo for time in general. For clock time, Spanish uses hora: ¿Qué hora es? means "What time is it?"
How do you say 'time' in French?
Temps for time in general, and heure for clock time: Quelle heure est-il ?
How do you say 'time' in Japanese?
時間 (jikan). The same characters mean time in Chinese (shíjiān) and gave Korean sigan and Vietnamese thời gian.
Why do so many languages have two words for time?
Many separate time in general (how long something takes) from clock time (what hour it is). English uses one word for both, which is unusual: Spanish says tiempo and hora, German Zeit and Uhrzeit, Turkish zaman and saat.
Which word for time is the most widespread?
The Arabic waqt traveled with trade and Islam into Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Swahili, Somali, Indonesian, Kazakh and Uzbek, so versions of it are used from East Africa to Southeast Asia. Latin tempus spread just as far through French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
See the current time in any of these countries on time zones by country, or in Spanish on reloj en línea.
Last updated October 18, 2026. Spotted a better translation? Tell us.