समय
samay/sə.məj/
The English phrase "the time" can be translated into Hindi as समय (samay).
समय refers to time in the sense of an abstract period, an era or a specific point in time. If you wish to specifically indicate the evening, you can use shaam.
Which one should you use?
समय is used for time as an abstract duration or period. In contrast, the Urdu-derived word वक्त is a very common colloquial alternative used in everyday spoken Hindi to mean time.
How do you pronounce it?
samay is pronounced /sə.məj/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word समय has a doublet in समाँ, which refers to a specific atmosphere, moment or a state of spiritual ecstasy in music.
- In Indian philosophy and literature, समय is often personified as a relentless force that consumes all things, regardless of power or status.
- The word samay is considered 'Tatsama', meaning it is a direct, unadulterated borrow from Sanskrit, which gives it a more formal and literary tone than its counterparts.
Examples in context
- टॉम की जेब में उस समय पचास डॉलर थें।Tom had fifty dollars in his pocket at the time.Tatoeba #2077949 by dfordivam, translation #1025587 by CK
- मेरे पास अब समय नहीं है।Mere paas ab samay nahi hai.I don't have the time now.
- 1 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Pooja and Rahul are meeting for lunch.
- पूजा Poojaराहुल, क्या समय हुआ है?rahul, kya samay hua hai?Rahul, what is the time?
- राहुल Rahulअभी दोपहर के दो बजे हैं।abhi dopahar ke do baje hain.It is two o'clock in the afternoon.
- पूजा Poojaखाना खाने का समय हो गया है।khana khane ka samay ho gaya hai.It is time to eat food.
- राहुल Rahulहाँ, चलो चलते हैं।haan, chalo chalte hain.Yes, let's go.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry समय, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries समय, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
