Ways to say it
| Hindi | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| समय | samay | /sə.məj/ (Hindi, Standard) /sə.mɛː/ (Hindi, Standard) |
masculine |
| काल | kāl | /kɑːl/ (Hindi, Standard) | masculine |
| क्षण | kṣaṇ | /kʂəɳ/ (Hindi, Standard) | masculine |
| पहर | pahar | /pə.ɦəɾ/ (Hindi, Standard) | masculine |
| पल | pal | /pəl/ (Hindi, Standard) | masculine |
In Hindi, several words are used to express 'time' depending on whether you are referring to the general concept, a specific duration or a brief instant.
Which one should you use?
समय is the most common and general word for 'time' used in everyday conversation. If you mean a very brief, specific moment or an instant, use क्षण. A more colloquial and common way to say 'moment' than क्षण is पल. For a specific era, period or a grammatical tense, use काल. Finally, पहर refers to a specific traditional division of the day or night, often a three-hour period.
How does it change in a sentence?
All provided forms for 'time' in Hindi are masculine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is samay.
When do people say it?
If you want to ask 'What time is it now?' in an informal setting, you can say Abhi kitne baje hai? For a more formal way to describe the time of dawn (before sunrise), the phrase Bhor ka samay is used.
Did you know?
- The word क्षण for 'moment' is a cognate of the Chinese word 刹那 (chànà), which also means 'instant' and entered Chinese via Buddhist texts.
- While काल generally means 'time' or 'era', it also functions as a word for 'death' or 'fate' in many Indian literary contexts.
- The word पल is often used in Hindi to mean 'a moment', but it is also the name of a scale used in weighing, originally referring to a small unit of weight.
Examples in context
- मेरे पास कितना समय है?How much time do I have?This example shows how to ask about the amount of time available using समय.Tatoeba #12395482 by Saumya, translation #2912640 by CK
- मेरा समय मेरा अपना नहीं है।My time is not my own.This example demonstrates the use of समय in a sentence about personal ownership of time.Tatoeba #8889312 by simranbansal, translation #3456005 by Olya
- मैं सबका समय कैसे खराब कर सकता हूँ?How can I waste everyone's time?This example shows how to use समय when talking about wasting time.Tatoeba #9844508 by anushka, translation #6461360 by Eccles17
- 61 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Rahul and Neha are discussing their schedule for a meeting.
- राहुल Rahulक्या आपके पास थोड़ा समय है?Kya aapke paas thoda samay hai?Do you have some time?
- नेहा Nehaहाँ, बताइए राहुल।Haan, bataiye Rahul.Yes, tell me Rahul.
- राहुल Rahulहमें मीटिंग का समय तय करना है।Hamein meeting ka samay tay karna hai.We need to decide the time for the meeting.
- नेहा Nehaठीक है, शाम को मिलते हैं।Theek hai, shaam ko milte hain.Okay, let's meet in the evening.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “time” translations and entries समय, काल, क्षण, पहर, पल, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries काल, क्षण, पहर, समय, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
