Ways to say it
| Uzbek | Pronunciation | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soat necha? | so-AT ne-CHA | What time is it? | The standard question. |
| Hozir soat necha? | ho-ZIR so-AT ne-CHA | What time is it now? | Just as common; hozir means “now”. |
| Soat nechada boshlanadi? | so-AT ne-cha-DA bosh-la-na-DI | What time does it start? | Soat nechada? is “at what time?”, for events. |
| Soat uch | so-AT UCH | It's three | Say the number after soat. |
| Uch yarim | UCH ya-RIM | Half past three | Yarim is “half”: the hour plus yarim. Soat can be dropped. |
Capital letters mark the stressed syllable. Uzbek stress usually falls on the last syllable.
What it literally means
Hour how-many? Soat means “hour” and also “clock, watch”; necha is “how many”.
What people say back
Soat uch (so-AT UCH): “It's three”. For half past, add yarim: Uch yarim.
In a real exchange
- You: Kechirasiz, soat necha?
Excuse me, what time is it? - Passer-by: Soat uch yarim.
Half past three. - You: Rahmat. Poyezd soat nechada ketadi?
Thank you. What time does the train leave? - Passer-by: Bilmayman, kassadan soʻrang.
I don't know, ask at the ticket office.
Good to know
- Soat means “hour” and also “clock, watch”, so one word covers soat necha? and soatim (my watch).
- Soat nechada? adds -da (“at”): “at what time?”. Use it for events: Soat nechada boshlanadi? Soat necha? asks only for the time now.
- Half past is the hour plus yarim: uch yarim is 3:30, toʻqqiz yarim is 9:30.
Common mistakes
- Using Soat nechada? for the time now. It asks “at what time will it happen?”.
- Dropping soat and asking Necha?, which means only “how many?”.
This phrase is part of Telling the time in Uzbek: what time is it and hours in the free phrasebook, with the grammar behind it.