Telling the time in Uzbek takes two questions and one suffix. Soat necha? asks what time it is now, Soat nechada? asks when something happens, and the suffix -da means “at” when you answer. The numbers are the ones you already know, so this page is mostly about putting them in the right place.
If you need the numbers first, see Uzbek numbers 1 to 10. Days and dates are on days of the week and months in Uzbek, and the single phrase has its own page: how to say “what time is it” in Uzbek.
Asking and telling the time
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Soat necha? | so-AT ne-CHA | What time is it? |
| Soat nechada? | so-AT ne-cha-DA | At what time? |
| Soat bir. | so-AT BIR | It is one o’clock. |
| Soat uch. | so-AT UCH | It is three o’clock. |
| Soat uch yarim. | so-AT UCH ya-RIM | It is half past three. |
| Soat uchda. | so-AT uch-DA | At three o’clock. |
| Soat yettida. | so-AT yet-ti-DA | At seven o’clock. |
| Soat uchdan besh daqiqa oʻtdi. | so-AT uch-DAN BESH da-qi-QA oʻt-DI | It is five past three. |
| Soat uchga besh daqiqa qoldi. | so-AT uch-GA BESH da-qi-QA qol-DI | It is five to three. |
| Soat uchdan chorak oʻtdi. | so-AT uch-DAN cho-RAK oʻt-DI | It is quarter past three. |
| Soat uchga chorak qoldi. | so-AT uch-GA cho-RAK qol-DI | It is quarter to three. |
| soat | so-AT | hour, o’clock, clock, watch |
| daqiqa | da-qi-QA | minute |
| chorak | cho-RAK | quarter |
| yarim soat | ya-RIM so-AT | half an hour |
Parts of the day and “now”
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ertalab | er-ta-LAB | in the morning |
| kunduzi | kun-du-ZI | during the day |
| tushdan keyin | tush-DAN ke-YIN | in the afternoon |
| kechqurun | kech-qu-RUN | in the evening |
| kechasi | ke-cha-SI | at night |
| hozir | ho-ZIR | now |
| erta | er-TA | early |
| kech | KECH | late |
| Kechikdim. | ke-chik-DIM | I am late. |
| Soat nechadan? | so-AT ne-cha-DAN | From what time? |
Necha, nechada and “at”: -da
- necha means “how many”. Soat necha? is literally “hour how many?”, and it asks what time it is now.
- nechada is necha plus -da (“at”). Soat nechada? asks at what time something happens. Compare Nonushta soat nechada? (What time is breakfast?).
- To answer, put -da on the number: uchda, beshda, oltida, yettida, sakkizda, oʻnda. The suffix does not change: it is always -da.
- Past the hour: the hour takes -dan (from), then the minutes and oʻtdi (have passed): uchdan oʻn daqiqa oʻtdi (ten past three). To the hour: the next hour takes -ga (to), then the minutes and qoldi (are left): uchga oʻn daqiqa qoldi (ten to three). Chorak (quarter) takes the place of the minutes: uchdan chorak oʻtdi. Half past is simply the hour plus yarim: uch yarim.
- Timetables and announcements often just read the digits: soat toʻqqiz oʻttizda (at 9:30).
- To say when in the day, put the part of the day first: ertalab soat yettida (at seven in the morning), kechqurun soat sakkizda (at eight in the evening).
A short conversation
A: Kechirasiz, soat necha?
Excuse me, what time is it?
B: Soat uch yarim.
It is half past three.
A: Rahmat. Uchrashuv soat nechada?
Thank you. What time is the meeting?
B: Kechqurun soat yettida.
At seven in the evening.
A: Yaxshi, kechikmayman.
Good, I will not be late.
Uzbekcha is an app for learning Uzbek, with lessons in English and audio on every word. It is on Android now and coming soon to iPhone. Get the app.
