Chapter 12 – Time, Days, and Schedules
Unit 4 — Grammar Focus
Telling Time
In Nepali, clock time is most commonly expressed using the verb बज्नु (bajnu) “to ring/strike (a bell/clock).” The basic idea is simple: Nepali talks about the clock “striking” a number. From this verb, two very high-frequency forms are used for everyday time-telling:
- बज्यो (bajyo) = “it’s … o’clock” (a statement of the current time)
- बजे (baje) = “at … o’clock” (a time point used for schedules and appointments)
So Nepali makes a useful distinction: बज्यो is for “it is (time)”, while बजे is for “at (time).” The number comes before these forms.
1) बज्यो (bajyo) for “It’s … o’clock”
Use बज्यो (bajyo) when you want to say what time it is right now—like English “It’s … o’clock.” You say the number first and then बज्यो (e.g., १ बज्यो। ek bajyo. “It’s 1 o’clock.”).
Table 12.4.1 – Time with बज्यो (bajyo): “it’s … o’clock”
| Time (Nepali) | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| १ बज्यो। | ek bajyo. | It’s 1 o’clock. |
| ३ बज्यो। | tīn bajyo. | It’s 3 o’clock. |
Learner note: बज्यो is in the past/perfective form (“struck”), but in time-telling it functions like English present time (“it is now…”). This is a conventional way of speaking—don’t translate it too literally.
2) बजे (baje) for “at … o’clock”
Use बजे (baje) when you mean “at … o’clock”—the time of a class, meeting, appointment, bus, etc. You say the number first and then बजे (e.g., ३ बजे tīn baje “at 3 o’clock”).
Table 12.4.2 – Time with बजे (baje) for “at … o’clock”
| Time (Nepali) | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| १ बजे | ek baje | at 1 o’clock |
| ३ बजे | tīn baje | at 3 o’clock |
This form is especially common with schedule verbs like सुरु हुन्छ (suru hunchha) “starts” or हुन्छ (hunchha) “is held/occurs.”
3) Quarter Past, Half Past, Quarter To
In addition to full hours (e.g., “3 o’clock”), Nepali has very common, fixed expressions for 15-minute and 30-minute times. These patterns are used in everyday speech and are often more natural than saying the minutes directly. सवा (sawā) means “a quarter past” the hour, साढे (sāḍhe) means “half past” the hour, and पौने (paune) means “a quarter to” the next hour (i.e., 15 minutes before the next hour). These expressions are followed by बजे (baje) when you are giving a scheduled time (“at 3:15,” “at 5:30,” etc.).
Table 12.4.3 – Quarter past, half past, quarter to
| Time | Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:15 | सवा तीन बजे | sawā tīn baje | at a quarter past 3 |
| 5:30 | साढे पाँच बजे | sāḍhe pā̃c baje | at half past 5 |
| 3:45 | पौने चार बजे | paune cār baje | at a quarter to 4 |
4) Making a.m./p.m. clear
Nepali often makes a.m./p.m. clear by adding a time-of-day word before the clock time. This is important because “८ बजे (āṭh baje)” simply means “at 8 o’clock” and does not automatically tell you whether it is morning or evening. To avoid confusion, speakers commonly say बिहान ८ बजे (bihāna āṭh baje) “8 a.m.” or बेलुका ८ बजे (belukā āṭh baje) “8 p.m.” In everyday conversation, this is the most natural way to specify morning, afternoon, evening, or night when giving times.
Table 12.4.4 – Time of Day Words
| Time of day | Nepali | Transliteration | Typical meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| morning | बिहान | bihāna | dawn → late morning |
| daytime / afternoon | दिउँसो | diusō | late morning → dusk; also “afternoon” |
| evening | बेलुका | belukā | after sunset, before night |
| night | राति | rāti | night-time |
Table 12.4.5 – Clock time with time-of-day words
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| बिहान ८ बजे | bihāna āṭh baje | at 8 o’clock in the morning |
| दिउँसो २ बजे | diusō duī baje | at 2 o’clock in the afternoon |
| बेलुका ६ बजे | belukā cha baje | at 6 o’clock in the evening |
| राति १० बजे | rāti daś baje | at 10 o’clock at night |
Days of the Week
Nepali has two common words that English often translates as “day,” but they are used differently. दिन (din) refers to a day as a time period (a 24-hour day, duration: “for three days”). बार (bār) refers to a weekday name (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). When you ask “What day is it today?” in the weekday sense, Nepali uses बार.
Table 12.4.6 – दिन (din) vs. बार (bār)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| तीन दिन | tīn din | three days |
| आज कुन बार हो? | āja kun bār ho? | What day (of the week) is it today? |
| आज सोमबार हो। | āja sombār ho. | Today is Monday. |
Table 12.4.7 – Nepali weekday names: Sunday to Saturday
| English | Nepali | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | आइतबार | aitabār |
| Monday | सोमबार | sombār |
| Tuesday | मंगलबार | maṅgalbār |
| Wednesday | बुधबार | budhbār |
| Thursday | बिहीबार | bihībār |
| Friday | शुक्रबार | śukrabār |
| Saturday | शनिबार | śanibār |
Weekday names typically end in –बार (–bār).
Table 12.4.8 – Relative-day words: past and future
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| अस्ति | asti | the day before yesterday |
| हिजो | hijo | yesterday |
| आज | āja | today |
| भोलि | bholi | tomorrow |
| पर्सि | parsi | the day after tomorrow |
These words are very common for everyday conversation.
Table 12.4.9 – Referring to past/future days
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| गत शुक्रबार / गएको शुक्रबार | gata śukrabār / gaeko śukrabār | last Friday |
| आउँदो शनिबार / अर्को शनिबार | āũdo śanibār / arko śanibār | next Saturday |
To refer to a specific day in the past or future, Nepali commonly uses गत (gata) “last” and आउँदो / अर्को (āũdo / arko) “next.” In everyday speech, many speakers also use गएको (gaeko) “last/past” with weekdays (e.g., “the Friday that has passed”).
Cultural note (weekends)
In Nepal, Saturday (शनिबार / śanibār) is commonly the weekly holiday; in many contexts Sunday (आइतबार / aitabār) is a regular workday. In India, weekend practice often includes Sunday and sometimes Saturday, depending on the workplace.
Present Tense for Schedules: हुन्छ (huncha)
Nepali often uses present-tense forms to talk about two related meanings: habitual routines (what someone usually does) and scheduled events (what happens on a timetable). Even though the verb is “present” in form, schedule sentences usually mean regularly occurs / is held, not “happening right now.” In schedule talk, Nepali strongly favors the event predicate हुन्छ (huncha) “occurs / is held.” For start times, Nepali commonly uses सुरु हुन्छ (suru huncha) “starts/begins,” especially with बजे (baje) time expressions.
Scheduled events
This pattern treats the event (such as a class, meeting, or exam) as something that occurs on a schedule, rather than as an action performed by a person. The core structure is [event] + [day/time] + हुन्छ (huncha), which means “is held/occurs (on that day or at that time).” To say that an event does not take place, Nepali uses the negative form [event] + [day/time] + हुँदैन (hudaina), meaning “does not happen / is not held” (for example, “no class today” or “no meeting on Sunday”).
Table 12.4.10 – Scheduled Events With hunchha / hudaina
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| कक्षा सोमबार र बुधबार हुन्छ। | kakṣā sombār ra budhabār huncha. | Class is on Monday and Wednesday. |
| बैठक शुक्रबार हुन्छ। | baiṭhak śukrabār huncha. | The meeting is on Friday. |
| परीक्षा अर्को हप्ता हुन्छ। | parīkṣā arko haptā huncha. | The exam is next week. |
| कक्षा सोमबार हुन्छ? | kakṣā sombār huncha? | Is class on Monday? |
| कक्षा आइतबार हुँदैन। | kakṣā āitabār hudaina. | There is no class on Sunday. |
| आज कक्षा हुँदैन। | āja kakṣā hudaina. | There is no class today. |
When talking about schedules, Nepali commonly combines a time expression with बजे (baje) (“at … o’clock”) and a verb that marks the start or end of an event. Two high-frequency schedule verbs are सुरु हुन्छ (suru huncha) “starts/begins” and सकिन्छ (sakincha) “ends/finishes.” The basic template is simple and productive: [Event] + [time + बजे] + सुरु हुन्छ / सकिन्छ, for example, “Class at 9:15 starts” or “Class at 11:00 ends.”
Table 12.4.11 – Start/End Times on a Schedule
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| कक्षा सवा नौ बजे सुरु हुन्छ। | kakṣā sawā nau baje suru huncha. | Class starts at 9:15. |
| कक्षा एघार बजे सकिन्छ। | kakṣā eghāra baje sakincha. | Class ends at 11:00. |
| कार्यक्रम दस बजे सुरु हुन्छ। | kāryakram das baje suru huncha. | The program starts at 10:00. |
Routine Verbs: Habitual Present
To talk about routines and repeated actions (“what someone usually does”), Nepali uses finite present-tense verbs such as जान्छु (jānchu) “I go” and गर्छु (garchu) “I do.” In most contexts, these present forms naturally express a habitual meaning (“regularly / usually”), especially when they appear with time words like हरेक (harek) “every” or with weekday expressions such as सोमबार (sombār) and शुक्रबार (śukrabār). This routine system is different from schedule predicates like हुन्छ (huncha), which describe whether an event occurs on a timetable; routine verbs describe an agent’s action (someone goes/does/studies).
Table 12.4.12 – Present tense verb forms : जानु (jānu) “go” and गर्नु (garnu) “do” (by person)
| Person | Pronoun | “go” (जानु) | Transliteration | “do” (गर्नु) | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | म (ma) | जान्छु | jānchu | गर्छु | garchhu |
| we | हामी (hāmī) | जान्छौँ | jānchaũ | गर्छौँ | garchhaũ |
| you (formal) | तपाईं (tapāī̃) | जानुहुन्छ | jānuhuncha | गर्नुहुन्छ | garnuhunchha |
| you (informal) | तिमी (timī) | जान्छौ | jānchau | गर्छौ | garchhau |
| he/she (plain) | ऊ (ū) | जान्छ | jāncha | गर्छ | garchha |
| he/she (respectful) | उहाँ (uhā̃) | जानुहुन्छ | jānuhuncha | गर्नुहुन्छ | garnuhunchha |
| it/this | यो (yo) | जान्छ | jāncha | गर्छ | garchha |
| they (plain) | तिनीहरू (tinīharū) | जान्छन् | jānchan | गर्छन् | garchhan |
| they (respectful) | उहाँहरू (uhā̃harū) | जानुहुन्छ | jānuhuncha | गर्नुहुन्छ | garnuhunchha |
Table 12.4.13 – Routine examples in the habitual present
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| म काममा जान्छु। | ma kāmmā jānchu. | I go to work. |
| म बिहान कफी पिउँछु। | ma bihāna kaphī piũchu. | I drink coffee in the morning. |
| म बेलुका पढ्छु। | ma belukā paḍhchu. | I study in the evening. |
| म सोमबार जिम जान्छु। | ma sombār jim jānchu. | I go to the gym on Monday. |
| उहाँ बुधबार कार्यालय जानुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ budhabār kāryālaya jānuhuncha. | He/She (respectful) goes to the office on Wednesday. |
| हामी शुक्रबार बैठक गर्छौँ। | hāmī śukrabār baiṭhak garchaũ. | We have a meeting on Friday. |
Need and Want
Nepali expresses “need” and “want” using three common patterns. The most important first step is to decide what you mean in English: need a thing, need to do an action, or want (desire/preference). Each meaning uses a different construction.
1) NEED a thing/resource
Use चाहिन्छ (cāhincha) when you need a thing or resource such as water, time, food, or sleep/rest. Nepali expresses this with the pattern –लाई + noun + चाहिन्छ, where –लाई (–lāi) marks the person who needs something (the experiencer), and चाहिन्छ functions as an impersonal predicate meaning “is needed.” Because of this, चाहिन्छ does not change for person; it stays the same regardless of who needs the item.
Table 12.4.14 – Asking “Do you need …?”: –लाई + noun + चाहिन्छ (cāhinchha)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| तपाईंलाई पानी चाहिन्छ? | tapāī̃lāī pānī cāhincha? | Do you need water? |
| तपाईंलाई के चाहिन्छ? | tapāī̃lāī ke cāhincha? | What do you need? |
Table 12.4.15 – Saying “I need …” (affirmative)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| मलाई पानी चाहिन्छ। | malāī pānī cāhincha. | I need water. |
| मलाई खाना चाहिन्छ। | malāī khānā cāhincha. | I need food. |
Table 12.4.16 – Saying “I don’t need …something”(negative)
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| मलाई अहिले पानी चाहिँदैन। | malāī ahile pānī chāhĩdaina. | I don’t need water right now. |
| हामीलाई थप समय चाहिँदैन। | hāmīlāī thap samaya chāhĩdaina. | We don’t need extra time. |
2) NEED to do an action
Use पर्छ (parcha) when English means “need to / have to”—that is, when you are expressing necessity or obligation to do an action. Nepali forms this with the pattern –लाई + verb infinitive (–nu) + पर्छ, where –लाई (–lāi) marks the person for whom the obligation holds, and the main verb appears in the infinitive (–nu) form. This construction naturally translates as “I need to…” or “I have to…,” for example मलाई जानु पर्छ (malāī jānu parcha) “I need to go.”
NEED to Do an Action (–लाई + infinitive + parchha) — Questions
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| तपाईंलाई खानु पर्छ? | tapāī̃lāī khānu parcha? | Do you need to eat? |
| तपाईंलाई के गर्नुपर्छ? | tapāī̃lāī ke garnu parcha? | What do you need to do? |
NEED to Do an Action — Affirmative
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| मलाई खानु पर्छ। | malāī khānu parcha. | I need to eat. |
| मलाई अहिले जानु पर्छ। | malāī ahile jānu parcha. | I need to go now. |
NEED to Do an Action — Negative
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| मलाई आज काम गर्नुपर्दैन। | malāī āja kām garnu pardaina. | I don’t have to work today. |
| मलाई आज पढ्नुपर्दैन। | malāī āja paḍhnu pardaina. | I don’t have to study today. |
3) WANT (desire/preference)
Use चाहनु (cāhanu) to express “want” in the sense of desire or preference. Unlike चाहिन्छ and पर्छ, this is a regular verb: it agrees with the subject and changes according to honorific level. When you want to do an action, Nepali usually places the verb in the –na form before चाहनु, as in म जान चाहन्छु (ma jāna cāhanchu) “I want to go.”
WANT (Regular verb cāhanu) — Questions
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| तपाईं जान चाहनुहुन्छ? | tapāī̃ jāna cāhanuhuncha? | Do you want to go? |
| तपाईं के गर्न चाहनुहुन्छ? | tapāī̃ ke garnā cāhanuhuncha? | What do you want to do? |
WANT — Affirmative
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| म खेल्न चाहन्छु। | ma khelnā cāhanchu. | I want to play. |
| म खान चाहन्छु। | ma khāna cāhanchu. | I want to eat. |
WANT — Negative
| Nepali | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| म जान चाहन्न। | ma jāna cāhanna. | I don’t want to go. |
| तपाईं जान चाहनुहुन्न। | tapāī̃ jāna cāhanuhunna. | You don’t want to go. |
