Updated on March 6, 2024
AM is a common abbreviation that stands for the ante meridiem period of the 12-hour clock system, which runs from midnight to noon. This term is used to differentiate between the two halves of the day, with PM covering the hours from noon to midnight. Understanding the translation of AM in different languages can be useful for travelers, language learners, and anyone interested in global culture.
The concept of dividing the day into two 12-hour periods has been around for centuries, with evidence suggesting that it was used in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Today, this system is used worldwide, making it a universal point of reference for timekeeping.
Here are some translations of AM in various languages: English (AM), Spanish (A.M.), French (matin), German (vormittag), Italian (a.m.), Chinese (上午), Japanese (午前), and Korean (오전). By learning these translations, you can better communicate and understand time-related concepts in different languages and cultures.
Afrikaans | am | ||
The Dutch-derived word "AM" can also mean "but" in Afrikaans. | |||
Amharic | am | ||
The word AM, which means "good morning" in Amharic, also refers to a type of greeting ceremony involving bowing and handshakes. | |||
Hausa | am | ||
"AM" in Hausa can also mean "mother" or "maternal aunt". | |||
Igbo | am | ||
AM also means 'I am' in Igbo. | |||
Malagasy | pm | ||
"The shortened versions PM and AM mean respectively "post meridiem" and "ante meridiem". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | am | ||
In Nyanja, 'AM' can also refer to a time range (from early morning to noon), or a person from northern Tanzania. | |||
Shona | am | ||
The word "AM" in Shona can also refer to the first hour of the day. | |||
Somali | am | ||
In Somali, "AM" can also mean "mouth" or "opening." | |||
Sesotho | am | ||
AM is an acronym that also means "morning" in Sesotho. | |||
Swahili | am | ||
The word "AM" in Swahili can also mean "morning". | |||
Xhosa | am | ||
AM can also stand for 'after midnight' in Xhosa. | |||
Yoruba | am | ||
In Yorùbá, AM could also mean 'father' or 'fatherhood'. | |||
Zulu | am | ||
The Zulu word 'AM' also means 'morning' or 'dawn'. | |||
Bambara | n ye | ||
Ewe | nye | ||
Kinyarwanda | am | ||
Lingala | naza | ||
Luganda | ndi | ||
Sepedi | a | ||
Twi (Akan) | yɛ | ||
Arabic | صباحا | ||
The Arabic word "صباحا" can also mean "in the morning" or "in the early part of the day". | |||
Hebrew | am | ||
The Hebrew word "AM" can also mean "mother" or "nation" | |||
Pashto | سهار | ||
The word "سهار" can also refer to the morning meal or breakfast in Pashto. | |||
Arabic | صباحا | ||
The Arabic word "صباحا" can also mean "in the morning" or "in the early part of the day". |
Albanian | jam | ||
JAM in Albanian can also derive from the Greek word | |||
Basque | am | ||
'AM' also means 'year' in Basque, from the Latin 'annum'. | |||
Catalan | am | ||
"AM" in Catalan can also mean "I love you". | |||
Croatian | am | ||
AM, in Croatian, also means the first declension of the word "mama," meaning "mother." | |||
Danish | er | ||
ER is also the second person singular form of the verb ER, to be. | |||
Dutch | am | ||
AM is the Dutch acronym for "Amplitude Modulation" and the international vehicle registration code for the Netherlands. | |||
English | am | ||
AM (ante meridiem) is Latin for 'before midday' (i.e., 12:00 noon). | |||
French | un m | ||
In French, "UN M" (AM) can also mean "one meter". | |||
Frisian | bin | ||
The word 'BIN' (AM) in Frisian is derived from the Old Frisian word 'ban' and originally meant 'to ask' or 'to summon'. | |||
Galician | am | ||
Also known as "ma". | |||
German | am | ||
The German word "AM" can also mean "at" or "on", and is often used in conjunction with time or dates. | |||
Icelandic | am | ||
The word "AM" in Icelandic has two meanings: the first is the ablative case of "A" and the second is a contraction of "áðan miðjan" which means "before midday". | |||
Irish | am | ||
AM also refers to a river of the same name, which flows through County Kerry, Ireland. | |||
Italian | am | ||
The Italian word 'AM' also refers to the Ace of Coins in a deck of Tarot cards. | |||
Luxembourgish | am | ||
AM also means "before midday" in Luxembourgish. | |||
Maltese | am | ||
The Maltese word “AM” can also refer to a paternal uncle. | |||
Norwegian | er | ||
In Norwegian, "ER" is also the plural form of "ER" (he), "HUN" (she), "DET" (it) and "VI" (we). | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | sou | ||
SOU can also mean "I am" in Old Portuguese and in some Brazilian dialects. | |||
Scots Gaelic | am | ||
In Scots Gaelic, "AM" can also refer to a female sheep or ewe. | |||
Spanish | a.m | ||
"A.M." es una forma abreviada de "ante meridiem", que significa "antes del mediodía" en latín. | |||
Swedish | am | ||
"AM" also means "but" in Swedish. | |||
Welsh | yn | ||
YN can also mean 'I am' in Welsh, which can be confusing for learners. |
Belarusian | am | ||
In Belarusian, "AM" can also mean "I am" or "you are". | |||
Bosnian | am | ||
"AM" can also be the short version for months in Bosnian, e.g. "januAM" (January) or "septemAM" (September). | |||
Bulgarian | am | ||
In the Cyrillic alphabet, AM is the name of the first Cyrillic letter, А, similar to the English letter A. | |||
Czech | dopoledne | ||
"Dopledne" is derived from the Old Czech word "dopoludnie", which literally means "half-day" and refers to the period between sunrise and noon. | |||
Estonian | olen | ||
"Olen" in Estonian can also refer to an archaic word meaning "time", "age" or "period." | |||
Finnish | olen | ||
The genitive form, OLENNA is also used by itself meaning 'being' with the verb 'olla' meaning 'to be'. | |||
Hungarian | am | ||
In Hungarian, "AM" can be an interjection expressing impatience, similar to "Oh, come on!" | |||
Latvian | am | ||
In Latvian, "AM" also refers to the period of time between midnight and noon, which is known as "priekšpusdienā." | |||
Lithuanian | esu | ||
Lithuanian "ESU" ("AM") also means "I AM" in Latin. | |||
Macedonian | ам | ||
In Macedonian, 'АМ' can also refer to the Cyrillic letter 'М' (M). | |||
Polish | jestem | ||
The Polish word JESTEM can also mean 'I exist' or 'I am present'. | |||
Romanian | a.m | ||
In Romanian, "A.M" also stands for "Apostolul Matei" (Apostle Matthew). | |||
Russian | am | ||
In Russian, "AM" stands for "ante meridiem", just like in English; the 24-hour format is not common in colloquial speech. | |||
Serbian | сам | ||
The Serbian word САМ can also mean 'only' or 'alone'. | |||
Slovak | am | ||
The term AM can also be an abbreviation for a master's degree in Slovak (AM = akademický magistr). | |||
Slovenian | am | ||
AM is also used in Slovenian to mean "but". | |||
Ukrainian | am | ||
"AM" is also an abbreviation for the Latin phrase "ante meridiem", meaning "before midday". |
Bengali | এএম | ||
The word "এএম" is also used as an abbreviation for the term "Artificial Member" in Bengali, referring to a prosthetic limb or device. | |||
Gujarati | એ.એમ. | ||
Gujarati 'એ.એમ.' translates to 'before midday', 'morning', or 'era', with the latter most specifically referencing 'Christian Era'. | |||
Hindi | बजे | ||
The word "बजे" is derived from the Sanskrit word "विज" meaning "to shine", and is also used to indicate the time of day when the sun is at its highest point. | |||
Kannada | ಎಎಮ್ | ||
The Kannada word 'ಎಎಮ್' (AM) can also refer to the name of the goddess 'ಅಮಾ' (Ama). | |||
Malayalam | am | ||
The word "AM" in Malayalam derives from the Sanskrit word "am" which means "time period or period within a day". | |||
Marathi | आहे | ||
The word "आहे" is also the present tense of the verb "असणे" (to be) in Marathi. | |||
Nepali | am | ||
The Nepali word "AM" also means "mother" in English. | |||
Punjabi | ਸਵੇਰੇ | ||
In Punjabi, "ਸਵੇਰੇ" is also used to refer to the period of time between sunrise and noon. | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඒ.එම් | ||
The word "ඒ.එම්" (AM) can also mean "before noon" in Sinhala. | |||
Tamil | நான் | ||
The Tamil word "நான்" (AM) is also used to denote concepts like "ego" and "self". | |||
Telugu | am | ||
AM is used after the clock time to denote the morning period of the day, from midnight to noon. | |||
Urdu | صبح | ||
The word "صبح" in Urdu originates from the Arabic word "الصُّبْح" meaning "dawn" or "morning", and is also used in Persian with the same meaning. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 上午 | ||
"上午" originates from the phrase "早晨的太阳", meaning "the morning sun". | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 上午 | ||
上午 (AM) literally means 'morning time'. | |||
Japanese | 午前 | ||
午前, meaning 'AM,' is a Sino-Japanese reading of a Chinese phrase, "上午" meaning 'morning.' | |||
Korean | 오전 | ||
"오전" can also refer to a period of time after midnight. | |||
Mongolian | am | ||
The Mongolian word AM is used in a variety of contexts; in the daytime (from sunrise to sunset), as an abbreviation for | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | နံနက် | ||
In Myanmar, 'နံနက်' (nan net) also refers to the period from dawn to noon, not just 'AM'. |
Indonesian | saya | ||
The word "SAYA" in Indonesian shares its etymology and meaning with the Malay word "SAYA" which means "I" or "me". | |||
Javanese | am | ||
The Javanese word "AM" can also mean "time" or "era" | |||
Khmer | ព្រឹក | ||
"ព្រឹក" can also refer to the period from dawn to early morning. | |||
Lao | am | ||
The Lao word "AM" can also mean "female" or "mother". | |||
Malay | pagi | ||
The word "PAGI" in Malay can also refer to the early morning hours or the time before noon. | |||
Thai | น | ||
The Thai letter "น" (AM) has been influenced by the Sanskrit language and is pronounced as "on" in certain contexts. | |||
Vietnamese | là | ||
"LÀ" can also mean "exist" or "be present" in Vietnamese. | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | am | ||
Azerbaijani | am | ||
The Azerbaijani word "AM" means "but also" and is often used to connect two clauses in a sentence. | |||
Kazakh | am | ||
In Kazakh, "AM" can be both the abbreviation for "ante meridiem" (before noon) and a verb meaning "to take" or "to get." | |||
Kyrgyz | am | ||
In Kyrgyz, "AM" can also mean "our father" or "Lord". | |||
Tajik | ом | ||
Some believe the word ом translates to 'peace' and is of Indic origin. | |||
Turkmen | am | ||
Uzbek | am | ||
The word "AM" in Uzbek also means "uncle". | |||
Uyghur | am | ||
Hawaiian | am | ||
In Hawaiian, "AM" can also be used as a noun meaning "mother". | |||
Maori | am | ||
In Maori, "AM" is an acronym for "ante meridiem" (before noon). | |||
Samoan | am | ||
Also an abbreviation for the Samoan word 'Amata' meaning 'a beloved person'. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | am | ||
The Tagalog (Filipino) word "AM" can also refer to the English word "morning". |
Aymara | nayatwa | ||
Guarani | che | ||
Esperanto | estas | ||
ESTAS can also mean "you are" (singular) in Spanish, and "to be" (present tense) in Latin. | |||
Latin | am | ||
Ante meridiem is a Latin phrase meaning 'before noon' and is the origin of the English abbreviation AM. |
Greek | ειμαι | ||
While the word "ΕΙΜΑΙ" means "am," in ancient Greek it was also a verb used in the imperfect tense meaning "I was" or "I have already." | |||
Hmong | am | ||
The Hmong word "AM" can also mean "morning" or "dawn." | |||
Kurdish | im | ||
In Kurdish, "IM" can also mean "today" or "now". | |||
Turkish | am | ||
The word "AM" can also mean "aunt" or "uncle" in Turkish. | |||
Xhosa | am | ||
AM can also stand for 'after midnight' in Xhosa. | |||
Yiddish | בין | ||
In Yiddish, בין (AM) can also mean "between" or "among". | |||
Zulu | am | ||
The Zulu word 'AM' also means 'morning' or 'dawn'. | |||
Assamese | এ এম | ||
Aymara | nayatwa | ||
Bhojpuri | एएम के बा | ||
Dhivehi | އޭއެމް | ||
Dogri | दपैहर पैहलें | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | am | ||
Guarani | che | ||
Ilocano | am | ||
Krio | am | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | am | ||
Maithili | ए एम | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯦ.ꯑꯦꯝ | ||
Mizo | ni | ||
Oromo | dha | ||
Odia (Oriya) | am | ||
Quechua | am | ||
Sanskrit | अस्मि | ||
Tatar | ам | ||
Tigrinya | እየ | ||
Tsonga | am | ||