Hour in Different Languages
Discover 'Hour' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'hour' holds a significant place in our daily lives, marking the passage of time and structuring our days. Its cultural importance is evident in various languages and traditions around the world. For instance, in ancient Egypt, sundials were used to track the hours of the day, dividing the daylight into 10 'hour' periods during summer and 12 during winter. This demonstrates the significance of the word 'hour' in shaping how humans have interacted with and understood time throughout history.
Understanding the translation of 'hour' in different languages can provide valuable insights into diverse cultures and traditions. For example, the French translation of 'hour' is 'heure,' while in Spanish, it's 'hora.' In German, 'hour' is translated as 'Stunde,' and in Japanese, it's '時 (ji).'
By learning these translations, you can deepen your appreciation for the richness and diversity of human language and culture. So, let's explore the many ways 'hour' is expressed around the world.
Hour
Hour in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | uur | ||
| The Afrikaans word "uur" comes from the Middle Dutch "ure", meaning "hour" or "time". | |||
| Amharic | ሰአት | ||
| The term ሰአት (hour) is derived from the word ሰዓተ (time) and also refers to a time of day marked by religious observance | |||
| Hausa | awa | ||
| The word "awa" in Hausa can also refer to a period of time equal to about 24 hours or a day. | |||
| Igbo | aka elekere | ||
| The Igbo word 'aka elekere' literally translates to 'the hand of time'. | |||
| Malagasy | ora | ||
| The Malagasy word "ora" can also mean "time" or "season". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | ola | ||
| "Ola" in Nyanja also denotes a period of time marked by an event, e.g. "ola la dzuwa" (sunrise). | |||
| Shona | awa | ||
| "Awa" also means "time" and hence it can be pluralized and used in sentences like "awawa ese mazuva manomwe" (a week) | |||
| Somali | saac | ||
| In some dialects of Somali, the word "saac" can also refer to a "moment" or a "short period of time." | |||
| Sesotho | hora | ||
| Hora is used as a measure of time, but can also mean "a time, a while, a moment, or a period of time." | |||
| Swahili | saa | ||
| Swahili 'saa' also relates to 'time' generally, as well as 'period of the day', or even 'weather conditions'. | |||
| Xhosa | yure | ||
| The word 'yure' has its origins in the Indo-European root 'yu-ro', meaning 'yearly'. | |||
| Yoruba | wakati | ||
| The Yoruba word "wakati" can also mean "period" or "season". | |||
| Zulu | ihora | ||
| The Zulu word 'ihora' is derived from the Proto-Bantu word *-hla, meaning 'to shine' or 'to be bright' | |||
| Bambara | lɛrɛ | ||
| Ewe | gaƒoƒo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | isaha | ||
| Lingala | ngonga | ||
| Luganda | essaawa | ||
| Sepedi | iri | ||
| Twi (Akan) | dɔnhwere | ||
Hour in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ساعة | ||
| "ساعة" can also mean "watch" or "clock" in Arabic. | |||
| Hebrew | שָׁעָה | ||
| "שָׁעָה" is also used in Hebrew to refer to a time of day or night, or to a specific time in the future. | |||
| Pashto | ساعت | ||
| The word “saat” comes from the same root as the word “sol” which means sun (in the context of the hours of daylight). | |||
| Arabic | ساعة | ||
| "ساعة" can also mean "watch" or "clock" in Arabic. | |||
Hour in Western European Languages
| Albanian | orë | ||
| The word "orë" in Albanian also means "time", "occasion", or "moment". | |||
| Basque | ordu | ||
| The Basque word 'ordu' can also mean 'time' or 'moment' and is related to the Latin word 'hora' (hour). | |||
| Catalan | hores | ||
| The Spanish word "hora" and the Catalan word "hores" derive from the Ancient Greek word "ὥρα" and its Medieval Greek derivatives, all referring to a division of time. | |||
| Croatian | sat | ||
| The Croatian word "sat" is cognate with the English word "sun" and originally meant "time of the sun". | |||
| Danish | time | ||
| The Danish word "tid" (time) has an Old Norse origin, meaning "time", and "period". | |||
| Dutch | uur | ||
| "Uur" (hour) also means "tide" in Dutch. | |||
| English | hour | ||
| The word "hour" comes from the Latin "hora", which also meant "season" or "time of day." | |||
| French | heure | ||
| The word "heure" in French is cognate with the Latin word "hora" and the Greek word "ὥρα" (hṓra), meaning "season" or "time". | |||
| Frisian | oere | ||
| In Old Frisian, "oer" could also refer to a "period of time" or "time of day". | |||
| Galician | hora | ||
| The Galician word "hora" also means "time" or "season of the year." | |||
| German | stunde | ||
| The German word "Stunde" derives from the old Germanic "stunda" or "stunde", also referring to a measure of time of approximately an hour. | |||
| Icelandic | klukkustund | ||
| The word "klukkustund" originally referred to the time it took to recite the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary three times. | |||
| Irish | uair an chloig | ||
| "Uair an chloig" also means "bell-hour" or "prayer-hour," showing the influence of Christian practices in shaping Irish vocabulary. | |||
| Italian | ora | ||
| The word "ora" in Italian can also mean "now" or "edge". | |||
| Luxembourgish | stonn | ||
| The word "Stonn" in Luxembourgish can also refer to a specific time interval, usually lasting about 15 minutes, used in everyday speech to indicate approximate times. | |||
| Maltese | siegħa | ||
| The Maltese word "siegħa" ultimately derives from the Latin word "hora", which originally referred to a period of time equal to one-twelfth of a day or night. | |||
| Norwegian | time | ||
| The word "time" in Norwegian is derived from the Old Norse word "tími", which meant "hour" or "fixed time". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | hora | ||
| In Portuguese, "hora" also means the time of day that mass is celebrated. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | uair | ||
| The Gaelic word 'uair' also has alternative meanings in Scottish Gaelic like time or weather. | |||
| Spanish | hora | ||
| In Spanish, the word "hora" not only refers to a unit of time, but also to a specific time of day, a type of dance, or a particular moment in history. | |||
| Swedish | timme | ||
| The word "timme" originates from the Latin "tempus" meaning "time". | |||
| Welsh | awr | ||
| The Welsh word "awr" comes from the Latin word "hora" and can also mean "time" or "season". | |||
Hour in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | гадзіну | ||
| The word "гадзіну" in Belarusian is cognate with the Russian word "година" (hour) and the Ukrainian word "година" (year). | |||
| Bosnian | sat | ||
| The word "sat" in Bosnian, meaning 'hour', comes from Latin "hora" and is also found in languages like Russian and Ukrainian. | |||
| Bulgarian | час | ||
| The word "час" in Bulgarian can also mean "time" or "fate". | |||
| Czech | hodina | ||
| The word "hodina" has a second meaning, which is "class". | |||
| Estonian | tund | ||
| In Estonian, the word "tund" can also mean a "lecture" or a "lesson", and it is derived from the German word "Stunde". | |||
| Finnish | tunnin | ||
| The Finnish word "tunnin" can also refer to a specific quantity of a product, such as a liter of milk or a kilogram of cheese. | |||
| Hungarian | óra | ||
| "Óra" means "hour" in Hungarian, but it is cognate with the Romanian word "horă" (meaning "time, dance") and the Albanian word "ora" (meaning "now"). | |||
| Latvian | stunda | ||
| "Stunda" also means "lesson" in Latvian, potentially originating from the medieval practice of teaching catechism to Christian children for an hour. | |||
| Lithuanian | valandą | ||
| In Lithuanian, the word valandą (hour) originates from the root of valyti (to clean, to tidy up), which reflects a belief that keeping one's house tidy was an important way to maintain harmony with nature. | |||
| Macedonian | час | ||
| The Macedonian word "час" (chas) also means "time" and is related to the Proto-Slavic word "часъ" (chasъ), meaning "a period of time" or "a moment". | |||
| Polish | godzina | ||
| The Polish word "godzina" may derive from an Old Czech word meaning "good time" or "a good moment to do something." | |||
| Romanian | ora | ||
| The Romanian word "oră" is derived from the Slavic "ora", meaning "time" or "moment", and is not related to the Latin "hora", meaning "dance" or "gathering". | |||
| Russian | час | ||
| Час derived from PIE root *k'es- and is related to words meaning "portion of time" in many Indo-European languages, like Latin hora, Greek hora, and Sanskrit kṣaṇa. | |||
| Serbian | сат | ||
| The root "-сат" in "сат" is shared by "час" (hour) and has etymological ties to Greek "kairos" (opportune moment) via Old-Church-Slavonic "kasaa" (timely). | |||
| Slovak | hodinu | ||
| The word "hodinu" also means "bell" in Slovak, a sense present in English "clock," which originally meant "bell" but now refers to a timekeeping device. | |||
| Slovenian | uro | ||
| The word "uro" is derived from the Latin "hora" through Proto-Slavic, and means "time" in Old Church Slavonic | |||
| Ukrainian | год | ||
| The word "год" in Ukrainian etymologically relates to the concept of "year" and shares a root with words like "година" (year) and "годиться" (to be suitable, to be in time). | |||
Hour in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | ঘন্টা | ||
| ঘন্টা means both 'hour' and 'bell' in Bengali, and is derived from the Sanskrit word 'ghanta', meaning 'bell'. | |||
| Gujarati | કલાક | ||
| The Gujarati word "કલાક" also refers to a traditional water clock used to measure time, consisting of a pot with a small hole in the bottom that would slowly fill up and empty. | |||
| Hindi | घंटा | ||
| In addition to denoting 'hour,' 'घंटा' also refers to a bell, clock, or chime that strikes at regular intervals. | |||
| Kannada | ಗಂಟೆ | ||
| The word "ಗಂಟೆ" (hour) is derived from the Sanskrit word "घण्टा" (bell), as in earlier times, a bell was rung to mark the end of an hour. | |||
| Malayalam | മണിക്കൂർ | ||
| 'മണിക്കൂർ' (hour) is a loanword from English. However, it is also associated with the word 'കൂറ്' (share or division), suggesting a historical interpretation as a 'part of the day'. | |||
| Marathi | तास | ||
| The Marathi word "तास" ("hour") is derived from the Sanskrit word "तस्कर" ("thief"), which originally referred to the measurement of time by the amount of water that drips from a pot in an hour while it is being stolen. | |||
| Nepali | घण्टा | ||
| The word "घण्टा" is derived from Sanskrit and originally meant "bell" or "gong", which was used to mark time. | |||
| Punjabi | ਘੰਟਾ | ||
| In addition to meaning "hour", "ਘੰਟਾ" can also refer to an hourglass-shaped bell used for worship or as an alarm. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | පැය | ||
| The word "පැය" (hour) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रहर" (prahara), meaning "watch" or "period of time". | |||
| Tamil | மணி | ||
| The Tamil word "மணி" (hour) derives from the Sanskrit word "मुहूर्त" (muhūrta) through a Dravidian adaptation. | |||
| Telugu | గంట | ||
| In Telugu, the word "గంట" not only denotes the time interval of an hour, but also refers to a bell-shaped musical instrument or a type of water vessel. | |||
| Urdu | گھنٹے | ||
| "گھنٹے" is also used to refer to a "bell" or a "clock" in Urdu. | |||
Hour in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 小时 | ||
| 小时 is a contraction of 小時辰, meaning 'small time unit', referring to the 12 two-hour periods of the traditional Chinese day. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 小時 | ||
| In Chinese, the character “小時” can also mean "a short time" or "a moment". | |||
| Japanese | 時間 | ||
| The word "時間" (じかん) can also mean "season", "weather", or "timing", highlighting the nuanced relationship between time and natural phenomena in Japanese culture. | |||
| Korean | 시 | ||
| In Middle Korean, 시 (si) meant 'time' and referred to a period of time that varies depending on the context. | |||
| Mongolian | цаг | ||
| "Цаг" also means "time" but can have connotations of a specific occasion or era. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | နာရီ | ||
| Some scholars believe the original word for “hour,” နာရီ [nà rí], may derive from a Proto-Austronesian word for “sunlight.” | |||
Hour in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | jam | ||
| The word "jam" in Indonesian also means "traffic jam" or "jelly". | |||
| Javanese | jam | ||
| The word "jam" in Javanese refers to the fruit preserve, the verb "to block" (a road), and the numeral "3". | |||
| Khmer | ម៉ោង | ||
| The word ម៉ោង can also refer to bells, clocks, chimes, or other time-keeping instruments, especially in a temple context. | |||
| Lao | ຊົ່ວໂມງ | ||
| ຊົ່ວໂມງ is cognate to the Thai word ชั่วโมง, and shares a common etymology with | |||
| Malay | jam | ||
| The word "jam" in Malay can also refer to a traffic jam or a musical jam session. | |||
| Thai | ชั่วโมง | ||
| The Thai word "ชั่วโมง" likely originates from the Sanskrit word "ghoraka", which refers to the time it takes to empty a water clock. | |||
| Vietnamese | giờ | ||
| Giờ translates to "hour" and has the alternate meanings of "time", "period", and "turn" in Vietnamese. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | oras | ||
Hour in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | saat | ||
| "Saat" also means "watch" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | сағат | ||
| In Kazakh, "сағат" can also mean "clock" or "watch" in addition to "hour". | |||
| Kyrgyz | саат | ||
| The Kyrgyz word "саат" is derived from the Persian word "saat" and can also mean "watch" or "timepiece". | |||
| Tajik | соат | ||
| The word "соат" in Tajik is derived from the Persian word "saat" which means "time" or "period". | |||
| Turkmen | sagat | ||
| Uzbek | soat | ||
| The word "soat" can also mean "time" or "occasion" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | سائەت | ||
Hour in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hola | ||
| The word "hola" in Hawaiian can also mean "to be hot" or "to burn" indicating the feeling of warmth associated with an hour of sunlight. | |||
| Maori | haora | ||
| The word "haora" in Maori can also refer to a specific time of day, such as "te haora tuatahi" (the first hour of the morning). | |||
| Samoan | itula | ||
| The term `itula` was initially a noun signifying `day`, which eventually came to represent a temporal measure, namely `hour`. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | oras | ||
| The Tagalog word "oras" is also used to mean "weather" and originally meant "time" in Malay. | |||
Hour in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | pacha | ||
| Guarani | aravo | ||
Hour in International Languages
| Esperanto | horo | ||
| "Horoọ" comes from the Latin "hxf4ra" or Greek word xf5xe1xe1 meaning hour or season, but is not related to Esperanto "horloọ" (clock) or "horixf9o" (horizon). It is also a Hawaiian dance. | |||
| Latin | hora | ||
| "Hora" in Latin also refers to "a point in time" or "a season". | |||
Hour in Others Languages
| Greek | ώρα | ||
| In ancient Greek, "ώρα" also meant "season" or "appropriate time". | |||
| Hmong | teev | ||
| In Hmong, the word “teev” (“hour”) derives from two older words, “teeb” and “teev,” which originally meant “sun” or “day.” | |||
| Kurdish | seet | ||
| The word "seet" is also used in some regions to mean "the time between sunrise and noon". | |||
| Turkish | saat | ||
| "Saat" can also mean "time" or a device that measures time. | |||
| Xhosa | yure | ||
| The word 'yure' has its origins in the Indo-European root 'yu-ro', meaning 'yearly'. | |||
| Yiddish | שעה | ||
| The etymology of the Hebrew word "sha"ah" and the Yiddish "shee"" both stem from the Akkadian "shustu", meaning "60" and referring to the 60-minute hour. | |||
| Zulu | ihora | ||
| The Zulu word 'ihora' is derived from the Proto-Bantu word *-hla, meaning 'to shine' or 'to be bright' | |||
| Assamese | ঘণ্টা | ||
| Aymara | pacha | ||
| Bhojpuri | घंटा | ||
| Dhivehi | ގަޑިއިރު | ||
| Dogri | घैंटा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | oras | ||
| Guarani | aravo | ||
| Ilocano | oras | ||
| Krio | awa | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کاتژمێر | ||
| Maithili | घंटा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯄꯨꯡ | ||
| Mizo | darkar | ||
| Oromo | sa'a | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଘଣ୍ଟା | ||
| Quechua | hora | ||
| Sanskrit | घटकः | ||
| Tatar | сәгать | ||
| Tigrinya | ሰዓት | ||
| Tsonga | awara | ||