Lessons
Lesson
Telling time, days, and months in Nepali
The vocabulary you need to read a bus timetable, ask “when does it open?”, and understand the date on a Nepali document. Twelve BS months, seven weekdays, five periods of day, and the five time patterns that cover every “HH:MM” spoken aloud.
The 12 Bikram Sambat months
Each BS month straddles a pair of Gregorian months — the first day always lands in the middle of an AD month, never on the 1st.
Month 1
बैशाख
Baisakh
mid-Apr → mid-May
Month 2
जेठ
Jestha
mid-May → mid-Jun
Month 3
असार
Asar
mid-Jun → mid-Jul
Month 4
साउन
Shrawan
mid-Jul → mid-Aug
Month 5
भदौ
Bhadra
mid-Aug → mid-Sep
Month 6
असोज
Aswin
mid-Sep → mid-Oct
Month 7
कार्तिक
Kartik
mid-Oct → mid-Nov
Month 8
मंसिर
Mangsir
mid-Nov → mid-Dec
Month 9
पुष
Poush
mid-Dec → mid-Jan
Month 10
माघ
Magh
mid-Jan → mid-Feb
Month 11
फागुन
Falgun
mid-Feb → mid-Mar
Month 12
चैत्र
Chaitra
mid-Mar → mid-Apr
The 7 weekdays
Each ends in -बार and is named after a planet, mirroring the Latin pattern (Sunday=Sun, Monday=Moon, etc.).
आइतबार
Aaitabaar
Sunday · Sun
सोमबार
Sombaar
Monday · Moon
मंगलबार
Mangalbaar
Tuesday · Mars
बुधबार
Budhabaar
Wednesday · Mercury
बिहीबार
Bihibaar
Thursday · Jupiter
शुक्रबार
Shukrabaar
Friday · Venus
शनिबार
Shanibaar
Saturday (public holiday) · Saturn
Periods of the day
Nepali always pairs a time with its period prefix. “8 o'clock” alone is ambiguous; बिहानको आठ बजे and रातको आठ बजे are not.
बिहान
bihana
morning · 4 a.m. – 11 a.m.
दिउँसो
diuso
afternoon / midday · 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
साँझ
saanjha
early evening / dusk · 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
बेलुका
beluka
evening · 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
राति
raati
night · 7 p.m. – 4 a.m.
Today, tomorrow, yesterday
आज
aaja
today
भोलि
bholi
tomorrow
हिजो
hijo
yesterday
पर्सि
parsi
day after tomorrow
अस्ति
asti
day before yesterday
अहिले
ahile
right now / at present
Five time-telling patterns
Master these five and you can say any clock time. Note that साढे only modifies X:30 and सवा only modifies X:15 — they are not generic modifiers.
तीन बजे
tin baje · 3 o'clock
सवा तीन बजे
sawa tin baje · 3:15 — quarter past 3
साढे तीन बजे
saadhe tin baje · 3:30 — half past 3
चार बज्न पन्ध्र मिनेट बाँकी
char bajna pandhra minet baaki · 3:45 — quarter to 4
तीन बजेर बयालीस मिनेट
tin bajera bayaalis minet · 3:42 — '3 + 42 minutes'
Time phrases
तीन बजे आउँछु।
Tin baje aaunchhu. · I'll come at 3.
अबेर भयो।
Aber bhayo. · It's late / It got late.
पाँच मिनेट पर्खनुहोस्।
Paanch minet parkhanuhos. · Wait 5 minutes.
भोलि भेटौँला।
Bholi bhetaula. · See you tomorrow.
हिजो आएँ।
Hijo aaen. · I came yesterday.
अहिले फुर्सद छैन।
Ahile phursad chhaina. · I don't have time right now.
Time questions tourists ask
कति बज्यो?
Kati bajyo? · What time is it?
कति बजे खुल्छ?
Kati baje khulchha? · What time does it open?
कति बजे बन्द हुन्छ?
Kati baje banda hunchha? · What time does it close?
कति समय लाग्छ?
Kati samaya laagchha? · How long will it take?
कहिले जानुहुन्छ?
Kahile jaanuhunchha? · When are you going?
बस कति बजे आउँछ?
Bus kati baje aaunchha? · What time does the bus come?
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the Nepali week have a public holiday on Saturday?
- Nepal's official rest day is Shanibar (Saturday). Banks, government offices, and most businesses close. Sunday is a normal workday — the opposite of the Christian-week convention.
- Are the Nepali months solar or lunar?
- Bikram Sambat is solar with lunar adjustments. Each month begins when the sun enters a new zodiac sign (sankranti), so month-end dates vary between 28 and 32 days year to year. Festivals like Buddha Jayanti follow the Hindu lunar Panchang on top.
- Do Nepalis use AM/PM in conversation?
- No — Nepalis use the period-of-day word as the qualifier instead: बिहान (morning), दिउँसो (midday), साँझ (early evening), बेलुका (evening), राति (night). 'बिहानको आठ बजे' = 8 a.m.
- What's the difference between साढे and सवा?
- साढे (saadhe) = 'half past'. सवा (sawa) = 'quarter past'. They are not generic prefixes — साढे only attaches to X:30 and सवा only to X:15.
- How do you say 'quarter to' the hour?
- Nepali doesn't have a single word for it; you use a literal countdown phrase: 'चार बज्न पन्ध्र मिनेट बाँकी' (char bajna pandhra minet baaki) — '15 minutes remain before it strikes 4'.