Learn how to tell time in Filipino
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Intro |
|---|
| Alisha: How do you ask for the time in Filipino? |
| Danilo: And how do you tell the time? |
| Alisha: At FilipinoPod101.com, we hear these questions often. During a school break, Sasha Lee asks her classmate Nancy Navarro about the time. They don't want to be late for their next class. Sasha asks, |
| "What time is it?" |
| Sasha Lee: Anong oras na? |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Lee: Anong oras na? |
| Nancy Navarro: Alas-tres y kinse na. |
| Alisha: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Lee: Anong oras na? |
| Alisha: "What time is it?" |
| Nancy Navarro: Alas-tres y kinse na. |
| Alisha: "It's a quarter past three." |
Lesson focus |
| Alisha: Knowing how to ask for the time, as well as how to tell time, is fundamental when you're learning Filipino. In this lesson, you will learn how to do both. You can always ask for the time and read it in English when you're in the Philippines, but knowing how to tell time or |
| Danilo: oras |
| Alisha: in Filipino has many benefits and advantages. Keep in mind that the 12-hour time format is what's used in the Philippines, and while the Filipino language also uses time markers, they're often used in formal situations, such as in broadcasting and literature. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Alisha: This time, let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Sasha Lee asks "What time is it?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Danilo as Sasha Lee: Anong oras na? |
| Alisha: As mentioned, the Filipino word for "time" is |
| Danilo: oras |
| Alisha: In Filipino, the question asked by Sasha Lee is the most common way to ask for the time. Another way to ask for the time in Filipino is by saying, |
| Danilo: Alam mo ba kung anong oras na? |
| Alisha: "Do you know what time it is?" You can also say, |
| Danilo: Pwede ko bang malaman kung anong oras na? |
| Alisha: or, "May I know what time it is already?" |
| [Recall 2] |
| Alisha: Now, let's take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Nancy Navarro says "It's a quarter past three?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Danilo as Nancy Navarro: Alas-tres y kinse na. |
| Alisha: There are two ways time is read in the Filipino language: the Filipino way and the Spanish way. Nancy here uses the Spanish way. The Filipino way for "it's a quarter past three" is |
| Danilo: Labinlimang minuto makalipas ang ikatlo ng hapon. |
| Alisha: which in English, directly translates to "fifteen minutes past three in the afternoon." We used the time marker for afternoon, or, |
| Danilo: hapon |
| Alisha: since the scenario takes place during break time in school. But why did Nancy use the Spanish way for telling time? That's because it's the most common way Filipinos tell time. The only time they use direct Filipino translations for time is in formal situations. You don't normally hear people saying during a conversation, |
| Danilo: Ika-lima na ng hapon. Uwian na! |
| Alisha: What you will hear instead is |
| Danilo: Alas-singko na. Uwian na! |
| Alisha: "It's 5 o'clock. Time to go home! |
| [Summary] |
| Alisha: In this lesson, you learned some of the basics of telling time and reading time in Filipino. Let's take this time to review some of the things we've learned. |
| Danilo: Anong oras na? |
| Alas-tres y kinse na. |
| Alisha: "What time is it? It's a quarter past three already." |
| Danilo: Alam mo ba kung anong oras na? |
| Alas-singko na. |
| Alisha: "Do you know what time it is? It's five o'clock already." And, lastly, |
| Danilo: Pwede ko bang malaman kung anong oras na? |
| Ala-una y medya na. |
| Alisha: "May I know what time it is already? It's 1:30 already." |
| Expansion/Contrast |
| Alisha: You've probably noticed that there's a particular word that keeps appearing when telling time in Filipino. That word is |
| Danilo: alas |
| Alisha: This only appears in the Spanish way of telling time, and it's actually an indigenization of the Spanish words |
| Danilo: a las |
| Alisha: which could mean "at." It could also be the equivalent of "o'clock." So, when you say, |
| Danilo: Alas dos |
| Alisha: what you mean is, "the time is at two" or "It's two o'clock." You add this word before the numeral when telling time in Filipino, except for one o'clock, in which case, you simply use |
| Danilo: ala |
| Alisha: as in |
| Danilo: ala una |
| Alisha: "One o'clock." Earlier, you learned that when expressing a time that's a quarter past the hour, we use the word |
| Danilo: kinse |
| Alisha: or "fifteen." But what if we're expressing a time that's half past the hour? In that case, we use the expression, |
| Danilo: y medya |
| Michael: so that "11:30" becomes |
| Danilo: alas-onse y medya |
| Alisha: Let's try that in reverse. If the time is a quarter to the hour, we still use the Spanish word for "fifteen," like in this example: |
| Danilo: Kinse minutos bago mag alas-siete |
| Alisha: We read this as "Fifteen minutes before seven o'clock," although "A quarter to seven" would also suffice. Now, to express a time that's half past the hour, we say |
| Danilo: Treinta minutos bago mag alas-dose |
| Alisha: We read this as "Thirty minutes before twelve o'clock," but then again, "Half an hour before twelve" should also do. This is how you express times that are half past the hour and a quarter to the hour in Filipino. Otherwise, you simply add the minutes after the hour like in English. For instance, you can say |
| Danilo: Alas-dies beinte-singko na. |
| Alisha: or, "It's 10:25 already." |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Alisha: Filipinos often use vague words and phrases when referring to time. For instance, they would say, |
| Danilo: mamaya na |
| Alisha: "later," or |
| Danilo: bukas na |
| Alisha: or, "tomorrow." These expressions often connote procrastination. It's also common to hear expressions like |
| Danilo: mamayang hapon |
| Alisha: "later this afternoon," |
| Danilo: mamayang gabi |
| Alisha: "later this evening," |
| Danilo: bukas ng umaga |
| Alisha: "tomorrow morning." All these are often used as responses to time questions, and yet they don't exactly tell time. That's because Filipinos generally have a laid-back attitude toward time. That's one reason there's such a thing as, |
| Danilo: Pilipino taym |
| Alisha: or "Filipino time," a concept describing how Filipinos would come late to appointments by at least an hour. This attitude is slowly changing, however, thanks to an effort by the Department of Science and Technology in the Philippines. Several years ago, they started a campaign called, |
| Danilo: Juan Time |
| Alisha: a play on "one time," which sought to encourage Filipinos to synchronize all clocks and watches, and to quit making excuses for being late. |
Outro |
| Alisha: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Danilo: Paalam. |
| Alisha: See you soon! |
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