To tell the time in Turkish, you need to distinguish between simply stating the current time and specifying the time at which an action occurs.
💡 Key Vocabulary:
Saat: Hour / Clock
Dakika: Minute
Saniye: Second
Buçuk: Half (used for half-past)
Çeyrek: Quarter
Asking the Current Time (Saat Kaç?)
The rule depends on whether the minute hand is on the "past" side or the "to" side.
A- The "Past" Side (Minutes 1–29):
We use the 4-Way Vowel Suffix (I) + the word geçiyor. Formula: Hour + (y)I + Minutes + geçiyor
10:15 → Onu çeyrek geçiyor. (It is a quarter past ten).
03:20 → Üçü yirmi geçiyor. (It is twenty past three).
B- The "To" Side (Minutes 31–59):
We use the 2-Way Vowel Suffix (A) + the word var (meaning "there is/remaining"). Formula: (Next) Hour + (y)A + Remaining Minutes + var
09:45 → Ona çeyrek var. (It is a quarter to ten).
06:55 → Yediye beş var. (It is five to seven).
C- Sharp Hours and Half-Past:
11:00 → Saat on bir.
12:30 → On iki buçuk.
Timing an Action (Saat Kaçta?)
When you want to say "At what time" an event happens, the keywords change:
Replace geçiyor with geçe.
Replace var with kala.
Examples:
10:15 → Onu çeyrek geçe evden çıkıyorum. (I leave the house at quarter past ten).
14:40 → Üçe yirmi kala program başlıyor. (The program starts at twenty to three).
Remember: In the "to" (var/kala) phase, we refer to the upcoming hour. Practice reading your watch in Turkish whenever you look at it to get faster!