Telling time in Penang Hokkien

In our previous lesson, we learned to use numbers in time measures. We continue in this lesson by learning to use numbers to tell time.

To ask someone, "What time is it?" you say, "Kui1 tiam4?" You've learn the word kui4 before in the previous lesson. The word "now" in Penang Hokkien is tong3kim1 and tha1na1 . To say, "What time is it now?" you say, "Tong3kim1 kui1 tiam4?" or "Tha1na1 kui1 tiam4?" We often invert the word order, so you may also say, "Kui1 tiam4 tong3kim1?" or "Kui1 tiam4 tha1na1?" The word "tiam4" (literally meaning "dot") is actually short for "tiam1sniah1" , but you only use the full word in other contexts such as "no time" (boh3 tiam1sniah1" ) and "got time" (uh33 tiam1sniah1 ).

Telling time by the full hour is quite straightforward. Just place the number in front of tiam4. Hence, "snar3 tiam4" is "3 o'clock". "It's now 3'o clock" is "Tong3kim1 snar3 tiam4" or "Tha1na1 snar3 tiam4" . When expressed with the full hour, use "it1 tiam4" for "one o'clock" and "jee33 tiam4" for "two o'clock".

Practise by saying the following. Cover the answer with a piece of paper, and reveal it after you have stated the time. I will use "tong3kim1" for each line.

It's now five o'clock.
Tong3kim1 gor33 tiam4.

It's now two o'clock.
Tong3kim1 jee33 tiam4.

It's now seven o'clock.
Tong3kim1 chit1 tiam4.

It's now eleven o'clock.
Tong3kim1 cap3-it1 tiam4.

It's now four o'clock.
Tong3kim1 see1 tiam4.

It's now nine o'clock.
Tong3kim1 kau1 tiam4.

It's now one o'clock.
Tong3kim1 it1 tiam4.

It's now ten o'clock.
Tong3kim1 cap3 tiam4.

It's now six o'clock.
Tong3kim1 lark3 tiam4.

It's now three o'clock.
Tong3kim1 snar3 tiam4.

It's now eight o'clock.
Tong3kim1 peik1 tiam4.

It's now twelve o'clock.
Tong3kim1 cap3-jee33 tiam4.

In Penang Hokkien, the most common way to express minutes is to split it into blocks of 5, and to refer to the minutes based on the number on the clock surface. Therefore, "1:05" is "it1 tiam4 cit3-leh3 ji33" , "2:10" is "jee33 tiam4 nor33-leh3 ji33" . Note that we use "it3" and "jee33" (for the hour) in combination with with "cit1" and "nor33" (for the 5-minute block). I refer to this method of expressing minutes as the colloquial way.

When expressing minutes, follow the number on the clock surface and say the number where the long hand of the clock points. The exception is when the long hand points to six, as in 1:30. Instead of saying, "it1 tiam4 lark3-leh3 ji33", we say, "it1 tiam1 pnua3" . That's "half past one".

Now let's see if you get the drift. Practise by saying the following. Cover the answer with a piece of paper, and reveal it after you have stated the time. I will use "tong3kim1" for each line.

It's now 1:10.
Tong3kim1 it1 tiam4 nor33-leh3 ji33.

It's now 5:25.
Tong3kim1 gor33 tiam4 gor33-leh3 ji33.

It's now 7:05.
Tong3kim1 chit1 tiam4 cit3-leh3 ji33.

It's now 10:40.
Tong3kim1 cap3 tiam4 peik1-leh3 ji33.

It's now 4:55.
Tong3kim1 see1 tiam4 cap3-it1-leh3 ji33.

It's now 6:30.
Tong3kim1 lark3 tiam1 pnua3.

The following words express the time of the day:

morning: ca1khi4
afternoon: jit1tau3
evening: ae3por1
night: am1meh2
midnight: pnua1meh2

You may add the time of the day immediately following the time.

It's now 7:30 in the morning.
Tong3kim1 chit1 tiam1 pnua3 ca1khi4.

It's now 1:15 in the afternoon.
Tong3kim1 it1 tiam4 snar3-leh3 ji33 jit1tau3.

It's now 5:55 in the evening.
Tong3kim1 gor33 tiam4 cap3-it1-leh3 ji33 ae3por1.

It's now 8:00 in the night.
Tong3kim1 peik1 tiam4 am1meh2.

So far, we have learned the colloquial way of expressing minutes. There is also the literary way, which follows the number of minutes. For this, we say the minute followed by hoon1. It provides for a more exact expression of time.

3:36
snar3 tiam4 snar3-cap3-lark3 hoon1

1:28
it1 tiam4 jee33-cap3-peik1 hoon1

8:06
peik1 tiam4 khong1-lark3 hoon1

11:11
cap3-it1 tiam4 cap3-it1 hoon1

2:02
jee33 tiam4 khong1-jee33 hoon1

So that concludes our use of numbers with time. In our next lesson, we look at another important usage of numbers, which is, with money.

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