Telling Time in Georgian

Welcome back to Georgian Language Time! Last time, we talked about how the Georgian number system works, and so now we will continue with how to tell time in Georgian (which is surprisingly difficult!).

In America, to tell time, we simply say the time as it appears on the clock. 10:45 is ten forty five, 8:15 is eight fifteen, and 2:26 is two twenty six. No matter what half of the clock the time is, we say it the same. However, in Georgian, the right and left sides of the clock are said differently. This is slightly analogous to the British system of telling time - this system uses the "ten past 2", "quarter past 2" and "half past 2" system for the right half of the clock, and the "quarter till 3", "ten till 3" system for the left half of the clock. Essentially once the clock hand passes the 30 minute mark, the time turns to the next hour. Instead of 2:45 they say "quarter till 3". [Side note: In Georgia, all the textbooks are British books, and thus the students learn how to tell time in the British way (much to the frustration of the Peace Corps Volunteers! The amount of conversations I have had with other volunteers about how much easier the American way is....well let's just say British vs. American Engllish it is a frequent topic of conversation).]

However, in Georgian, the system is actually closer to the British way than to the American way. Just like the British system, in Georgian, the right and left halves of the clock are noted differently.

The right half of the clock is the part that takes place in the first half of the hour (i.e. 2:01-2:29). Let's use 2:10 as an example. So, in America, we would say 2:10. Easy, right? Well, in Georgia, the first half of the clock take the name of the next hour, and it is possessive. In Georgian, the possessive is ის (is). So 2:10 in Georgian is "3's 10 minutes" (სამის ათი წუთი - samis ati tsuti). Essentially, after the time turns past the exact hour, it takes the name of the next hour. 2:01-2:59 belong to the 3 o'clock hour, not the 2 o'clock hour. Some other examples: 2:15 = "3's 15 minutes", 2:27 = "3's 27 minutes". Confusing, right?

At half past the hour, in Georgian, we say "half of _____", so 2:30 is "3's half", and 11:30 is "12's half".

Well, the left half of the clock (2:31-2:59) is different. Like the British system, in Georgian, once the clock passes 30, the system changes. Now, instead of saying "of" the next hour, we use the phrase " that lacks" (რომ აკლია - rom aklia) in between the hour and the minutes. So, for example, 2:35 would be "3 that lacks 25 minutes", or "სამს რომ აკლია ოცდახუთი წუთი - sams rom aklia otsdakhuti tsuti. More examples: 10:40 would be "11 that lacks 20 minutes", 11:55 would be "12 that lacks 5 minutes", and 6:59 would be "7 that lacks 1 minute". As you can see, this half of the clock requires subtraction, which if you know me, you know is not my strong suit. Hopefully by the end of these 2 years, my math skills will have shown some improvement.

Another weird aspect to Georgian time: 1 o'clock is not called one (erti ერთი), it is called "first" (pirveli პირველი).

As you can imagine, this system caused me a LOT of confusion in the beginning. People would say 2:15 as "three's fifteen", which I would lear as 3:15, but would actually mean 2:15! To be honest, it still causes me a bit of a headache and I always have to double check in my head to make sure that I am understanding the right time. I am always paranoid that I will miss my last marshutka back to my site, or be late to a meeting. I am sure Georgians just think I am weird though! For them, this time thing is second nature.