Telling the Time

Level 3

Hola means hour, and the number after it starts with ʻe- from three to nine.

How It Works

SentenceMeaning
ʻO ka hola ʻehā kēia.It is four.
Ke hele nei au i ke kula i ka hola ʻewalu.I am going to school at eight.
He ʻumi minuke i hala ka hola ʻeono.It is ten past six.

The Reference Grammar says Hawaiian borrows hola “hour”, minuke “minute” and hapa “part”, and shows He iwakālua minuke i hala ka hola ʻehā “It is 4:20”. Words for parts of the day, like kakahiaka “morning” and ahiahi “evening”, can go with the clock time.

Hawaiian also borrows hapa “part” for parts of an hour. Time words such as kakahiaka “morning” can go with the hour to say which part of the day you mean. If you want to ask the time, the question is ʻO ka hola ʻehia kēia? “What time is it?”, and the answer starts with the same words.

Examples (4)

  1. ʻO ka hola ʻehā kēia.

    It is four.

    Ka hola and a number tell the hour.

  2. Ke hele nei au i ke kula i ka hola ʻewalu.

    I am going to school at eight.

    I before the hour means at.

  3. E hoʻomaka ana ka papa i ka hola ʻumi.

    Class will start at ten.

    The same pattern works for a plan.

  4. He ʻumi minuke i hala ka hola ʻeono.

    It is ten past six.

    Minutes come first, then i hala ka hola.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Telling the TimeLevel 3

Learn This First

Telling the time uses numbers and the i marker for times.

Words in This Pattern

holahalaminukehapaii