Time and Dates in Basque

Ordua eta Data

This article is part of the Basque grammar tree on Settemila Lingue.

Overview

Being able to tell the time and express dates is a practical A1 skill you will need right away. Basque has its own way of expressing time using orduak (hours) and a system that, while logical, differs from English. Days of the week and months also have distinct Basque names that you should memorize early on.

To ask "What time is it?" you say Zer ordu da? (literally "What hour is it?"). Times are expressed using cardinal numbers with the suffix -ak (the plural article) for the hour. Basque uses a 12-hour system in casual speech and a 24-hour system in formal contexts like schedules.

Days of the week in Basque are derived from counting, with Monday being astelehena (first day of the week) through to Friday. Saturday and Sunday have their own traditional names. Months follow patterns similar to other European languages but with Basque phonology.

How It Works

Telling time:

Time	Basque	Literal meaning
1:00	Ordu bata da.	It is one o'clock.
2:00	Ordu biak dira.	It is two o'clock.
3:00	Hirurak dira.	It is three o'clock.
3:30	Hirurak eta erdiak.	Three and a half.
3:15	Hirurak eta laurden.	Three and a quarter.
3:45	Laurak laurden gutxi.	Four less a quarter.

Days of the week:

Basque	English	Basque	English
astelehena	Monday	osteguna	Thursday
asteartea	Tuesday	ostirala	Friday
asteazkena	Wednesday	larunbata	Saturday
		igandea	Sunday

Months:

Basque	English	Basque	English
urtarrila	January	uztaila	July
otsaila	February	abuztua	August
martxoa	March	iraila	September
apirila	April	urria	October
maiatza	May	azaroa	November
ekaina	June	abendua	December

Date format: Day + month (genitive) → Urtarrilaren 15a (January 15th)

Examples in Context

Basque	English	Note
Zer ordu da?	What time is it?	Asking time
Hirurak dira.	It is three o'clock.	With -ak suffix
Gaur astelehena da.	Today is Monday.	Day of the week
Urtarrilaren 15a.	January 15th.	Date format
Zortzietan jaikitzen naiz.	I get up at eight.	Time with -etan
Arratsaldeko bostak dira.	It is 5 PM.	With time of day
Zer egun da gaur?	What day is today?	Asking the day
Maiatzaren 3a da.	It is May 3rd.	Full date
Bederatzi t'erdietan.	At nine thirty.	Informal time
Igandean ez dut lanik egiten.	On Sunday I don't work.	Day with -ean (on)

Common Mistakes

Forgetting the -ak suffix on hours

Wrong: Hiru dira. (for "It is three o'clock")
Right: Hirurak dira.
Why: Clock hours take the definite plural article -ak: hirurak, laurak, bostak, etc. The auxiliary is dira (plural) because hours are grammatically plural.

Using the wrong case for "at" a time

Wrong: Zortziak joaten naiz. (at eight I go)
Right: Zortzietan joaten naiz.
Why: To say "at" a specific time, use the inessive case -etan on the hour: zortzietan (at eight), bostetan (at five).

Mixing up the genitive for dates

Wrong: Urtarrila 15
Right: Urtarrilaren 15a
Why: Dates use the genitive suffix -ren on the month: urtarrilaren (of January), then the day with the article: 15a (the 15th).

Practice Tips

Practice telling the current time every hour in Basque throughout the day. Include quarter and half hours for variety.
Memorize the days of the week and months by writing out your weekly schedule and important dates in Basque.