Telling Time, Days and Weather in Wolof

In Senegal, people ask the time, set up meetings and wonder whether the rain is coming several times a day. Wolof splits the day up in its own way, often around the prayer times, and it takes the names of the weekdays from Arabic. If you want to talk about the weather, you also need to know about the big divide between the dry season and the rainy season, which sets the pace of life in the country. This article covers the core vocabulary, real dialogues and the traps that learners tend to fall into.

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Cultural Context: A Day Shaped by Light, Prayer and the Seasons

When Senegalese people talk about time, they usually start with moments of the day, not numbers on a clock. Wolof has céer for very early morning (before about 8 a.m.) and suba for morning. add means both midday and the midday meal. After that comes beceg, the afternoon, then ngoon, late afternoon, and finally guddi, night or late evening, from about 8 p.m. onward.

A lot of these reference points come from religious life. Tisbar means midday and also the midday prayer. Timis is dusk and the evening prayer. On Fridays you'll hear juma, which means the Friday prayer or the Friday mosque. In everyday speech, "let's meet after timis" sounds much more natural than naming an exact hour. English speakers might say "let's meet after lunch" in the same way, except that here the clock is set by prayer.

The days of the week come from Arabic: Altinne, Talaata, Àllarba, Alxames, Àjjuma, Gaawu and Dibéer. Friday (Àjjuma) is the holy day. Also note that dibeer can mean "week" as well as "Sunday."

You'll also want to know the expression waxtu Sénégal, "Senegalese time." It's a joke about how loose schedules can be. A meeting called for ten o'clock might start well after that, and nobody is surprised. You'll see the phrase used in the first dialogue below.

For weather, the year is mostly divided between the dry season and nawet, the rainy season, which starts around June. Many people in Senegal live from farming, so the arrival of the rain is a real topic of conversation, and people often thank God when they talk about it.

Essential Wolof Time Vocabulary

These are the words to learn first. Pronunciations use the International Phonetic Alphabet, the same as in our lessons.

About spelling. Everyday written Wolof varies a lot. In the sentences our teachers recorded, you'll see "tay" next to "tey", "becek" next to "beceg", and "allarba" next to "Àllarba". That's expected. Informal writing often follows French spelling habits, because French is Senegal's official language. The table uses a more consistent spelling, but these are the same words when spoken.

Numbers You Need for Telling Time

You don't need every number to get started. These are the ones that come up in our lesson sentences:

• benn waxtu: one hour
• Ñaar i minut: two minutes
• Nient waxtu: four hours
• Juroom minut: five minutes
• juroom benn waxtu: six o'clock
• Juroom-ñeent waxtu: nine o'clock
• fukk waxtu: ten o'clock

There's a pattern here. juroom (five) works as a base. "Six" is juroom benn (five + one) and "nine" is juroom-ñeent (five + four). To say "half past," add ak genn-wall.

Real Examples and Dialogues

Native teachers recorded every sentence below. On Targumi you can listen to them in our courses with native audio, which is the best way to pick up the rhythm and intonation.

Dialogue 1: Asking the Time and Setting a Meeting

A: Baal ma, bane waxtu moo jot?
Excuse me, what time is it?

B: Juroom-ñeent waxtu ak genn-wall.
Half past nine.

A: Jereejef. Kañ la reunion bi?
Thanks. What time is the meeting?

B: Ci fukk waxtu. Waayé waxtu Sénégal la, xam nga!
At ten. But it's Senegalese time, you know!

A: Waaw, kon ci fukk waxtu ak genn-wall !
Right, so more like half past ten!

This short exchange covers a lot: the polite opener Baal ma (excuse me), the question about the time, the thank-you Jereejef, ci for saying "at" a time, and the famous "Senegalese time." Notice also reunion, borrowed from French réunion (meeting). Wolof speakers mix in French words all the time.

There's another way to ask the time: Fan la waxtu bi? Word for word, it means "where is the time?"

Dialogue 2: Days of the Week and Tabaski

A: Ban bis la nu nekk tay?
What day is it today?

B: tay mooy allarba.
Today is Wednesday.

A: Tabaski bi kagn la?
When is Tabaski?

B: Ci weer wii di nieuw. Ci gaawu.
Next month. On a Saturday.

A: Ndax jend nga sa xar?
Have you bought your sheep?

B: jeundagou ma! Dafa seer lool at bii.
Not yet! It's really expensive this year.

Tabaski (the Festival of Sacrifice, known as Eid al-Adha in much of the world) is the biggest event of the year in Senegal. In the weeks before it, everyone asks about the sheep. Remember Ci weer wii di nieuw (next month) and at bii (this year).

Dialogue 3: Talking About the Weather

A: Naka tay?
What's the weather like today?

B: Dafa tang lool. naaj bi dafa tang.
It's very hot. The sun is beating down.

A: Kañ la nawet wi di dougg si?
When does the rainy season start?

B: Ci weeru suwe. Dinañu am taw bu baax.
In June. We're going to get good rains.

A: Alxamdulillaay. Ndax baykat yi soxla na niou taw.
Thank God. The crops need rain.

To talk about tomorrow, use the future with dina:

• Mba suba dina feex ?: What will the weather be like tomorrow?
• Dina am taw bu mag ci ngoon.: There will be heavy rain in the late afternoon.
• suba si du tangue, waayé becek bi dina tang.: It won't be hot in the morning, but it will be hot in the afternoon.

The last sentence is useful because it contrasts two parts of the day, suba si (the morning) and becek bi (the afternoon), with the negative du on one side and the future dina on the other.

Real-Life Scenario: Planning a Day in Dakar

Say you're spending a day with a family in Dakar. Here's how the sentences fit together from morning to night.

In the morning, talking about plans.

Lan moy sa program tay?: What are your plans today?
Suba si démay dém ci jaa-ba, après ma togg thièb.: This morning I'm going to the market, then I'm cooking rice.
ngoon gi nak?: And the afternoon?

The little word nak keeps the question going: "and what about the afternoon, then?" Here's another French borrowing too: après (after). You can also ask directly: Lan ngay def ci ngoon gui? (What are you doing this afternoon?)

If your host likes sport, you might hear Man, damay daw suba su nekk. bëgg naa baskeet tamit. (I run every morning. I like basketball too.) It's a handy way to talk about a daily routine.

At the market, talking about freshness and distance.

Bii bou bess la. Ci souba ba légui: This one is very fresh. Since this morning.
Deedeet, dafa jege. Juroom minut rekk.: No, it's close. Just five minutes.

Distance here is measured in walking time, as it often is in West Africa. rekk means "only" or "just."

In the evening, going out.

Sabar am na tay ci guddi!: There's a sabar tonight!
Dama bëgg Wally! Kañ lay tambali?: I love Wally! What time does it start?
Ci fukk waxtu guddi. nañu dém: At ten at night. Let's go!

A sabar is a party with dancing and drumming, and Wally Seck is one of Senegal's best-known singers. Notice fukk waxtu guddi: putting guddi after the hour shows you mean the evening, much like "p.m." in English.

Talking about yesterday.

Ndax sèetaan nga match bi demb? Gaindé yi nio gagné!: Did you watch the match yesterday? The Lions won!
Séetaan nga lambu demb bi?: Did you see the wrestling match yesterday?
defko daan ci nienti minut. aka am doolé!: He threw him to the ground in four minutes. He's so strong!
Tay moom moy jambaar bi!: He's the champion today!

The Lions are Senegal's national football team. Wrestling (lambu) and football come up in conversation every day, so they're a good way to practise demb (yesterday) and minutes.

A trip the next day.

tukki bi niata waxtu la?: How many hours is the trip?
Nient waxtu, bu soobé yalla.: Four hours, God willing.
Waaw, benn waxtu. ropalaan bi sou juroom benn waxtu joté lay dém.: Yes, one hour. The plane leaves at six.

Saying goodbye.

Ba suba, inshallah! niou Yendu ak jaam.: See you tomorrow, God willing! Have a peaceful day.

"God willing" (inshallah, bu soobé yalla) goes with almost anything about the future. Using these phrases makes you sound natural and polite.

Recap and Common Mistakes

Key points:

• waxtu = hour, time; minut = minute.
• Asking the time: Baal ma, bane waxtu moo jot? or Fan la waxtu bi?
• "At" + a time: ci (e.g. Ci fukk waxtu.)
• "Half past": ak genn-wall.
• Asking the day: Ban bis la nu nekk tay?
• Asking about the weather: Naka tay?
• Yesterday: demb; today: tey; tomorrow: elleg or suba.

Common mistakes:

1. Mixing up the two meanings of suba. suba means both "tomorrow" and "morning." Ba suba means "see you tomorrow," while suba si means "the morning." The context and the small word after it tell you which one is meant. If you want "tomorrow" with no confusion, you can use elleg.

2. Confusing beceg and ngoon. beceg is the afternoon in general. ngoon is late afternoon, just before dusk (timis). If you say it will rain ci ngoon, you mean toward the end of the day.

3. Using guddi too early. guddi means night or late evening, from about 8 p.m. For a 6 p.m. meeting, you'd talk about ngoon or timis. Don't treat guddi as a direct match for the English word "evening."

4. Taking the stated time literally. As the meeting dialogue shows, waxtu Sénégal is real. Allowing extra time isn't rude. In many informal situations, people expect it.

5. Forgetting that dibeer has two meanings. Depending on context, dibeer means "Sunday" or "week."

6. Building numbers the English way. Six isn't a separate word: it's juroom benn (five + one). Nine is juroom-ñeent (five + four). Once you get the pattern, telling the time gets much easier.

Going Further

The best way to learn this vocabulary is to hear it. On Targumi, the sentences in this article are part of lessons recorded by native Wolof teachers. Listen to them a few times, then repeat them out loud and copy the intonation. Questions like Kañ la reunion bi? and Naka tay? have their own distinct melody.

Some ideas for daily practice:

• Every morning, ask yourself Ban bis la nu nekk tay? and answer with the right day of the week.
• Check the weather forecast and describe it with Dafa tang lool. or Dina am taw bu mag ci ngoon.
• Break up your day with the right words: céer, suba, add, beceg, ngoon, guddi.
• Talk about what you did yesterday using demb, as in Séetaan nga lambu demb bi?

If you're not sure where to start, the level test will point you to the right lessons.

Conclusion

Talking about time in Wolof is about more than numbers and day names. It's a way of living the day, shaped by daylight, prayer and the seasons, with plenty of flexibility about schedules. With a few phrases like Baal ma, bane waxtu moo jot?, Ban bis la nu nekk tay? and Naka tay?, you can already hold real short conversations. Listen to the native audio, repeat it, and finish your conversations with a warm Ba suba, inshallah!

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