Days and Time
Klingon Basic Conversation 1
Chapter 7 · Days, Dates & Telling the Time
⏰ Days, Dates & Telling the Time — jaj, rep
A Klingon who says "tomorrow" means it. By the end of this chapter you will be able to talk about yesterday, today and tomorrow, say whether something happens by day or by night, ask the hour and tell it, and fix a time to meet, or to fight. The chapter has three parts: days, the hour, and appointments. Klingon has no tense, so a time word at the start of the sentence does the work, as in Klingon Grammar 1, Chapter 10.
Part 1 — Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
| English | Klingon | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| day (24 hours) | jaj | jaj | |
| today | DaHjaj | DaH-jaj | "now-day" |
| yesterday | wa'Hu' | wa'-Hu' | "one day ago" |
| tomorrow | wa'leS | wa'-leS | "one day from now" |
| daytime | pem | pem | |
| night | ram | ram | |
| month | jar | jar | |
| year | DIS | DIS |
Part 2 — The Hour
The words are rep "hour", tup "minute", lup "second". According to Marc Okrand, Klingons use the Federation 24-hour clock for dealings with other worlds, and the hour is numbered, not counted: tera' rep cha'maH "Earth hour 20", meaning 8 p.m. To ask the time you give an order: rep yIper! "Label the hour!".
① What Time Is It? — rep yIper!
② Tomorrow We Fight — wa'leS maSuv
③ Yesterday and Today — wa'Hu', DaHjaj
④ Tomorrow — wa'leS jIjaH
⑤ Day and Night — pem, ram
⑥ The Challenge — DaHjaj
Part 3 — Arranging a Meeting
| Situation | Klingon | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| What time is it? | rep yIper! | rep yi-per | an order, yI- |
| It is hour 20 | tera' rep cha'maH. | te-ra' rep cha'-maH | number of the hour, 0–23 |
| Today | DaHjaj | DaH-jaj | time word first |
| Tomorrow we fight | wa'leS maSuv. | wa'-leS ma-Suv | ma- "we" |
| At what hour? | tera' rep 'ar? | te-ra' rep 'ar | |
| By night | ram | ram |
Three verbs with time words in front. Remember that "we" with no object is ma-:
| Verb | I | you | we |
|---|---|---|---|
| jaH (go) | jIjaH | bIjaH | majaH |
| leng (travel) | jIleng | bIleng | maleng |
| Suv (fight) | jISuv | bISuv | maSuv |
📖 Vocabulary — Vortaro
20 key words. The Say it column shows the syllables.
| # | Klingon | Say it | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | jaj | jaj | day | noun |
| 2 | DaHjaj | DaH-jaj | today | adverb |
| 3 | wa'Hu' | wa'-Hu' | yesterday | adverb |
| 4 | wa'leS | wa'-leS | tomorrow | adverb |
| 5 | pem | pem | daytime | noun |
| 6 | ram | ram | night | noun |
| 7 | jar | jar | month | noun |
| 8 | DIS | DIS | year | noun |
| 9 | rep | rep | hour | noun |
| 10 | tup | tup | minute | noun |
| 11 | lup | lup | second | noun |
| 12 | per | per | label, name | verb |
| 13 | jaH | jaH | go | verb |
| 14 | leng | leng | travel | verb |
| 15 | Qong | Qong | sleep | verb |
| 16 | Suv | Suv | fight | verb |
| 17 | tera' rep | te-ra' rep | Earth hour (24-hour clock) | phrase |
| 18 | 'ar | 'ar | how many | question |
| 19 | nuqDaq | nuq-Daq | where | question |
| 20 | naDev | na-Dev | here | adverb |
📜 Reading — LaD
A short text using only words you know.
True or false? (a) Yesterday the speaker was on Kronos. (b) Today the speaker is on Earth. (c) The fight is tomorrow. (d) The fight is at hour 10.
Show answers
(a) True. (b) False: DujDaq jIH "on the ship". (c) True: wa'leS. (d) False: jav is six.
✍️ Try It Yourself — Ekzercoj
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Say "yesterday", "today" and "tomorrow".
Show answer
wa'Hu' · DaHjaj · wa'leS
2. Ask the time, and answer "hour 15".
Show answer
rep yIper! · tera' rep wa'maH vagh.
3. Say "two days ago" and "three days from now".
Show answer
cha'Hu' · wejleS
4. Say "tomorrow we go to Kronos".
Show answer
wa'leS Qo'noSDaq majaH.
5. Say "by day I travel, by night I sleep".
Show answer
pem jIleng. ram jIQong.
6. Challenge someone: "tomorrow at hour 8 we fight here".
Show answer
wa'leS tera' rep chorgh naDev maSuv.