Dialogue: What time is it?
Vocabulary
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qatsimuuqqa?
ᖃᑦᓯᒨᖅᑲ?
What time is it?
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uan
ᐅᐊᓐ
one (ᖯorrowed term from English)
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uamuuqtuq
ᐅᐊᒨᖅᑐᖅ
1 o'clock
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uamuuliqtuq
ᐅᐊᒨᓕᖅᑐᖅ
from just after 12:30 to just before 1:00
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uamiinngaaliqtuq
ᐅᐊᒦᙶᓕᖅᑐᖅ
from just after 1:00 to 1:30
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tuumuuliqtuq
ᑑᒨᓕᖅᑐᖅ
from just after 1:30 to just before 2:00
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tuu
ᑑ
two (borrowed from English)
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tuumuuqtuq
ᑑᒨᖅᑐᖅ
2 o'clock
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tuumiinngaaliqtuq
ᑑᒦᙶᓕᖅᑐᖅ
from just after 2:00 to 2:30
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taliimuuliqtuq
ᑕᓖᒨᓕᖅᑐᖅ
from just after 2:30 to just before 3:00
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talii
ᑕᓖ
three (borrowed from English)
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taliimuuqtuq
ᑕᓖᒨᖅᑐᖅ
3 o'clock
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pua
ᐳᐊ
four (borrowed from English)
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pai
ᐸᐃ
five (borrowed from English)
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sassi
ᓴᔅᓯ
six
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saipan
ᓴᐃᐸᓐ
seven
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iit
ᐄᑦ
eight
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nain
ᓇᐃᓐ
nine
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tajan
ᑕᔭᓐ
ten
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iliapan
ᐃᓕᐊᐸᓐ
eleven
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tuajat
ᑐᐊᔭᑦ
twelve (borrowed from English)
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qulaani
ᖁᓛᓂ
noon
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qatsimuuqqat?
ᖃᑦᑎᒨᖅᑲᑦ?
at what time? (in the future)
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qatsimuurngat
ᖃᑦᓯᒨᕐᖓᑦ
At what time did something happen?
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takijua
ᑕᑭᔪᐊ
long hand (clock)
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naittua
ᓇᐃᑦᑐᐊ
short hand
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Grammar
28 » Telling Time
To tell time in Inuktut, we use affixes that describe the motion of the hands around a clock.
-muuq- is an affix used to talk about getting to someplace:
Panniqtuumuuqtuq |
He/she went to Panniqtuuq. |
When telling time, we use the affix -muuq- to indicate that the little hand of the clock (naittua) has reached a certain hour:
uamuuqtuq | tuumuuqtuq |
It's one o'clock. | It's two o'clock. |
* We have spelled out the numbers so you have a sense of pronunciation. In written Inuktitut, you would normally use a numeral:
1-muuqtuq | 2-muuqtuq |
-miinngaaq- is an affix meaning "to be coming from":
niuvirvimmiinngaaqtuq |
He/she came from the store. |
By putting together -miinngaaq-with the affix -liq- we put it in the present tense:
kaapiturvik + miinngaaq + liq + tuq = | kaapiturvimiinngaaliqtuq |
He/she is coming from the coffee shop. |
Anytime between the beginning of the hour until half past the hour, use -miinngaaliq- with the hour that has just been past. This gets across the idea that the naittua (little hand) is "coming from" the hour that has just been past:
uammiinngaaliqtuq | tuajumiinngaaliqtuq | tuumiinngaaliqtuq |
It is after one. | It is after twelve. | It is after two. |
When we get to half past the hour, the naittua is now on its way towards the next hour. So we use the hour that is coming up with the affixes -muuq- + -liq-. When they are put together, they indicate that someone is on their way somewhere but hasn't reached their destination yet:
tuumuuliqtuq | iliapamuuliqtuq |
It is approaching 2 (o'clock) | It is approaching 11 (o'clock). |
Note that when these three affixes are added to numbers that end in a consonant, they delete the final consonant:
tuajat | twelve |
tuajumuuliqtuq | It is approaching 12 o'clock. |
tuajumuuqtuq | It is 12 o'clock. |
tuajumiinngaaliqtuq | It is after 12 o'clock. |
Next, let's look at the ending -qat, which is used to talk about events that will happen tomorrow or in the future:
Qatsimuuqqa? | Uamuuqtuq. |
What time is it? | It is 1:00. |
Qatsimuuqqat? | Uamuuqqat. |
At what time (will something be happening)? | At 1:00. |
As you can see in the examples above, -qat can be used both to ask a question and to make a statement.
As for events in the past, we can use the ending -ngat:
Qatsimuurngat? | At what time (did it happen)? |
2-muurngat. | At 2:00. |
2-miinngaalirngat. | After 2:00 |
2-muulirngat. | Before 2. |
You can see that -ngat changes the final q of roots to r.
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