Dinako [Time Concepts]

Dinako [Time Concepts]

Setswana terminologies and concepts related to time, including traditional markers of times of the day (prior to the use of the 24-hour clock), times on the clock, days of the week, months, seasons, relative times, and other related concepts.
A good starting point would be to explain that although we use the Gregorian Calendar and the 24-hour clock to define time now, traditionally Batswana used a lunar calendar, which started at the beginning of the planting season, and their years were defined by the agricultural cycles and atmospheric seasons. Also, the day was recognised as the elapse of time between one dawn and another, with no regard to the 00h00 midnight concept. We will find a number of words whose meanings have been shifted to fit into the new ideas of time definition, as well as other neologies which were created for the very purpose of having Setswana names for these new concepts.

1. Times of the Day

Similar to the days of the week, the 24-hour period that marks the day has also been given Setswana designations for each of the respective intervals. The word for hour seems not to have existed in natural Setswana, and as such is often just a Tswanalised form of the English hour [“awara” or “oura”] or Afrikaans uur [“iri”].
Each hour is divided into 60 minutes, the word for which does exist in Setswana: motsotso (plural, metsotso). And finally, seconds: metsotswana (singular, motsotswana).
Clock time is expressed similar to the way it is done in English, except that instead of o’clock, Setswana uses “the hour of”; for instance three o’clock is expressed as oura ya boraro [literally: the third hour or the hour of 3]. Again, half past, quarter past and quarter to are just expressed quantitatively as 30 minutes past, 15 minutes past, and 15 minutes to, respectively. Digital clock expressions (like 10.15) are just stated in English, and only the analogue clock has times expressed using Setswana words. For instance 10.15 would either just be called 10.15, or a translation of 15 minutes after 10.
The less precise expressions of time, such as evening, dawn, and mid-afternoon are summarised in the table below:

Broad Specific
Letsatsi [Day]

[TSN] Sebaka sa dioura di le 24 go similoga kabosa ja letsatsi la ntlha go ema ka masa a le le latelang.




[ENG] A 24-hour period from the dawn of one day to the dawn of the subsequent one.
Motshegare [Daytime]

[TSN] Nako e letsatsi le sedimositseng, go simolola ka masa go ema ka letibikwane.


[ENG] The daylight duration where the sun illuminates the earth, from dawn until dusk.
Maphakela [Morning] Masa/Bosa [Dawn]
Letsatsi le tlhaba [Sunrise]
Makuku [Very early morning – not precise]
Maphakela/moso [Morning]
Sethobo [Midday] Selebalo [Late morning/noontime]
Sethoboloko [Early afternoon]
Lesatsi le penne/Tadi e amusa [Mid afternoon – at the hottest]
Tshokologo [Late afternoon]
Maitseboa [Evening] Phirimane [Pre-sunset]
Letsatsi le phirima [Sunset]
Letlatlana [Post-sunset]
Maabanyane [pre-dusk]
Bosigo [Night time]

[TSN] Nako e letsatsi le sa tlholeng le sedimositse, go simolola ka letibikwane go ema ka masa.

[ENG] The night-time duration where the sun no longer illuminates the earth, from dusk until dawn.
Letibikwane [dusk]
Ngwedi a budusetsa [early night]
Bosigogare [middle of the night/midnight]
Masigo a rwele [hours before dawn]

2. Days of the Week

The Gregorian calendar has a seven-day week, and as such, Setswana diction has had to make adjustments to accommodate this. The weekday names clearly indicate that the assumption is that Monday is the first day of the week, as the names for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, are simply cardinal values starting from “second day” [Labobedi] to fifth day [Labotlhano].
The Setswana name for Sunday is “Tshipi” (a homonym of iron/metal), which is also the word for “week”. However, this is usually only seen in formal writing, as people generally use “Tswanalised” Afrikaans words Sontaga [Sondag] and beke [week] for Sunday and week respectively. Saturday also gets a similar treatment, with people preferring “Satarataga” [Saterdag] to Matlhatso or Lamatlhatso. In fact, it appears only Mosupulogo [Monday] gets the due respect, although there is still a tendency to refer to it as Mmantaga [Maandag].

English Name Setswana Name Meaning/Rationale Behind the Name Preferred Alternative
Monday Mosupulogo Onomatopoeic to the sudden start of the week after the weekend break Mmantaga
Tuesday Labobedi Literally “second day” Labobedi
Wednesday Laboraro Literally “third day” Laboraro
Thursday Labone Literally “fourth day” Labone
Friday Labotlhano Literally “fifth day” Labotlhano
Saturday (La)Matlhatso Washing/cleaning day Sataretaga
Sunday (La)Tshipi “Iron day” – presumably making reference to the metallic church bell Sontaga

3. Months According to the Gregorian Calendar

There is an entire section dedicated to the months of the year, beginning with this Dikgwedi [Months] page. Moreover, at the beginning of each month, there shall be a blog post discussing the name, placement, and characteristics of the starting month. This shall be mainly from the point of view of the traditional Setswana calendar.

Month # English Setswana
1 January Firikgong
2 February Tlhakole
3 March Mopitlo
4 April Moranang
5 May Motsheganong
6 June Seetebosogo
7 July Phukwi
8 August Phatwe
9 September Lwetse
10 October Phalane
11 November Ngwanatsele
12 December Sedimonthole/Morule

4. Seasons of the Year

Another page, Dipaka [Seasons] exists here with a lengthier discussion on the four seasons. To read more, follow the link.

Paka Dikgwedi tsa Paka Season Months of Season
Selemo Ngwanatsele – Firikgong Summer November – January
Gwetla/Letlhafula Tlhakole – Moranang Autumn February – April
Mariga Motsheganong – Phukwi Winter May – July
Dikgakologo Phatwe – Phalane Spring August – October

5. Relative Times

This is time expressed in relation to another point in time, such as “yesterday” and “later”.

Setswana Name Setswana Meaning English Equivalent
Goo-Lowe Bogologolo thata, go simolola ko nako e simolotseng teng. Time immemorial
Bogologolo tala Go fetile nako e telele thata. Gantsi ke go kaya dinako tsa mainane Eons ago. Legendium times
Bogologolo/Gole/Kgale Go fetile nako e telele; dingwaga tse dintsi. A long time ago
Ngwagatlola Mo sebakeng sa dingwaga tse pedi tse di fetileng. Two years ago
Ngogola Mo sebakeng sa ngwaga o o sa tswang go feta. Last year
Beke/Tshipi e e fetileng Morago ga malatsi a le supa a a tlang. Last week
Maloba a maabane Letsatsi pele ga maloba. 3 days ago
Maloba Letsatsi pele ga maabane. Day before yesterday
Maabane Letsatsi pele ga kajeno. Yesterday
Kgantele Nako e e fetileng kgotsa e e tlaa tlang, mo letsatsing la gompieno. Earlier or later today
Jaanong/Jaana/Jale Mo sebakeng sone se. Now
Isago/Bokamoso Nako e e tla tlang. In future
Ka moso/mo mosong Mo maphakeleng In the morning
Kamoso Letsatsi morago ga kajeno. Tomorrow
Kamoso o mongwe Letsatsi morago ga kamoso. Day after tomorrow
Beke/Tshipi e e tlang Morago ga malatsi a le supa a a fetileng. Next week
Monongwaga Mo ngwageng o re mo go one. This year
Motlha Sebaka sengwe, se se sa papamalang. An undefined epoch