Bengali Days, Months and Telling the Time
Bangladesh runs on two calendars at once: the Gregorian one for work and the Bengali one for festivals, seasons and anything cultural. You need the days in Bengali, the Gregorian months in English, and the Bengali months for the things that matter socially.
| English | Bengali | In English letters |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | রবিবার | robibar |
| Monday | সোমবার | shombar |
| Tuesday | মঙ্গলবার | mongolbar |
| Wednesday | বুধবার | budhbar |
| Thursday | বৃহস্পতিবার | brihoshpotibar |
| Fridaythe weekly holiday | শুক্রবার | shukrobar |
| Saturday | শনিবার | shonibar |
| Today | আজ | aj |
| Tomorrow / yesterdaysame word for both | কাল | kal |
| Now | এখন | ekhon |
| Morning | সকাল | shokal |
| Afternoon | দুপুর | dupur |
| Evening | সন্ধ্যা | shondha |
| Night | রাত | rat |
| What time is it? | কয়টা বাজে? | koyta baje? |
| Three o'clock | তিনটা | tinta |
| Half past three | সাড়ে তিনটা | sharhe tinta |
| Baishakh (mid-April)first Bengali month | বৈশাখ | boishakh |
| Ashar (mid-June)the monsoon begins | আষাঢ় | ashar |
| Poush (mid-December)winter | পৌষ | poush |
What a phrasebook will not tell you
Friday is the weekend, not Sunday
The Bangladeshi weekend is Friday and Saturday; the working week runs Sunday to Thursday. Friday is the day of congregational prayer and everything social happens around it. If you are arranging anything with someone in Bangladesh, this is the single most useful fact on the page.
Two calendars, used for different things
Dates, contracts and school terms use the Gregorian calendar with English month names. The Bengali calendar governs Pahela Baishakh, the seasons, harvest festivals and a good deal of poetry. Both are current, and educated Bangladeshis switch between them without noticing. Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali new year, falls on 14 April in Bangladesh.
The day names come from the planets
Robibar is the sun's day, shombar the moon's, mongolbar Mars, budhbar Mercury, brihoshpotibar Jupiter, shukrobar Venus, shonibar Saturn — the same logic that gave English Sunday, Monday and Saturday. The suffix -bar means 'day', so every one of the seven ends in it.
Telling the time uses a counting form
Hours take -ta: ekta (one o'clock), duita (two), tinta (three). Half past is sharhe before the hour: sharhe tinta is half past three. Quarter past is showa, quarter to is pouna. Most people under forty will simply read a digital clock in English numbers.
Questions
What are the days of the week in Bengali?
Robibar, shombar, mongolbar, budhbar, brihoshpotibar, shukrobar, shonibar — Sunday through Saturday. All end in -bar, meaning 'day'.
When is the weekend in Bangladesh?
Friday and Saturday. The working week is Sunday to Thursday, which surprises most visitors and matters for any arrangement you make.
What is the Bengali new year?
Pahela Baishakh, on 14 April in Bangladesh. It is the biggest non-religious festival of the year and is celebrated by people of every faith.
How do you ask the time in Bengali?
Koyta baje? (কয়টা বাজে?) — 'how many has it struck?'