ঘণ্টা

What does ঘণ্টা mean?

ঘণ্টা (ghonta) is a Bangla noun that means hour, bell, o'clock in English.

ঘণ্টা (ghonta) means an hour of elapsed time, and it also refers to a physical bell or gong. It is essential when specifying durations like এক ঘণ্টা (ek ghonta) for one hour or asking about travel times on busy Bangladeshi roads. Learners should not mix this up with telling clock time, where the suffix -টা (-ta) attached to numbers is used instead of adding the word ঘণ্টা (ghonta).

How do you say “hour” in Bangla?

Say ঘণ্টা, pronounced ghonta. Press play to hear a native Bangladeshi voice say it.

Pronunciation tips

• It has a breathy consonant (bh, chh, dh, kh, th): say it with a small puff of air, as if a soft h follows.
• It has a retroflex sound (capital T or D in the precise spelling): curl your tongue tip back to the roof of your mouth.

These sounds have no exact English match. Practise them letter by letter in the Bengali alphabet guide.