Ethiopian Time Converterየኢትዮጵያ ሰዓት
See the current time in Addis Ababa on both clocks, and convert any time between the Ethiopian 12-hour clock and international time.
How Ethiopian time works
In Ethiopia the clock counts the hours of daylight and the hours of darkness separately, so the day starts at dawn rather than at midnight. Near the equator the sun rises and sets close to 6:00 and 18:00 all year, so dawn is 12:00 on the Ethiopian clock and the first hour of daylight ends at 1:00 (ጠዋት 1 ሰዓት), which is 7:00 AM international time.
The evening cycle works the same way. Dusk is 12:00 again, and 7:00 PM international time is 1:00 in the evening (ምሽት 1 ሰዓት, also said ማታ 1 ሰዓት). Midnight is 6:00 at night (ሌሊት 6 ሰዓት) and noon is 6:00 in the day.
To convert by hand, take the international time on a 12-hour clock and add or subtract 6 hours. Saying the time of day (ጠዋት morning, ከሰዓት afternoon, ምሽት evening, ሌሊት night) makes it clear which half of the day you mean.
Ethiopia's time zone
Ethiopia uses East Africa Time (EAT), which is UTC+3. There is no daylight saving time, so the offset is the same all year: Addis Ababa is 3 hours ahead of London in winter and 2 hours ahead in summer, and 8 hours ahead of New York in winter and 7 in summer.
The time zone and the Ethiopian clock are separate things. Phones, flight schedules and international meetings use the 24-hour or AM/PM time in EAT, while everyday conversation, local business hours and many printed notices in Amharic use Ethiopian time. If someone in Ethiopia says “3 o'clock”, it is worth asking which clock they mean.
Ethiopian time conversion table
Every hour of the day in international time and in Ethiopian time. The Ethiopian hour is always 6 hours off the international hour on a 12-hour clock: subtract 6 (or add 6) and keep the time of day.
| International time | Ethiopian time | In Amharic |
|---|---|---|
| Morning ጠዋት6:00 AM to 11:59 AM | ||
| 6:00 AM06:00 | 12:00 in the morning | ጠዋት 12:00 ሰዓት |
| 7:00 AM07:00 | 1:00 in the morning | ጠዋት 1:00 ሰዓት |
| 8:00 AM08:00 | 2:00 in the morning | ጠዋት 2:00 ሰዓት |
| 9:00 AM09:00 | 3:00 in the morning | ጠዋት 3:00 ሰዓት |
| 10:00 AM10:00 | 4:00 in the morning | ጠዋት 4:00 ሰዓት |
| 11:00 AM11:00 | 5:00 in the morning | ጠዋት 5:00 ሰዓት |
| Afternoon ከሰዓት12:00 PM to 5:59 PM | ||
| 12:00 PM12:00 | 6:00 in the afternoon | ከሰዓት 6:00 ሰዓት |
| 1:00 PM13:00 | 7:00 in the afternoon | ከሰዓት 7:00 ሰዓት |
| 2:00 PM14:00 | 8:00 in the afternoon | ከሰዓት 8:00 ሰዓት |
| 3:00 PM15:00 | 9:00 in the afternoon | ከሰዓት 9:00 ሰዓት |
| 4:00 PM16:00 | 10:00 in the afternoon | ከሰዓት 10:00 ሰዓት |
| 5:00 PM17:00 | 11:00 in the afternoon | ከሰዓት 11:00 ሰዓት |
| Evening ምሽት6:00 PM to 11:59 PM | ||
| 6:00 PM18:00 | 12:00 in the evening | ምሽት 12:00 ሰዓት |
| 7:00 PM19:00 | 1:00 in the evening | ምሽት 1:00 ሰዓት |
| 8:00 PM20:00 | 2:00 in the evening | ምሽት 2:00 ሰዓት |
| 9:00 PM21:00 | 3:00 in the evening | ምሽት 3:00 ሰዓት |
| 10:00 PM22:00 | 4:00 in the evening | ምሽት 4:00 ሰዓት |
| 11:00 PM23:00 | 5:00 in the evening | ምሽት 5:00 ሰዓት |
| Night ሌሊት12:00 AM to 5:59 AM | ||
| 12:00 AM00:00 | 6:00 at night | ሌሊት 6:00 ሰዓት |
| 1:00 AM01:00 | 7:00 at night | ሌሊት 7:00 ሰዓት |
| 2:00 AM02:00 | 8:00 at night | ሌሊት 8:00 ሰዓት |
| 3:00 AM03:00 | 9:00 at night | ሌሊት 9:00 ሰዓት |
| 4:00 AM04:00 | 10:00 at night | ሌሊት 10:00 ሰዓት |
| 5:00 AM05:00 | 11:00 at night | ሌሊት 11:00 ሰዓት |
Frequently asked questions
What time is it in Ethiopia right now?
The live clock at the top of this page shows the current time in Addis Ababa in both Ethiopian time and international time, along with today's Ethiopian date. All of Ethiopia is in the same time zone.
What time zone is Ethiopia in?
East Africa Time (EAT), UTC+3. Ethiopia does not observe daylight saving time, so it stays at UTC+3 all year.
Why does the Ethiopian day start at dawn?
The traditional clock counts the hours since sunrise and the hours since sunset. Because Ethiopia is close to the equator, sunrise and sunset stay near 6:00 and 18:00 all year, so 12:00 marks dawn and dusk and 1:00 is the end of the first hour of light or of darkness.
What is 8 AM in Ethiopian time?
8:00 AM international time is 2:00 in the morning in Ethiopian time (ጠዋት 2 ሰዓት). Subtract 6 hours on a 12-hour clock. The table below lists every hour of the day.
How do I say midnight and noon in Ethiopian time?
Midnight is 6:00 at night (ሌሊት 6 ሰዓት) and noon is 6:00 in the day (ከቀኑ 6 ሰዓት). Both are six hours after the 12:00 that starts each half of the day.