Kellonaika

Kellonaika is a Finnish noun meaning the time of day as indicated by a clock. It is formed from kello (clock) and aika (time). In everyday language, kellonaika is used when referring to a precise moment, such as in schedules, appointments, broadcasts, and when asking "Mikä kellonaika on?" (What time is it?). It contrasts with the broader concept of time (aika), which can denote duration, era, or general temporal relations without reference to a specific clock reading.

In Finnish practice, times in official and public contexts are usually given in the 24-hour format, often in written form with hours and minutes (for example 14:30). In informal speech, people may still mention times using spoken forms, but numerical times commonly rely on the 24-hour system. The term Kellonaika also appears in dictionaries and linguistic descriptions as a compound noun that emphasizes clock-based measurement of time. In technology and computing, kellonaika can refer to the current timestamp or the time component of a date-time value, depending on the software context. See also: aika, kello, 24-hour clock, time zone.