[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: pem (noun)

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon Word of the Day for Friday, March 06, 2026

Klingon word: pem
Part of speech: noun
Definition: daytime
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(KGT 121):  The word used for days, {pemmey}, is the plural form of {pem} (day, daytime), a word referring to the part of the day when it is light out (as opposed to {ram} [night]). Another word, {jaj} (day) refers to the full period from dawn to dawn.

(KGT 206-7):  Thus, Federation Standard uses the single word day to refer to both a period of 24 Earth hours (generally reckoned from midnight to midnight) and to that part of the 24-hour period which is light (day as opposed to night). In Klingon, there are two distinct terms:  {jaj} is the period from dawn to dawn; {pem} is that part of a {jaj} which is light (as opposed to ram [night]). Although Federation Standard also makes use of the locutions daytime and nighttime, when a speaker of Federation Standard is counting periods of daytime, only day is used. Thus, three days, with no further context, is ambiguous, for it can refer to three 24-hour periods (as in They wandered for three days) or three periods of daylight (as in They wandered for three days and three nights). In Klingon, {wej jajmey} means only three stretches from dawn to dawn; {wej pemmey} means three periods of daylight (as opposed to {wej rammey} [three nights]).

(msn.onstage.startrek.expert.Okrand 6/29/1997):  In Klingon, you could even say {DaHjaj pem} "today's daytime", which would probably be typically contrasted with {DaHjaj ram} "today's night" (or tonight).

wa'maH cha' pemmey wa'maH cha' rammey je 
twelve days and twelve nights (idiom: "a long time") [KGT]

(KGT 121; story first heard in TNG "New Ground"):  This is a rather long-winded way to say "a long time" (which would be {poH nI'} in nonidiomatic speech). It implies a bit more than that, however, for it is used to mean not only that the length of an event is long but also that the event is an important one, worthy of taking up so much time. The expression comes from the well-known story of Kahless the Unforgettable, the founder of the Klingon Empire, and his brother, Morath, who fought for the fabled "twelve days and twelve nights" because Morath had broken his word and brought shame to the family.

SEE:
pemjep  	midday,  middle of the day (n)

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons