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How to Tell Time in Spanish – A Complete Guide for Beginners
¿Que hora es? It’s high time we learned how to answer to this world-renowned question.
¿Que hora es? demands an answer! And no, we’re not talking about the Mexican soap opera for people who only had 3 weeks of Spanish in the 4th grade (wink wink). In all seriousness, how do you reply to the question that has been on everybody’s lips at one point? How do you tell the time in Spanish? Well, it’s time (wink wink) to find out.
I know what you think and it’s true. We’re lucky enough to live in an era of rapid technological advancements. Even if you don’t own a watch, you probably have a smartphone. Asking or telling the time in Spanish or any other language may seem obsolete. But what if your phone’s battery is dead? I for one had a pretty interesting experience when I had to survive one week without a phone. I kept asking random people the time to make sure I wasn’t late and they looked at me like I was some kind of an alien. So yeah, knowing how to tell the time in Spanish can make all the difference!
One more thing! If you’ve learned how to count in Spanish, it will be extremely easy for you.
But first things first.
¿Que hora es? – how to ask for the time in Spanish
In order to tell the time in Spanish, you’ll first have to learn how to properly ask for the time in Spanish. You can never be too cautious. I’m just making sure you’re not missing that fiesta española you spent weeks thinking about!
In addition to the now well-known ¿que hora es? which literally translates to “what hour is it?”, you can also ask ¿tiene hora? which is literally “do you have the hour?”. Easy enough!
The basics of Spanish time
To decir la hora (“tell the time”) in Spanish, there are a few simple rules you’ll have to know.
First of all, always use the verb ser. No, not estar, but ser. If you don’t know what Spanish verbs are all about, you might want to check this little guide for beginners. To put it simply, time is a permanent entity that requires the use of the verb ser.
Secondly, remember that only when talking about one o’clock, you’ll need to use the third person singular form of ser. For all the other eleven hours, you can safely go with the plural form. Here’s how to tell the time in Spanish if the time is on the hour:
- Es la una. – It’s one o’clock.
- Son las dos. – It’s two o’clock.
- Son las tres. – It’s three o’clock.
- Son las cuatro. – It’s four o’clock.
- Son las cinco. – It’s five o’clock.
- Son las seis. – It’s six o’clock.
- Son las siete. – It’s seven o’clock.
- Son las ocho. – It’s eight o’clock.
- Son las nueve. – It’s nine o’clock.
- Son las diez. – It’s ten o’clock.
- Son las once. – It’s eleven o’clock.
- Son las doce. – It’s twelve o’clock.
As you can see, the feminine article (la/las) is used before the number. Why is that? Well, because it refers to la hora. But again, remember that the singular form la will only be used in the case of “one o’clock” because we’re talking about a single hour.
Nota bene: If you prefer to use the 24-hour clock, you should say son las dieciséis (“it’s 16:00”) instead of son las cuatro (“it’s 4 o’clock p.m.”). But that will require a little more studying on your part. Don’t worry though. Spanish numbers are just as easy as learning how to tell the time. You can master them with Mondly faster than you can say Jack Robinson. You can get started here.
How do you say the time in Spanish after 30?
Now, the time is not always on the hour. So how do you say “half past”, “quarter past” and “quarter to” in Spanish? There are only two new words you need to remember: media and cuarto.
- If it’s half past the hour in Spanish, use the phrase y media;
- If it’s a quarter past the hour, use the phrase y cuarto;
- If it’s a quarter until the hour, use the phrase menos cuarto.
Here are some examples:
- 2:30 – Son las dos y media. – It’s two thirty.
- 1:15 – Es la una y cuarto. – It’s one fifteen.
- 5:45 – Son las seis menos cuarto. – It’s a quarter until six.
Hour + minutes in Spanish time
Wanna be a little more specific? Here’s how Spanish time works when you need to indicate the exact number of minutes that have past from the hour.
The simplest formula is es/son + las + hour + number of minutes. For example, if you want to say that it’s 3:29, you’ll say son las tres veintinueve.
Thus, the same as in English, there will be two ways in which you can indicate some hours in Spanish. If it’s 8:15, you can say:
- Son las ocho y cuarto. (“it’s a quarter past eight”)
- Son las ocho y quince. (“it’s eight and fifteen minutes”)
Different ways of telling time in Spanish
There are three formulas of telling time in Spanish. Here are different ways of telling it’s 3:10:
- es/son + las + hour + number of minutes – Son las tres diez
- es/son + las + hour + y + number of minutes – Son las tres y diez
- es/son + las + hour + con + number of minutes – Son las tres con diez
Which one do you prefer? Additionally, if we also count it cuarto and media, there are no less than four different ways to tell the time in Spanish. And you’ve just mastered them all!
How to indicate the time of day in Spanish
If you are using the 12-hour clock, you sometimes might want to also point out the time of day. For instance, “it’s two in the afternoon” translates to son las dos de la tarde in Spanish. Not too complicated, is it? Here are some more times of day that might come in handy:
- mediodía – midday
- mañana – in the morning
- noche – at night
- madrugada – the middle of the night
- medianoche – midnight
- amanecer – dawn
- tarde – in the afternoon
To indicate that an event occurs at a specific time, use the formula a + la(s) + time: La clase de español empieza a las nueve – “The Spanish class begins at 9”.
Other useful time phrases in Spanish
- por la mañana – in the morning
- por la tarde – in the afternoon
- de la tarde – in the afternoon
- al mediodía – at noon
- a la medianoche – at midnight
- por la noche – in the evening or night
- de la noche – in the evening or night
- la mañana – morning or tomorrow
- mañana por la mañana – tomorrow morning
- pasado mañana – the day after tomorrow
- tarde – late
- temprano – early
- en punto – exactly or sharp (son las ocho en punto – “it’s exactly eight o’clock”)
- ayer – yesterday
- anteayer – the day before yesterday
- anoche – last night
- la noche anterior, anteanoche – the night before last
- el lunes que viene – next Monday
- el lunes pasado – last Monday
- la semana que viene – next week
- semana por medio – every other week
- la semana pasada – last week
- el año que viene – next year
- el año pasado – last year
- durante el día – during the day
A guide for telling the time in Spanish ends here but it doesn’t mean stop learning Spanish. Continue to master Spanish with daily lessons, quizzes, and practices.
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So, do certain Spanish-speaking countries tend to use 24-hour time, and others use 12-hour time? Or is it just a matter of your personal preference as the article implies?
Hey, AnonymousLanguageEnthusiast 😀
In most countries, both systems are used interchangeably. But as an unspoken rule, for informal situations, the 12-hour system is still the most widely used.
1:00 PM
2:10 PM
3:15 PM
4:20 PM
5:25 PM
6:30 PM
7:35 PM
8:40 PM
9:45 PM
10:50 PM
11:55 PM
12:00 AM
1:05 AM
2:00 AM
3:00 AM
4:00 AM
5:00 AM
6:00 AM
7:00 AM
8:00 AM
9:00 AM
10:30 AM
11:43 AM
12:00 PM
How to say 2:41 in Spanish
Can you please help me with my spanish?🥺
A. Escribe las horas siguientes en palabras.
Ejemplo: 1:00 – Es la una
Importante: Dont include the parts of the day(eg. de la mañana)
I.
1.) 7:55 =
2.) 9:13=
3.) 12: 01=
4.) 18:45=
5.) 11:30=
B. Escribe la hora en formato digital
Ejemplo: 13:00 = Es la una de la tarde
Important: Don’t include the part of the day(e.g AM, PM)
II.
1.) Son las diez y cinco de la noche=
2. Son las dos y cuarto de la madrugada=
3. Son las nueva y media de la mañana=
4. Son las once menos veinte de na noche=
5. Es medianoche=
Hi Louise 👋
I hope this helps 🤗
I.
1.) 7:55 = Son las ocho menos cinco.
2.) 9:13 = Son las nueve y trece.
3.) 12:01= Son las doce y uno.
4.) 18:45 = Son las diecinueve menos cuarto.
5.) 11:30 = Son las once y cuarto.
II.
1.) Son las diez y cinco de la noche = Son las veintidós y cinco.
2. Son las dos y cuarto de la madrugada = Son las dos y quince.
3. Son las nueve y media de la mañana = Son las nueve y treinta.
4. Son las once menos veinte de la noche = Son las veintidós y cuarenta.
5. Es medianoche = Son las veinticuatro en punto.
Can you help me with these? Please.
Turn English into Spanish.
4:37:
At 4:26:
Translate to English
Question:A què hora es la class de español
Answer: Es a la una
Translate to English
El men
El año
El primer o
Elbow
Thank you
Hi Matthew!
4:37 = Las cuatro y treinta y siete.
At 4:26 = A las cuatro y veintiséis.
Question: What time is the Spanish class?/When is the Spanish class?
Answer: It’s at one o’clock.
The rest of them don’t seem correct. Are you sure you wanted to write “men” and “elbow”? Otherwise, el año is “the year” and el primero is “the first”.
Hope it helps!
Hi. I.m spanish and i Need to learn english. I
Does anyone to practice with me? So we can to learn both lenguages more fun
This was seriously helpful I am in Spanish one (my first year of Spanish) and was very confused on telling time, but this was the perfect guide and now I feel confident about telling my time.
please help meeeeeeee
¿Qué hora es? Escriba las respuestas correctas sobre la hora.
What time is it? Write the correct answer about the time.
Ejemplo : 01.33 p.m : Son las dos menos veintisiete minutos de la tarde.
a) 3.10 a.m : ____________________________________________________
b) 6.47 p.m : ____________________________________________________
c) 7.00 a.m : ____________________________________________________
d) 1.45 p.m : ____________________________________________________
e) 11.53 p.m : ______
Hello there 👋
a) 3.10 a.m: Son las tres y diez de la madrugada.
b) 6.47 p.m: Son las siete menos trece minutos de la tarde.
c) 7.00 a.m: Son las siete de la mañana.
d) 1.45 p.m: Son las dos menos cuarto de la tarde.
e) 11.53 p.m: Son las once y cincuenta y tres de la noche.
I hope this helps. Happy learning!
How do you write 00.10 , 00.25, 00.35, 00.55 por la manana/in the mornin?
Hi Asrshika 👋
1) 00:10 – Son las doce y diez de la noche.
2) 00:25 – Son las doce y veinticinco de la noche.
3) 00:35 – Es la una menos veinticinco de la noche.
4) 00:55 – Es la una menos cinco de la noche.
It’s your choice if you use ‘por la mañana’, ‘de la madrugada’ or ‘de la noche’.
Can you help me with this turn english to spanish
It is 8:00 pm. (Sunset at 5 pm)
It is 10:00 am.
Today is Monday.
It is 12:00.
It is 3:00 pm.
It is 7:00.
It is 1:00 am.
Expand the digits into words.
May 19, 1994
January 16, 1988
December 28, 2021
February 18, 1965
April 2, 1962
March 25, 1992
February 5, 1996
June 20, 2016
¡Hola! Hope it helps 👍
1. It is 8:00 pm. – Son las ocho de la noche.
2. It is 10:00 am. – Son las diez de la mañana.
3. Today is Monday. – Hoy es Lunes.
4. It is 12:00. – Son las doce en punto.
5. It is 3:00 pm. – Son las tres de la tarde.
6. It is 7:00. – Son las siete en punto.
7. It is 1:00 am. – Es la una de la noche.
SO SMART YOU ARE Diana Lăpușneanu
How do you say this in Spanish
3:00=
10:30=
5:50=
7:15=
4:45=
12:00 pm=
9:27 pm=
11:39 am =
Hi there!
3:00 = Son las tres.
10:30 = Son las diez y media./Son las diez y treinta.
5:50 = Son las seis menos diez./Son las cinco y cincuenta.
7:15 = Son las siete y cuarto./Son las siete y quince.
4:45 = Son las cinco menos cuarto./Son las quatro y cuarenta y cinco.
12:00 pm = Son las doce mediodía.
9:27 pm = Son las nueve y veintisiete de la noche.
11:39 am = Son las once y treinta y nueve de la mañana.
how would you say “5 till two” or “twenty minutes till nine”
Hello there!
You would say ‘son las dos menos cinco’ and ‘son las nueve menos veinte’.
Dear Diana,
You are so very kind to help students with their homework, but as a teacher, I’d prefer if you said, “Go look through the notes I gave you up above.” That way, they at least have to think, and read all the work you did for them. Some of the questions do ask for new information, but many are just pasting in their assignments. Do they want to learn Spanish, or not? !!
Dear teacher,
Thank you very much for your comment and feedback! ❤️
You are absolutely right. I should’ve encouraged everyone to check the notes, but I thought that more real examples would help future students reading this article. Besides, I always answered these comments a few days later to make sure their deadline had passed 😀. This way, I neither helped nor remained indifferent.
I hope you will forgive me. I really wanted them to know that Mondly is their friend.
Have a great 2022! ✨
How would you write
12:53
1:45
2:37?
At what point do you go up to the next hour and use menos?
Hi Renee
12:53 = Es la una menos siete
1:45 = Son las dos menos cuarto
2:37 = Son las dos con treinta y siete
As a personal rule I use menos when the minutes are 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 – inbetween I just use the hour and minutes. Not sure if there is an actual default for this or not in Spanish.
Can u help me with my Spanish it’s my first time to learn Spanish
6:45
1:00
1:30
16:00
12:35
12:50
Hi Tiffany
6:45 = Son las siete menos cuarto
1:00 = Es la una (en punto)
1:30 = Es la una y media
16:00 = Son las cuatro (en punto) de la tarde
OR
16:00 = Son las dieciséis
Hope that helps
Jake
Can you help please, I’m trying to get my head round learning to tell the time in Spanish. How would you say it’s five past one?
Hi, Paul
“It’s five past one” would be, “Es la una y cinco” I believe. Hope that helped!
How do you say
The class is from 14:50-15:35
13:00-13:45
13:55-14:40
How to say 2:41 in spanish
¡Hola! ¡Muchas gracias por este artículo, me ha ayudado mucho! Aunque tengo una pregunta: What is the right structure in Spanish to express something like “by + time” as in “I should be at school by 8:30.” ¿Tengo que llegar a la escuala a las ocho y media? ¿Para/por las ocho y media? ¿Antes de las ocho y media?
how would you say 13:45 in spanish
could you please help me with this.
Hora Parte Del Dia Salado
9:15 a.m.
5:55 p.m.
3:45 p.m.
8:10 p.m.
4:15 p.m.
11:25 a.m.
6:20 a.m.
12:00 a.m.
1:10 p.m.
1:15 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
12:00 p.m.
9:45 p.m.
8:40 a.m.
11:00 p.m.
can you please help with this mate. I need this in Spanish.
I am from
He is from
It’s a computer
It’s a paper
It is 5 o’clock pm
She is a student
Google translate
How to say time after 11:30 when it’s going to be midnight 12:00
how do you say ‘at 6am’ or trying to describe the time u do an action at
Diana, Your response are wonderful. As a spanish student they have helped me weed through my notes.
I will download Mondly in hopes of continue help.
Thanks again
Hi , what would be ” 0000 ” hr. in a 24 hr. clock ? how does one say it in spanish ?
Gracias
Hola, soy española y enseño español en Inglaterra. Aunque la sección está muy bien, algunas respuestas con las que no estoy de acuerdo. Por ejemplo, cuando dices que las 18:45 son las diecinueve menos cuarto, en mi opinión no se deberían mezclar los formatos. O dices son las dieciocho cuarenta y cinco, o si no, dices que son las siete menos cuarto de la tarde.
Cuando dices es/son las… debería ser: es/son… la/las, puesto que para decir la 1, decimos Es LA una.
Y luego, para las siguientes horas en tu respuesta, yo diría (de la mañana) puesto que 01:00 es la 1 de la mañana, y no la 1 de la noche. Así que tenemos 1 de la mañana y la 1 de la tarde. Aunque sea noche, pasadas las 12 (de la noche), ya empezamos a referirnos a “de la mañana” hasta las 13 horas cuando cambiamos a la tarde. En mi opinión, yo creo que utilizamos “de la tarde” hasta la hora de cenar, con lo cual “de la noche” sería más o menos para las 9, las 10, las 11 y las 12 de la noche.
Esta respuesta es a la que me refiero:
1) 00:10 – Son las doce y diez de la noche.
2) 00:25 – Son las doce y veinticinco de la noche.
3) 00:35 – Es la una menos veinticinco de la noche.
4) 00:55 – Es la una menos cinco de la noche.
Espero haberme explicado bien. No sé si será lo mismo en otros países hispanohablantes.
Un saludo.
How do you say it’s 12:30 in Spanish
what is 10:45 in spanish
How to say timing after 1:30
1:35 =
1:40 =
1:45 =
1:50 =
1:55 =
How to say timing after 1:30 pm
1:35 =
1:40 =
1:45 =
1:50 =
1:55 =
I love the way it is presented. Repeating helps remember
How would you say from X to X? For example, the party is from 4 to 5 pm.
Hi!, can someone tell why is 12:50 written as es launa menos diez? as 12:00 in spanish is written as son las doce and for example-6:15 is written as son las seis y cuarto so why isnt it like starting with son las doce?
Hi, Unstoppable games! When telling time in Spanish, the phrase “es la una menos diez” is used to express the time “12:50.” The literal translation is “it’s one (o’clock) minus ten,” which is a way to say that it’s ten minutes away from being 1 o’clock.
The reason the phrase doesn’t start with “son las doce” (it’s twelve o’clock) like “son las seis y cuarto” (it’s six and a quarter) is a matter of convention and style. In Spanish-speaking cultures, it’s common to express time in terms of proximity to the next hour once you’ve passed the half-hour mark. This is similar to how in English, one might say “it’s ten ’til one” instead of “it’s 12:50.”
Here’s a breakdown:
— “Es la una” means “it’s one (o’clock)”
— “Menos diez” means “minus ten”
Put it all together, and you have “it’s one o’clock minus ten minutes,” or simply, “it’s ten minutes until one.”
Note that “es la una” is used instead of “son las” because the number “one” is singular. The structure of time-telling changes slightly when referring to “one” o’clock (“una”) as opposed to other hours (“dos,” “tres,” “cuatro,” etc.), where “son las” would be used.
Diana Lăpușneanu could you answer?
Write full sentences in Spanish telling the time with the information given.
1.) 7:25 p.m.
Son las siete y veinticinco de la tarde
2.) 1:18 p.m.
3.) 12:00 p.m
4.) 9:45 a.m.
5.) 3:30 a.m.
6.) 11:56 a.m.
7.) 2:37 p.m.
8.) 6:28 a.m.
2.) 1:18 p.m.
Es la una y dieciocho de la tarde.
3.) 12:00 p.m.
Es mediodía.
4.) 9:45 a.m.
Son las diez menos cuarto de la mañana.
5.) 3:30 a.m.
Son las tres y treinta de la madrugada.
6.) 11:56 a.m.
Son las doce menos cuatro de la mañana.
7.) 2:37 p.m.
Son las dos y treinta y siete de la tarde.
8.) 6:28 a.m.
Son las seis y veintiocho de la mañana.