This comes in handy if you need to differentiate between AM and PM. In addition to stating the time in Spanish, you also have the option of specifying the time of day that you’re talking about. For any time on the hour, you may use the phrase en punto to mean “on the dot”. For any time 15 minutes before or after the hour, you may use the word cuarto to mean quarter. This is the only mandatory rule in Spanish. For any time 30 minutes after the hour, the word media must replace the word for thirty. There are special words used for some of the times that you’ll need to know. Here are some more examples written in both ways: The subtraction method is more common in Spain. Some Spanish speakers use the first method with larger numbers, so instead of saying one minus ten for 12:50, they’ll say twelve and fifty, Son las doce y cincuenta. (4:55)Įs la una menos diez - It is one minus ten. Here are some examples with their literal meanings to help you: We say the next hour minus the number of minutes until that hour. Here are some examples:įor times between 30 minutes after the hour until the next hour, the process is a little trickier. From the hour until 30 minutes past the hour, the word y is used. There are two ways to add minutes to your time. Es la is singular, and used anytime we say the hour one, while son las is plural and used for all other hours. Here’s what that looks like:įor any time between 12:31 - 1:30, es la will be used to mean “it is” instead of son las. ¿Qué hora es? means “What time is it?” You are literally asking “What hour is it?” To answer, you will say “There is one hour” or “There are 2, 3, 4, etc. When you need to ask someone what time it is in Spanish, there is one straightforward question you need to know. Here are the numbers from 31 - 59.īasic Structure of How to Tell Time in Spanish Technically, it is possible to tell time in Spanish without any numbers greater than 30, but it is possible to use the numbers up to 59. Here are the rest of the numbers you will need for telling time: For example, 33 would be treinta y tres (thirty and three). Once we get into the thirties, we use three words with the word y for the word “and”. In this example, the word for “and” is the letter i. For example, the number 16 would be dieciséis (ten and six). In Spanish, you say the tens number and the word “and”, followed by the number in the ones place. Here they are:Īfter the number 15, the pattern begins. The trick is to master the first ten numbers because they appear in all other numbers going forward. The Spanish number system is logical and orderly. When you're finished with this lesson, you will know how to ask someone what time it is, and you'll be able to answer them in Spanish with ease. We will zero in on the numbers that you'll find on a clock, and go over Spanish terms related to time. In this lesson, we will by-pass the basic skill of telling time to focus on the number system and time telling terms. The good news is that telling time in Spanish will be easier since you likely already know how read a clock. Let's Get Started to Tell Time in Spanish And if you’re a language learner, you get to do it all over again in Spanish. Watching the teacher move big hands and little hands on her plastic clock was like a rite of passage. Think back to when you learned how to tell time in school. Telling time in Spanish can be tricky! By the end of this article, you’ll have enough knowledge about numbers, time telling terms, and time of day vocabulary to tell time in Spanish like a pro.
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