Decir la hora
Knowing how to tell time is essential for traveling, meeting up with friends, making appointments, and getting to work or school on time. Once you learn these formulas, you’ll never have an excuse to be late again!
Spanish time
There are three Spanish translations for "time," each with a different meaning.
la hora | time as in telling time |
¿Qué hora es? | What time is it? |
el tiempo | time as in a period of time |
Pasé algún tiempo aquí. | I spent some time here. |
la vez | time as in instance |
Lo hice una vez. | I did it one time. |
Only hora is needed for this lesson – when telling time, it’s equivalent to "o’clock."
Telling time in Spanish
To ask "What time is it?" you need the verb ser (to be) in the third person singular:
When answering the question, you use the singular conjugation only for one o’clock, noon, and midnight:
It’s one o’clock | Es la una | 01:00 h. |
It’s noon | Es mediodía. | 12:00 h. |
It’s midnight | Es medianoche.. | 00:00 h. |
For two o’clock and up, the verb has to be plural, as does the definite article:
It's two o'clock | Son las dos. | 02:00 h. | |
It's 3:30 | Son las tres y media. Son las tres y treinta. |
03:30 h. | |
It's 4:15 | Son las cuatro y cuarto. Son las cuatro y quince. |
04:15 h. | |
It's 4:45 | Son las cinco menos cuarto. Son las cinco menos quince. Son las cuatro y cuarenta y cinco. |
04:45 h. | |
It's 5:10 | Son las cinco y diez. | 05:10 h. | |
It's 6:50 | Son las siete menos diez. Son las seis y cincuenta. |
06:50 h. | |
It's 7 a.m. | Son las siete de la mañana. | 07:00 h. | |
It's 3 p.m. | Son las tres de la tarde. Son las quince. |
15:00 h. | |
It's 6 p.m. | Son las seis de la noche. Son las dieciocho. |
18:00 h. | |
It's 12 noon | Son las doce de día. | 12:00 h. | |
It's midnight | Son las doce de la noche. | 00:00 h. |
Note
Spanish doesn't have perfect equivalents for "a.m." and "p.m." You can use de la mañana for am, de la tarde from noon until 6 p.m., and de la noche from 6 p.m. until midnight, but time is usually expressed on a 24-hour clock. Thus 3pm would be translated as las quince or 15:00 h.
Related lessons
Spanish lesson plans
- ¿Qué hora es? (PPT, 6th-12th grade)
- On the Hour (Worksheet, 6th-8th grade)
- On the Half Hour (Worksheet, 6th grade)
- On the Quarter Hour (Worksheet, 6th-8th grade)
En français
In italiano
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!