¡Hola amigos y amigas!
This time we are going to learn how to ask what time is in Spanish and also how to tell the time in Spanish. We will look at the different ways of telling the time in Spanish with some examples. And then you can practice with printable exercises and online games.
But… why learn the time in Spanish? Well, telling time in Spanish is very important because it is one of the most common and relevant topics (in any language!), and being able to tell time is a valuable practical skill to have when communicating with Spanish speakers.
Additionally, understanding how to tell time in another language can also provide insight into the culture and ways of life of Spanish-speaking people. And telling time in Spanish can be a fun and interesting way to challenge yourself and improving your language skills. So why not give it a try?
Let’s go, because… ¡el tiempo vuela! (time flies!)
How to ask what time is it in Spanish
One of the first things we need to learn is how to ask what time it is in Spanish. The common way to ask this is:
¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)
If you add “por favor”, “disculpe” or “perdone” to that question, it will be more polite. This is the most appropriate if you are in a formal situation or you are asking to a stranger or an elderly person. “Por favor” can be added at the beginning or at the end of the question, while “disculpe” or “perdone” are used at the beginning of the question.
There are more polite ways of asking the time that are very common, like the following:
¿Me puede decir la hora, por favor? (Can you tell me the time, please?)
Por favor, ¿me puede decir la hora? (Please, can you tell me the time?)
Disculpe, ¿me puede decir la hora? (Excuse me, can you tell me the time?)
Perdone, ¿me puede decir la hora? (Excuse me, can you tell me the time?)
Telling the time in Spanish: an introduction
To tell the time in Spanish we will always use two things: the verb ser and the definite article in feminine. The only thing we have to decide is whether we choose the singular or plural form of both the verb and the article. But this is very simple. Let’s have a look at it.
The first thing we use is the verb. To tell the time in Spanish we always use the verb ser (to be).
We use the present singular form for one hour only:
Es la una. → It’s one o’clock.
And we use the present plural form for the rest of the hours: dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once and doce. For example:
Son las cuatro en punto. → It’s four o’clock.
Son las diez y media. → It’s half past ten.
Son las tres y cuarto. → It’s a quarter past three.
After using the adequate form of the verb ser, you have to use the definite article in feminine in the singular or plural form. The singular form is la, and the plural form, las.
You have to use the singular form with one hour only, one o’clock. → Es la una.
And you will use the plural form with the rest of the hours → Son las doce, son las nueve, etc.
The easiest way to tell the time in Spanish
We are going to see the easiest way to tell the time in Spanish, which is to say the hour number and the minute number. This is the simplest way for a beginner, although it is not the most natural or common way of telling time to other people in most Spanish-speaking countries. It’s fine to use it, specially if you don’t want to complicate things initially, since this form is understandable for everyone in all Spanish-speaking countries despite not being the most common way of telling the time. However, you can often hear this way of telling the time on radio or TV (e.g. on a news programme). The structure of this way of telling the time is the following:
Verb “ser” (es/son) + Definite article (la/las) + hour + y + minutes
See that first of all you have to use the verb “ser” in the singular (es) or plural form (son), then the definite article in feminine singular (la) or plural (las).
See some examples (words in brackets is because they are often omitted):
8:20 → Son las ocho y veinte (minutos) de la mañana.
9:00 → Son las nueve (en punto).
11:15 → Son las once y quince (minutos) de la mañana.
12:00 → Son las doce del mediodía.
13:50 → Es la una y cincuenta (minutos).
16:35 → Son las cuatro y treinta y cinco (minutos).
17:40 → Son las cinco y cuarenta (minutos) de la tarde.
18:00 → Son las seis (en punto).
20:10 → Son las ocho y diez (minutos).
21:12 → Son las nueve y diez (minutos) de la noche.
22:00 → Son las diez de la noche.
As you have seen, the conjunction y serves as a link between the hour and the minutes, except when it is an hour o’clock, when the conjunction is not included.
Note that you can indicate the time of day if you want to be more specific by adding some of these words after telling the minutes:
de la mañana (in the morning)
del mediodía (midday/at noon)
de la tarde (in the afternoon)
de la noche (in the evening)
For example:
8:05 → Son las ocho y cinco (minutos) de la mañana.
12:00 → Son las doce del mediodía.
17:10 → Son las cinco y diez (minutos) de la tarde.
22:00 → Son las diez de la noche.
Common ways to tell the time in Spanish
We are going to see the most common ways to tell the the time in different Spanish-speaking countries.
⏰ From 1 to 30 minutes
From 1 to 30 minutes, all or almost all Spanish-speaking countries use the conjunction y between the hour and the minutes. See the following examples:
8:05 → Son las ocho y cinco.
8:10 → Son ocho y diez.
8:15 → Son las ocho y cuarto (cuarto means 15 minutes). / Son las ocho y quince minutos.
8:20 → Son las ocho y veinte.
8:25 → Son las ocho y veinticinco.
8:30 → Son las ocho y media (media means 30 minutes). / Son las ocho y treinta minutos.
⏰ From 31 to 59 minutes
From 31 to 59 minutes, there are variations depending on the country.
✨ In Spain the most common way to tell the time from 31 to 59 minutes is using the adverb menos between the hour and the minutes. This way of telling the time seems to be common also in Argentina.
Here the adverb menos is followed by the minutes left until the next hour.
For example, 10:45 using the “easiest way to tell the time in Spanish” described above would be said son las diez y cuarenta y cinco minutos, and with this way we would say son las once menos cuarto.
Why this? Because there are fifteen minutes left until eleven (and fifteen minutes are a quarter part of an a hour, and a quarter means un cuarto in Spanish).
So the most common way to tell the time (from 31 to 59 minutes) in Spain is the following:
hour + menos + minutes
Examples:
8:35 → Son las nueve menos veinticinco.
12:40 → Es la una menos veinte.
18:45 → Son las siete menos cuarto.
19:50 → Son las ocho menos diez.
21:55 → Son las diez menos cinco.
✨ Other Spanish-speaking countries like Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, etc. have also their own way of telling time. This is very similar to English, since from 31 to 59 minutes people literally say how many minutes are left until the next hour using the verb ser or faltar (mostly in 3rd person plural), then the minutes and the preposition para and finally the definite article with the hour.
Son / Faltan + minutes + para + la / las + hour
Examples:
8:35 → Son veinticinco para las nueve. / Faltan veinticinco para las nueve.
12:40 → Son veinte para las doce. / Faltan veinte para las doce.
18:45 → Son quince para las siete. / Faltan quince para las siete. /
Son un cuarto para las siete. / Falta un cuarto para las siete.
19:50 → Faltan diez para las ocho. / Son diez para las ocho.
21:55 → Faltan cinco para las diez. / Son cinco para las diez.
Conclusion
In conclusion, telling time in Spanish is relatively straightforward. There are different ways of telling the time depending on the country, and we know that this can be overwhelming and confusing for you, but remember that you can always choose to tell the time in the simplest and easiest way. It may not be the most natural way, but it’s completely correct, it’s not strange at all and everyone will understand you, so no problem! In my opinion, this is the best thing you can do, and once you have mastered the easiest, you can try to learn the most common and natural ways of telling the time in Spain and in the different Hispanic countries of America.
