How to Tell the Time in Spanish
CONTENT
The time can be told in different ways in Spanish. You need just a few phrases and a simple conjugation to learn how to do that.
Native
Translation
Voy a ver a Jimena a las 3:30.
I am seeing Jimena at 3:30.
How to Tell Time in Spanish?
Rule 1. To ask the time in Spanish, use the phrase ¿Qué hora es?
Native
Translation
¿Qué hora es? Son las 2:30 p.m.
What time is it? It's 2:30 p.m.
In everyday speech, you can also hear speakers say ¿Qué horas son?
Other ways to ask the time
| Asking for the time | Translation |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué hora tienes? | What time do you have? |
| ¿A qué hora quedamos? | What time do we meet? |
| ¿A qué hora empieza la clase? | What time does the class start? |
| ¿Cuándo es la reunión? | When is the meeting? |
Form
Rule 2. To tell the time, you need to things: the verb ser and the definite articles.
To say any hour (except 1:00), use the following structure:
| Verb "to be" in plural | Definite article feminine plural | The time |
|---|---|---|
| Son | las | 2:00 p.m. |
| Son | las | 5:30 p.m. |
For 1:00, the structure changes a little.
| Verb to be in singular | Definite article feminine singular | The time |
|---|---|---|
| Es | la | 1:00 p.m. |
| Es | la | 1:15 p.m. |
How to Tell the Minutes?
Rule 3. To tell the minutes, there are two different structures. For the sake of time-telling, the clock is divided into the first half-hour and the second half-hour.
The following structure is used for the first half-hour:
- Hour + y + minutes
| Time | Complete expression | Spain | Latin America |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | son las tres en punto | son las tres | son las tres |
| 3:10 | son las tres y diez minutos | son las tres y diez | son las tres y diez |
| 3:15 | son las tres y quince minutos | son las tres y cuarto | son las tres y cuarto |
| 3:20 | son las tres y veinte minutos | son las tres y veinte | son las tres y veinte |
| 3:30 | son las tres y treinta minutos | son las tres y media | son las tres y media |
The following structures are used for the second half-hour:
- son + la, las + next hour + menos + minutes left until the next hour
- son + minutes left until the next hour + para + la, las + next hour
| Time | Complete expression | Spain | Latin America |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:40 | son las tres y cuarenta minutos | son las siete menos veinte | son veinte para las siete |
| 3:45 | son las tres y cuarenta y cinco minutos | son las siete menos cuarto | son cuarto para las siete |
| 6:50 | son las seis y cincuenta minutos | son las siete menos diez | son diez para las siete |
For Appointments or Meetings
Rule 4. When we are going to meet a person at a certain time, the answer will be a little different than when we directly answer the question ¿Qué hora es? The following structure is used to tell the time of an event:
- preposition a + la, las + time
Native
Translation
Nos quedamos de ver en el restaurante a las 11:00 de la mañana.
We arranged to meet at the restaurant at 11:00 in the morning.
Vamos a almorzar a la 1:15 p.m.
We are having lunch at 1:15 p.m.
The temporal expressions "a.m." and "p.m." let you know what time of day you are talking about.
Rule 5. To express that an event goes from a certain time to another specific time, use de la, las… a la, las…
Native
Translation
La reunión es de las 4:00 de la tarde a las 9:00 de la noche.
The meeting is from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Other Useful Expressions
Rule 6. You can use the following time expressions to indicate a certain part of the day.
| Time expression | Translation |
|---|---|
| de la mañana | in the morning |
| de la tarde | in the afternoon |
| del mediodía | at noon |
| de la noche | at night |
| de la madrugada | in the early morning |
Quiz
1/3
¿Qué hora es? (3:15)
0
correct answers.