Asking and telling the time in Spanish is not difficult at all. This article focuses on telling the time with useful phrases and it is suitable for both Spanish from Spain or from Mexico. Let’s start!

Telling the Time in Spanish

First, let’s see some basic vocabulary that you need to know when telling the time in Spanish.

It is important to point out that the word la hora could have different translations depending on the context it appears. For example, it can refer to a period of 60 minutes, that is an hour. However, la hora (time) can also mean a particular moment during a day, measured on a clock, like in the phrase ¿qué hora es? (what time is it?). These two meanings are both la hora in Spanish.

  • la hora (hour, time)
  • el minuto (minute)
  • el segundo (second)
  • el día (day)
  • la semana (week)
  • el mes (month)
  • el año (year)

Ser

When stating the time, you should use the verb ser and the definite article la or las.

Use son las + the hour + the minutes when referring to the hours 2-12. When referring to 1:00 in any way, use Es la una.

No son las diez. Ahora son las once.

It’s not ten o’clock. It’s now eleven o’clock.

Es la una. ¿Qué hay en la nevera?

It’s one o’clock. What’s in the fridge?

Notice that instead of the number one (uno), una is used because we’re referring to one hour, una hora.

En punto

If it is an exact hour, we use the expression en punto.

Es la una en punto. Estoy en la cocina.

It is one o’clock. I am in the kitchen.

Son las ocho en punto. Pilar tiene una fiesta de cumpleaños.

It’s eight o’clock. Pilar has a birthday party.

Y media

Y media indicates 30 minutes after the hour. You should say hour + y media.

Son las once y media.

It’s half past eleven.

Son las ocho y media. El bebé está en la cuna.

It’s half past eight. The baby is in the crib.

Y + minutes

Y indicates the amount of minutes past the hour. You should say hour + y + minutes.

Son las cinco y diez. La zapatería abre ahora.

It’s ten past five. The shoe store opens now.

Son las tres y veinte. Los invitados están aquí.

It is twenty past three. The guests are here.

Menos or Para + minutes

In Spain, they use menos to indicate how many minutes are left until the upcoming hour. You should say upcoming hour + menos + minutes.

However, in Mexico they say para to indicate how many minutes are left until the upcoming hour. So in Mexican Spanish, they say minutes + para + upcoming hour.

Son las dos menos veinte. ¿Tienes hambre? (ES)

Son veinte para las dos. ¿Tienes hambre? (MX)

It’s twenty to two. Are you hungry?

Tengo sueño. Son las once menos diez. (ES)

Tengo sueño. Son diez para las once. (MX)

I’m sleepy. It’s ten to eleven.

Cuarto

Also, just as in English, we use the expression cuarto (quarter) instead of saying 15 minutes.

Es la una y cuarto. ¿Estás en el restaurante?

It’s quarter past one. Are you at the restaurant?

Son las cinco menos cuarto. La niña está con sus amigos. (ES)

Son cuarto para las cinco. La niña está con sus amigos. (MX)

It’s quarter to five. The girl is with her friends.

Useful Phrases: Parts of the Day

Let’s review the parts of the day. The first 12 hours of the day are included in the morning period while the other 12 hours are divided into afternoon and evening. The distinction between these last two time periods depends on each culture, but evening is usually set between 7 and 9 p.m.

  • la mañana (morning)
  • el mediodía (midday, noon)
  • la tarde (afternoon, evening)
  • la noche (evening, night)
  • la medianoche (midnight)

There are some expressions used to say p.m. or a.m. in spoken language. Generally speaking, de is used after a time to indicate the part of the day.

Son las ocho de la mañana.

It’s eight in the morning.

Son las cuatro y media de la tarde.

It’s half past four in the afternoon.

Son las once y cuarto de la noche.

It’s a quarter past eleven p.m.

Useful Phrases: Asking the Time

Asking what time it is in Spanish and answering that question is very similar to the way we do it in English.

¿Qué hora es?

What time is it?

¿A qué hora es el concierto?

What time is the concert?

Exercises

Here are some exercises to practice asking and telling the time in Spanish.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Categorized in:

Communication