It's Friday evening at a train station in Spain. The board says your train leaves at 18:45, and the person next to you asks, "Perdone, ¿qué hora es?" You glance at your phone and want to say "It's twenty past six." This deck gives you the words for that moment, and for asking when anything starts.
Level: A1.
Asking the time
- ¿Qué hora es? What time is it? This works everywhere.
- ¿Qué horas son? You'll hear this plural version in parts of Latin America too.
- ¿Tiene hora? Do you have the time? A polite way to ask a stranger (usted).
Saying the hour
Spanish uses ser for the time, with the article la or las. The article stands for la hora or las horas, and hora is feminine.
- Es la una. It's one o'clock. Singular, because it's one hour.
- Son las dos. It's two o'clock. Plural from two onwards: son las tres, son las diez.
- Son las siete en punto. It's seven o'clock exactly.
Minutes past and to
Add minutes with y (and):
- Son las dos y cinco (2:05), las dos y cuarto or y quince (2:15), las dos y media (2:30).
After half past, count back from the next hour with menos (minus):
- Son las nueve menos cuarto (8:45). Son las once menos diez (10:50).
In much of Latin America you'll also hear faltan… para: faltan diez para las once (ten to eleven). And many people simply read the digits, as in English: son las siete cuarenta (7:40).
Morning, afternoon and night
Spanish speakers in conversation mostly use the 12-hour clock and add a part of the day instead of a.m. or p.m.:
- de la mañana: in the morning. Las ocho de la mañana.
- de la tarde: in the afternoon and early evening. Las cuatro de la tarde.
- de la noche: at night, roughly once it's dark. Las diez de la noche.
- de la madrugada: the small hours between midnight and dawn. Las tres de la madrugada.
The boundaries between tarde and noche are loose and shift with the season and the speaker. Noon is mediodía, midnight is medianoche.
Written timetables, for trains, flights and cinemas, often use the 24-hour clock. 18:45 is 6:45 p.m., and you might hear it read as las dieciocho cuarenta y cinco.
When does it start?
To ask when something happens, use ¿A qué hora…? and answer with a la or a las:
- ¿A qué hora sale el tren? A las seis y veinte.
- ¿A qué hora es la clase? Es a las nueve.
- Te llamo a la una. I'll call you at one.
Two more useful words: temprano (early) and tarde (late). Llego tarde means "I'm late". Careful: la tarde is the afternoon, but tarde on its own means late.
Mistakes learners make
- "Son las una." One o'clock is singular: es la una, and es la una y media.
- "Los tres." The hidden word is hora, which is feminine: las tres.
- Counting menos from the wrong hour. Las ocho menos cuarto is 7:45, not 8:45.
- Answering "a qué hora" with "son las…" Son las nueve tells the time now. For when something happens, say a las nueve.
- Saying "en las ocho" for "at eight". Spanish uses a: a las ocho.
Frequently asked questions
How do you ask what time it is in Spanish?
Say "¿Qué hora es?" It works in every Spanish-speaking country, and to a stranger you can also say "Perdone, ¿tiene hora?"
Why is it "es la una" but "son las dos"?
The verb agrees with the hour you name. One is singular, so es la una (and es la una menos cuarto); from two onwards it's plural, son las dos.
How do you say a.m. and p.m. in Spanish?
In conversation, add de la mañana, de la tarde or de la noche after the time: las nueve de la noche is 9 p.m.
How do you say "quarter to" in Spanish?
Use menos cuarto with the next hour: son las cinco menos cuarto is 4:45. In much of Latin America you'll also hear faltan quince para las cinco.
Try it
Look at a clock right now and say the time out loud, with de la mañana, de la tarde or de la noche. Then answer the person at the station: ¿Cómo se dice "It's twenty past six in the evening"?