What’s the time in Spanish (qué hora es).
In this video-lesson (actually there are 2 videos below) we will learn how to tell the time in Spanish. We will use several examples in order to see all the variants the we may come across with. So, it would be wise to watch lesson Nbr. 11 first so you can first learn the Spanish numbers and how to count (if you haven’t yet).
If you already know pretty well the Spanish numbers and how to count, once you watch this lesson you will be able to ask and tell the time in Spanish under any circumstance and variant.
Concepts you must know for telling the time in Spanish:
- en punto – o’clock
- y media – (and) half
- y cuarto – (and) quarter
- menos cuarto – (minus) quarter
- casi – almost
- pasadas – past
- mediodía – noon
- medianoche – midnight
- de la mañana – in the morning
- de la tarde – in the afternoon
- madrugada – wee hours / early morning (between midnight and sunrise)
Examples on how we tell the time in Spanish:
- 1:00 – La una (en punto)
- 12: 55 – La una menos cinco
- 3:15 – Las tres y cuarto
- 2:45 – Las tres menos cuarto
- 4:30 – Las cuatro y media
- 5:35 – Las cinco y treinta y cinco / las seis menos veinticinco
- 3 PM – Las tres de la tarde
- 11:30 AM – Las once y media de la mañana
- 12 PM – Las doce del mediodía
- 2:03 – Pasadas las dos / las dos pasadas / las dos y tres minutos / casi las dos y cinco
- 6:32 – Las seis y treinta y dos / las seis y media pasadas / Pasadas las seis y media
- 1:02 PM – Pasada la una de la tarde / la una de la tarde pasada
Please do not hesitate to comment if you have any suggestions, feedback or questions.
Also, I recommend all my students that follow my online courses to do the exams that I upload to my website. The topic of this lesson (What is the time in Spanish?) is included in Spanish Quiz Nbr. 3 (lessons 13 – 19).
You can find a full list of all the video lessons by clicking on the List of Lessons tab on the Main Menu.
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Good luck!
