Telling Time in Spanish: The Ultimate Guide to '¿Qué hora es?'

Table of Contents

• The Golden Question: How to Ask for the Time
• The Basic Formula: Telling the Hour
• Adding Minutes: Getting More Specific
  • Minutes 1-30: Using "y" (and)
  • Minutes 31-59: Using "menos" (minus)
• AM/PM and Times of Day
• Talking About Events: "At What Time?"
• Quick Reference Chart

Ever found yourself staring at a clock, trying to figure out how to say the time in Spanish before your train leaves the station? You're not alone! Telling time is a fundamental skill, but it has a few quirks in Spanish that can trip up learners.

Don't worry, by the end of this guide, you'll be able to ask for and tell the time with confidence. Let's dive in! ¡Vamos!

The Golden Question: How to Ask for the Time

First things first, you need to know how to ask. The most common and universal way to ask "What time is it?" is:

¿Qué hora es?

You'll hear this everywhere, from the streets of Madrid to the markets of Mexico City.

If you want to be a bit more formal or polite, you could also ask:

¿Tiene hora, por favor? (Literally, "Do you have the time, please?")

The Basic Formula: Telling the Hour

The foundation of telling time in Spanish relies on the verb ser ("to be"). The basic formula is:

Es/Son + la/las + [hour]

Here’s the most important rule to remember:

1. For one o'clock, you use the singular form: Es la una.
2. For all other hours (2 through 12), you use the plural form: Son las...

Why the difference? Because "una" (one) is singular, so it uses "es" and "la". All other hours are plural, so they use "son" and "las".

Here are the hours:

• Es la una - It's 1:00
• Son las dos - It's 2:00
• Son las tres - It's 3:00
• Son las cuatro - It's 4:00
• Son las cinco - It's 5:00
• Son las seis - It's 6:00
• Son las siete - It's 7:00
• Son las ocho - It's 8:00
• Son las nueve - It's 9:00
• Son las diez - It's 10:00
• Son las once - It's 11:00
• Son las doce - It's 12:00

Adding Minutes: Getting More Specific

Of course, it's not always perfectly on the hour. Here's how you add minutes.

Minutes 1-30: Using "y" (and)

For the first half of the hour, it's simple. Just add "y" (and) followed by the number of minutes.

• 2:05 -> Son las dos y cinco.
• 8:10 -> Son las ocho y diez.
• 11:25 -> Son las once y veinticinco.

There are two special cases in this half-hour:

1. Quarter Past: For 15 minutes past the hour, you can say y quince, but it's much more common to say y cuarto.

   • 3:15 -> Son las tres y cuartoquarter.

2. Half Past: For 30 minutes past the hour, you can say y treinta, but it's far more natural to say y media.

   • 6:30 -> Son las seis y mediahalf.

Minutes 31-59: Using "menos" (minus)

This is where Spanish differs from English. Once you pass the 30-minute mark, you go to the next hour and subtract the minutes. The word for this is menos ("minus" or "to").

Think of it like this: 4:40 is "20 minutes to 5". In Spanish, that's literally "It's five minus twenty."

Formula: Son las [next hour] menos [minutes left].

• 4:40 -> Son las cinco menos veinte. (5:00 minus 20 mins)
• 8:55 -> Son las nueve menos cinco. (9:00 minus 5 mins)
• 12:45 -> Es la una menos cuarto. (1:00 minus 15 mins)

Let's test this concept.

AM/PM and Times of Day

How do you know if it's 7 in the morning or 7 at night? You add a phrase for the time of day, a key part of describing any daily routine.

• de la mañana - in the morning (AM)
• de la tarde - in the afternoon (PM, from noon until ~6-7 PM)
• de la noche - in the evening / at night (PM, from ~7 PM onwards)

Examples:

• 9:00 AM -> Son las nueve de la mañana.
• 3:00 PM -> Son las tres de la tarde.
• 10:00 PM -> Son las diez de la noche.

There are also two very specific times:

• El mediodíanoon (12:00 PM)
• La medianochemidnight (12:00 AM)

For these, you simply say Es el mediodía or Es la medianoche.

Let's put a full sentence together.

Talking About Events: "At What Time?"

So far, we've only answered "What time is it?". What if you want to ask when something happens? For this, you need a slightly different question:

¿A qué hora es...? (At what time is...?)

The key here is the little word "a". It changes the question from "what time" to "at what time".

Your answer must also start with "a".

Formula: A + la(s) + [hour]

• ¿A qué hora es la fiesta? -> A las nueve de la noche.
• ¿A qué hora es la reunión? -> A la una de la tarde.

This little "a" is a huge deal. Leaving it out is like saying "The movie is eight o'clock" instead of "The movie is at eight o'clock."

Quick Reference Chart

Here's a handy table to summarize everything we've learned.

English	Spanish
What time is it?	¿Qué hora es?
It's one o'clock.	Es la una.
It's two thirty.	Son las dos y media.
It's three fifteen.	Son las tres y cuarto.
It's six forty-five.	Son las siete menos cuarto.
At what time is the class?	¿A qué hora es la clase?
The class is at one.	La clase es a la una.
It's noon.	Es el mediodía.

You've got the theory down. The only thing left to do is practice. The next time you look at a clock, try to say the time out loud in Spanish. A great way to see these phrases in action is by reading our collection of short stories in Spanish. It'll feel natural in no time!