How to Tell Time in Spanish: Hours, Minutes, and Real-Life Phrases

To tell time in Spanish, use Es la for 1 o'clock and Son las for every other hour, then add minutes with y (past) or menos (to), plus everyday shortcuts like y cuarto (quarter past) and y media (half past).

Spanish is a global language with roughly 500 million native speakers and official status in 20 countries, plus Puerto Rico, according to widely cited 2024 reference data (Ethnologue; Instituto Cervantes). That scale matters because time-telling conventions are broadly shared, but there are small regional preferences you will notice in movies, series, and everyday life.

If you are building your basics, pair this with our guide to saying hello in Spanish so you can greet someone and ask the time naturally in one smooth exchange.

The core pattern: "Es la" vs "Son las"

Spanish treats time as a statement about "the hour". That is why the verb changes between singular and plural.

Es la

Es la una (ess lah OO-nah) is the only singular hour form you need. It literally aligns with "la hora" (the hour), singular.

Use it for:

• 1:00
• 1:05
• 1:30
• 1:55

Son las

Son las (sohn lahs) is used for 2 through 12. The idea is "las horas" (the hours), plural.

Use it for:

• 2:00 through 12:59
• and also 0:xx on a 24-hour clock when you say it as "las doce"

Asking for the time (and sounding normal)

There are two common ways to ask, and one of them is more "textbook" than the other.

¿Qué hora es?

¿Qué hora es? (keh OH-rah ess) is universal and safe. It works in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and everywhere else.

You can soften it with:

• Perdón (pehr-DOHN), "sorry"
• Disculpe (dees-KOOL-peh), "excuse me" (more formal)

¿Qué hora tienes?

¿Qué hora tienes? (keh OH-rah TYEH-ness) is common in casual speech, especially in Spain. It is like "What time do you have?"

In Latin America, many people still understand it, but ¿Qué hora es? is the better default.

Telling time with minutes "past": y + minutes

For minutes after the hour, Spanish uses y (ee), meaning "and".

The structure is:

Son las + hour + y + minutes

Examples:

• Son las dos y cinco. (sohn lahs dohs ee SEEN-koh), 2:05
• Son las nueve y veinte. (sohn lahs NWAY-veh ee VAYN-teh), 9:20
• Es la una y diez. (ess lah OO-nah ee dyehs), 1:10

y cuarto

y cuarto (ee KWAR-toh) means "and a quarter", used for :15.

• Son las cuatro y cuarto. (sohn lahs KWAH-troh ee KWAR-toh), 4:15

y media

y media (ee MEH-dyah) means "and a half", used for :30.

• Son las seis y media. (sohn lahs SEH-ees ee MEH-dyah), 6:30

Telling time with minutes "to": menos + minutes

For times close to the next hour, Spanish often counts backward using menos (MEH-nohs), "minus".

The structure is:

Son las + next hour + menos + minutes

Examples:

• Son las cinco menos diez. (sohn lahs SEEN-koh MEH-nohs dyehs), 4:50
• Son las ocho menos cuarto. (sohn lahs OH-choh MEH-nohs KWAR-toh), 7:45
• Son las doce menos cinco. (sohn lahs DOH-seh MEH-nohs SEEN-koh), 11:55

menos cuarto

menos cuarto (MEH-nohs KWAR-toh) means "minus a quarter", used for :45.

• Son las nueve menos cuarto. (sohn lahs NWAY-veh MEH-nohs KWAR-toh), 8:45

AM vs PM: de la mañana, de la tarde, de la noche

Spanish can be clear without "AM" and "PM" by adding a time-of-day phrase.

de la mañana

de la mañana (deh lah mah-NYAH-nah) is morning. Roughly from waking up until around noon.

• Son las nueve de la mañana. (sohn lahs NWAY-veh deh lah mah-NYAH-nah), 9:00 AM

de la tarde

de la tarde (deh lah TAR-deh) is afternoon. Often from around noon until sunset, but it is flexible.

• Son las cuatro de la tarde. (sohn lahs KWAH-troh deh lah TAR-deh), 4:00 PM

de la noche

de la noche (deh lah NOH-cheh) is evening or night.

• Son las diez de la noche. (sohn lahs dyehs deh lah NOH-cheh), 10:00 PM

Noon and midnight: mediodía and medianoche

Two words are worth memorizing because they show up on signs, tickets, and in dialogue.

mediodía

mediodía (meh-dee-oh-DEE-ah) means noon, 12:00 PM.

You will hear:

• a mediodía (ah meh-dee-oh-DEE-ah), "at noon"
• sobre el mediodía (SOH-breh el meh-dee-oh-DEE-ah), "around noon"

medianoche

medianoche (meh-dee-ah-NOH-cheh) means midnight, 12:00 AM.

You will hear:

• a medianoche (ah meh-dee-ah-NOH-cheh), "at midnight"

24-hour time: how it appears vs how people say it

In many Spanish-speaking places, 24-hour time is standard in writing for:

• train and bus timetables
• flight itineraries
• hospital appointments
• official notices

But in speech, people often convert it to 12-hour time with a time-of-day phrase.

Here is a practical conversion table:

The most useful time vocabulary (with pronunciation)

en punto, y pico, and other real-life add-ons

Once you can say the time, Spanish gives you small add-ons that make you sound like you actually live in the language.

en punto

en punto (en POON-toh) means "exactly" or "on the dot".

• Son las tres en punto. (sohn lahs trehs en POON-toh), exactly 3:00

y pico

y pico (ee PEE-koh) means "and a bit", used when you do not want to be exact.

• Son las cinco y pico. (sohn lahs SEEN-koh ee PEE-koh), a bit after five

más o menos

más o menos (mahs oh MEH-nohs) means "more or less", another way to be approximate.

• Son las ocho, más o menos. (sohn lahs OH-choh, mahs oh MEH-nohs), around eight

sobre las...

sobre las... (SOH-breh lahs) means "around".

• Llegamos sobre las nueve. (yeh-GAH-mohs SOH-breh lahs NWAY-veh), we arrive around nine

Expert insight: why time phrases are social tools

Time expressions are not only grammar, they are coordination. That is why native speakers develop strong preferences for certain patterns.

"Politeness is not a simple matter of saying 'please' and 'thank you'. It is a system for managing social relationships, including how we make requests and coordinate actions in time."

Stephen C. Levinson, linguist, in Brown & Levinson's framework as discussed in pragmatics research (see Levinson's work on politeness and interaction)

In practice, this is why ¿A qué hora quedamos? (ah keh OH-rah keh-DAH-mohs), "What time are we meeting?" often comes with softeners like más o menos or sobre, especially when plans are flexible.

The phrases you will hear in movies and shows

These are high-frequency lines that show up constantly in real dialogue.

If you want more everyday openers and closers for scenes like this, learn a few from how to say goodbye in Spanish so you can end the conversation naturally too.

Common regional and situational differences

Spanish time-telling is consistent across countries, but usage preferences vary by context.

Public announcements vs friend talk

• Announcements (airports, stations) often use exact minutes and 24-hour time: dieciocho treinta (dyeh-see-OH-choh TREYN-tah), 18:30.
• Friends often use chunks: y media, menos cuarto, y pico.

Spain: "y cuarto" and "menos cuarto" are everywhere

In Spain, you will hear backward counting constantly for :40 to :59. It is not "more correct", it is simply the default rhythm.

Latin America: exact minutes can be more common in some settings

In many Latin American cities, people still use menos cuarto, but you may also hear more direct minute statements in daily planning, especially when coordinating transport or work schedules.

Mini practice: convert these times

Try saying these out loud, then check the suggested answers.

Learning with clips: what to listen for

When you learn time phrases through TV and movies, focus on a few audio cues.

1. The verb: listen for es vs son.
2. The connector: y (past) vs menos (to).
3. The chunk: cuarto and media are your anchors.
4. The time-of-day label: de la mañana, de la tarde, de la noche.

This is also a great place to train your ear for Spanish rhythm and vowel clarity. If pronunciation is your bottleneck, our Spanish pronunciation guide will make these phrases much easier to hear and repeat.

A quick note on politeness and tone

Asking the time is usually low-stakes, but tone still matters. A quick perdón or disculpe makes you sound considerate, especially with strangers.

If you are learning Spanish for travel or dating, pairing time language with emotional language is powerful. For example, you can plan a meetup and add warmth with phrases from how to say I love you in Spanish, but keep it context-appropriate.

Keep your Spanish "safe" in stressful moments

Time pressure can make people swear, especially in traffic, missed trains, or late-night chaos. If you watch Spanish-language shows, you will hear that side too.

If you want to understand it without copying it, read our guide to Spanish swear words so you recognize what is being said and how strong it is.

Recap: the 5 rules that cover almost everything

1. Es la una, but Son las for all other hours.
2. Use y + minutes for times after the hour.
3. Use menos + minutes for times before the next hour.
4. Use y cuarto (:15) and y media (:30) as default shortcuts.
5. Add de la mañana / de la tarde / de la noche when clarity matters.

To keep building, explore the Spanish learning page and practice these phrases with real clips so your timing, pronunciation, and listening all improve together.