Learning Time in Spanish
Spanish Pronunciation for Numbers
¿Qué hora es? The easiest way for learning time in Spanish is to memorize the first 29 (or 30) numbers. When you talk about the time of day, you are going to want to use the verb "ser". You will want to use "son" when referring to any hour of the day except the first hour. One o'clock is expressed by using the word "es".
- Es la una: It is 1:00
- Son las tres y dos: It is 3:02
- Son las seis y cuatro: It is 6:04
- Es la una y cinco: It is 1:05
- Son las cinco y diez: It is 5:10
There are a couple of other minor rules to keep in mind when telling time. First, remember to have the right Spanish pronunciation for numbers being used. Secondly, you want to use the word "la mañana" if you are telling the time before noon. The word for noon is "mediodia". You will use "de la tarde" when talking about the afternoon. Last but not least, you will use "de la noche" when referring to the evening. Midnight is called "medianoche". If you wanted to say it is 2:30, you would say, "Son las dos y media".
Learning time in Spanish is a little different when it comes to time after half past. In English we would say something like, it is 3:45. However, for Spanish, they refer to the time after half past as minus the next hour. For example, if you wanted to say it is 4:40, you would say "Son las cinco menos viente". That says it is five minus twenty pretty much. Just another tip for all you folks out there. Listed below is a list of the numbers you need to know for telling time.
- 0: Cero
- 1: Uno
- 2: Dos
- 3: Tres
- 4: Cuatro
- 5: Cinco
- 6: Seis
- 7: Siete
- 8: Ocho
- 9: Nueve
- 10: Diez
- 11: Once
- 12: Doce
- 13: Trece
- 14: Catorce
- 15: Quince
- 16: Dieciséis
- 17: Diecisiete
- 18: Dieciocho
- 19: Diecinueve
- 20: Viente
- 21: Veintiuno
- 22: Veintidos
- 23: Veintitres
- 24: Veinticuatro
- 25: Veinticinco
- 26: Veintiseis
- 27: Veintisiete
- 28: Veintiocho
- 29: Veintinueve
