Telling the time in Spanish: ¿qué hora es?
You will learn to ask for the time and give the time in a simple, natural way. You will also say at what time something is scheduled, including minutes and parts of the day. This lets you understand timetables and make plans.
The rule
To ask for the current time, Spanish uses the question “¿Qué hora es?”. You use it when you simply want to know the time right now.
To ask for the time of an event, Spanish uses “¿A qué hora…?”. This question points to a scheduled moment, and it normally continues with a noun: “¿A qué hora es la clase?”, “¿A qué hora es el tren?”. Keep the two questions separate. “¿Qué hora es?” is for the time in general, while “¿A qué hora…?” is for the time of something specific.
At a glance
From clock time to a Spanish sentence
| Reloj | Frase |
|---|---|
| 1:00 | Es la una en punto |
| 2:15 | Son las dos y cuarto |
| 3:30 | Son las tres y media |
| 5:45 | Son las seis menos cuarto |
| 7:40 | Son las ocho menos veinte |
| 12:00 | Es mediodía |
| 00:00 | Es medianoche |
| 14:00 | Son las dos de la tarde |
Heard in real Spanish
Native speakers on YouTube, in videos about something other than grammar. The notion is in pink. Each clip starts a second before the line.
Entonces sí vengo a las 4:00 de la mañana, ¿hay dona?
So if I come at 4:00 in the morning, are there donuts?
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Son las dos y media de la tarde del día 5 de junio.
It's half past two in the afternoon, June 5th.
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Examples
- ¿Qué hora es? Es la una en punto.What time is it? It is one o’clock sharp.At 1:00, Spanish uses singular: “Es la una”.
- ¿Qué hora es? Son las dos y cuarto.What time is it? It is 2:15.“y cuarto” is used for :15.
- Son las tres y media de la tarde.It is 3:30 in the afternoon.“y media” gives :30, and “de la tarde” adds the part of day.
What to remember
- Use “¿Qué hora es?” for the current time, and “¿A qué hora…?” for an event.
- Say “Es la una”, but “Son las dos”, “Son las tres”.
- Common minute phrases are “y cuarto”, “y media”, “menos cuarto”, and “en punto”.
- To locate the time in the day, add “de la mañana”, “de la tarde”, “de la noche”, or “de la madrugada”.
- With a time, use “a”, and frame a range with “desde…hasta…”.
Check yourself
1 Choose the correct question to ask for the current time.
- ¿Qué hora es?
- ¿A qué hora?
- ¿Qué hora es la clase?
- ¿A qué hora es?
Show the answer
¿Qué hora es?. “¿Qué hora es?” is the standard way to ask the time right now.
2 Complete with the correct form.
___ la una.
- Es
- Son
- Está
- Hay
Show the answer
Es. With “la una”, Spanish uses singular: “Es la una”.
Take the full lesson
“What time is it?” in the Streal course: the whole explanation, the quiz, and every YouTube extract picked for it. Free to start, nothing to install. The full lesson goes on with the rest of the explanation and more examples, the common mistakes and the practice quiz.