Asking and Telling Time in Spanish

Learn how to tell and ask the time in Spanish, including morning, afternoon, and evening expressions.

Knowing how to ask and tell the time is one of the first useful skills in Spanish. In this lesson, you’ll learn the most common phrases to say what time it is, how to express morning or evening, and how to read the 24-hour clock.

Telling the Time in Spanish

Spanish	English
¿Qué hora es?	What time is it?
Es la una.	It’s one o’clock.
Son las dos.	It’s two o’clock.
Son las tres.	It's three o'clock.
Son las cinco y media.	It’s five thirty.
Son las siete y cuarto.	It’s seven fifteen.
Son las diez menos cuarto	It’s nine forty-five.

📌 Note: Use "Es la" only for one o’clock. For all other times, use "Son las".

Is it morning or evening?

Spanish	English
Son las dos de la mañana.	It’s two in the morning.
Son las dos de la tarde.	It’s two in the afternoon.
Son las ocho de la noche.	It’s eight in the evening.

📌 Note: In many Spanish-speaking countries, "de la noche" usually starts around 8 PM, which is a bit later than in most English-speaking countries.

Examples of simple dialogues

Dialogue 1

— Hola, ¿cómo estás?

(Hello, how are you?)

— Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?

(Very well, thank you. And you?)

— ¿Qué hora es?

(What time is it?)

— Es la una.

(It's one o’clock.)

— Gracias.

(Thank you.)

Dialogue 2

— Buenos días.

(Good morning.)

— Buenos días. ¿Qué tal?

(Good morning. How are you? / How’s everything?)

— Todo bien. ¿Qué hora es?

(Everything's fine. What time is it?)

— Son las tres y media de la tarde.

(It's three thirty in the afternoon.)

— Perfecto, gracias.

(Perfect, thank you.)

🎯 Want to practice telling time with a native instructor?

At Spanish Excellence Academy, we practice real conversations from the very first class.

👉 This topic corresponds to our Beginner 2 level. Book your class and start speaking Spanish today.

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