Spanish Time Expressions: Talk About Time in Spanish Like a Native Speaker

Learning to tell time in Spanish feels like one of those basics you need from day one, whether you're catching a train in Madrid or meeting friends in Mexico City. The core structure is simple, and Spanish time expressions follow pretty predictable patterns. This guide walks you through everything from asking "¿Qué hora es?" to using hace and desde for talking about duration, plus some conversational phrases that'll make you sound way more natural.

How to ask what time it is in Spanish

You'll hear this everywhere, from casual conversations to formal settings.

If you want to be more specific and ask at what time something happens, use "¿A qué hora...?" followed by the action. For example, "¿A qué hora sale el tren?" means "At what time does the train leave?"

These two phrases cover about 90% of your time-asking needs when you start learning Spanish.

Basic structure with ser for telling time

Here's the thing: Spanish uses the verb ser (To be) for telling time, but the form changes depending on whether it's one o'clock or any other hour.

This pattern stays consistent whether you're talking about 2:00 or 11:00.

Numbers you'll need for telling time

Quick reference for the hours:

And for minutes, you'll also need these common ones:

If someone asks you how to say 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 in Spanish, here you go: veinte, treinta, cuarenta, cincuenta, sesenta, setenta, ochenta, noventa. You'll use these when telling time past the hour.

Adding minutes with y

For example:

There are two special shortcuts that native speakers use all the time. Instead of saying "y quince" (And fifteen), most people say "y cuarto" (And a quarter). So "son las cuatro y cuarto" means it's 4:15.

For thirty minutes, you say "y media" (And a half) instead of "y treinta". So "son las ocho y media" is 8:30.

These shortcuts make you sound more natural and are honestly easier to say once you get used to them.

Subtracting minutes with menos

Once you pass the 30-minute mark, Spanish speakers typically switch to counting backwards from the next hour using "menos" (Minus/Less).

For instance:

Just like with "y cuarto", you can say "menos cuarto" for fifteen minutes before the hour. "Son las siete menos cuarto" means it's 6:45.

You can technically use "y" for all minutes (Like "son las cuatro y cuarenta y cinco" for 4:45), but it sounds pretty clunky. Native speakers almost always use menos once you're in that second half of the hour.

Time of day specifiers

Spanish has specific phrases to indicate whether you're talking about morning, afternoon, or night. You add these after the time using "de la" plus the time of day.

These terms are way more common in everyday conversation than their English equivalents. People use mediodía all the time when making lunch plans or talking about their daily schedule.

Time expressions with hace for the past

Now we're getting into the really useful stuff. "Hace" is a time expression that lets you talk about how long ago something happened. It comes from the verb hacer (To make/To do) but in this context means "ago".

For example:

You can also flip it around and put hace at the end: "Llegué hace dos horas" (I arrived two hours ago). Both versions work fine.

This expression is super common when you talk about recent events or answer questions about when something happened. If someone asks "¿Cuándo llegaste?" (When did you arrive?), you can answer "Hace una hora" (An hour ago).

Using desde to talk about ongoing actions in Spanish grammar

"Desde" means "since" or "from" and works differently than hace. You use desde with the present tense to describe actions that started in the past and continue into the present moment.

Examples:

Notice that last example? You can combine desde with hace to mean "for" a duration. "Desde hace cinco años" literally translates to "since five years ago" but functions like "for five years" in English.

This is one of those areas where Spanish and English handle time pretty differently. In English, you'd say "I've been studying Spanish for three months" using the present perfect. In Spanish, you use the present tense: "Estudio español desde hace tres meses".

More time expressions you'll actually use

Beyond the basics, there are tons of time-related phrases that come up in everyday conversation. Here are some of the most practical ones:

These little expressions make your Spanish sound way more natural when you're having actual conversations about schedules, plans, or daily routines.

Common time-related idioms in Spanish

Spanish has some pretty colorful idioms involving time that don't translate literally to English.

These idioms pop up in casual conversation way more than you'd expect when you first learn Spanish.

12-hour vs 24-hour formats in Spanish time expressions

In casual conversation, Spanish speakers typically use the 12-hour format with the time-of-day specifiers I mentioned earlier. You'll hear "son las tres de la tarde" way more often than "son las quince horas".

But here's where it gets interesting: the 24-hour clock shows up pretty frequently in formal contexts. Train schedules, official documents, business hours, and TV programming guides almost always use 24-hour time in Spain and many Latin American countries.

When using 24-hour time, you just state the number without any "de la mañana/tarde/noche" additions. "Son las diecisiete horas" means it's 17:00 (5:00 PM). You also typically add "horas" at the end in this format.

For everyday use, stick with the 12-hour format until you get comfortable. You'll pick up the 24-hour version naturally when you need it.

Regional variations you might encounter

While the core rules for telling time stay consistent across Spanish-speaking regions, you'll notice some differences in how people actually talk about time.

In Spain, people tend to use the 24-hour format more frequently in everyday speech than in Latin America. You'll hear "a las dieciocho horas" (At 18:00) pretty casually.

The cutoff between "tarde" and "noche" shifts depending on where you are. In some places, 7 PM is still "tarde" while in others it's already "noche".

Some regions have their own colloquial time expressions. In parts of Latin America, you might hear "ahorita" which technically means "right now" but can actually mean anything from immediately to sometime in the near future, depending on context and tone. Pretty confusing for learners.

The good news? Everyone understands the standard forms, so you don't need to worry too much about regional variations when you're starting out.

How to practice the expressions of time in Spanish

Time expressions are one of those things you use constantly in any language. Every time you make plans, describe your day, or talk about when something happened, you need these phrases.

The good news is you get tons of natural practice opportunities.

Anyway, if you want to practice these time expressions with real Spanish content, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up words and phrases instantly while watching shows or reading articles. Makes learning from actual conversations way more practical. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.

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The real test is understanding and using time expressions in real life

Now you remember all the words, but your brain seems still stuck when you hear or see them in real life... Don't worry. This is a natural phase.😮‍💨 The more you practice these patterns in real contexts, the more automatic they become. Reading Spanish content or watching shows helps you see how native speakers actually use these expressions in different situations.

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