How To Tell Time In Portuguese

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Let’s learn how to tell time in Portuguese! That way you’ll know whether you are cedoearlyCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Adverb , a horason timeCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Adverb , or atrasadolateCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Adjective / Past Participle, Masculine . 🙂 If you don’t have a phone or watch with you, you could ask someone Que horas são?What time is it?Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio , i.e. “What hours are there?” A more formal/polite option is: Tem horas que me diga?Do you have the time?, Could you tell me the time?Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio , i.e. “Do you have hours that you tell me?”

The 24-hour Clock

While many countries favour the 12-hour clock system, Portugal usually uses the 24-hour clock, especially in more formal contexts.

English Time Portuguese Time In Words
12:00 a.m. (midnight) 0h zero horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio meia-noitemidnightCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
1:00 a.m. 1h uma horaCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine
2:00 a.m. 2h duas horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
3:00 a.m. 3h três horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
4:00 a.m. 4h quatro horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
5:00 a.m. 5h cinco horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
6:00 a.m. 6h seis horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
7:00 a.m. 7h sete horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
8:00 a.m. 8h oito horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
9:00 a.m. 9h nove horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
10:00 a.m. 10h dez horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
11:00 a.m. 11h onze horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
12:00 p.m. (noon) 12h doze horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio meio-dianoonCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine
1:00 p.m. 13h treze horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
2:00 p.m. 14h catorze horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
3:00 p.m. 15h quinze horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
4:00 p.m. 16h dezasseis horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
5:00 p.m. 17h dezassete horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
6:00 p.m. 18h dezoito horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
7:00 p.m. 19h dezanove horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
8:00 p.m. 20h vinte horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
9:00 p.m. 21h vinte e uma horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
10:00 p.m. 22h vinte e duas horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio
11:00 p.m. 23h vinte e três horasCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio

How to Tell Time in Portuguese: The Basics

Formal

In formal situations, you should apply the 24-hour clock system, and use the exact minutes shown on the clock. (We’ll discuss more informal options to talk about subdivisions of time down below.)

16h22São dezasseis horas e vinte e dois minutosIt's 16:22 (4:22pm)Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio

Note: In most situations, it’s optional to include the words horashoursCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Noun, Plural, Feminine and minutosminutesCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Noun, Plural, Masculine , so this example would often be shortened to just “São dezasseis e vinte e dois“.

Informal

You may notice that Portuguese often apply a 12-hour system in informal contexts. Instead of saying a.m. and p.m. (which aren’t used in Portuguese-speaking countries), they’ll specify whether it’s morning, afternoon, or evening/night. São 7h30 da manhãIt's 7:30 a.m.Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio São 2 da tardeIt's 2 in the afternoon.Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio São 10 da noite.It's 10 in the evening.Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio

É or São?

Did you notice that we’ve been using the plural form of the verb – são – in these examples? In English, we treat all times as singular, but in Portuguese, you should think of it in terms of horas (hours). This means you use são for all times except 1 o’clock (uma hora).

  • É uma da tardeIt's 1 in the afternoonCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio – i.e. “It is one (hour) of the afternoon.”
  • São duas da tardeIt's 2 in the afternoon.Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio – i.e. “There are two (hours) of the afternoon.”

As mentioned, it’s common to drop the words hora and horas here, because they are implied. Of course you will also use é for anything else that is singular, such as É meio-diaIt's noonCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio and É um quarto para as 8h da noiteIt's a quarter to 8:00 p.m.Community More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio .

Subdivisions of the Hour

Now that we know which numbers to use, let’s get into the specifics of how to tell time in Portuguese. When you want to clarify that the time is exactly at the top of the hour, you use the expression em pontoon the dot, sharpCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio There are also different expressions for referring to the other minutes of the hour:

Here are some terms from the chart above that you should take the time to review:

  • eandCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Conjunction – Separates the hours and minutes
  • para ato, untilCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio – If you’re referring to 1 in the morning or afternoon, it’s singular
  • para asto, untilCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio – If you’re referring to any other hour, it’s plural
  • meiahalfCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Adjective, Singular, Feminine – i.e. 30 minutes past the hour
  • um quartoa quarterCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine – i.e. 15 minutes past/until the hour
English – Informal Portuguese – Formal 24-Hour Portuguese – Informal 12-Hour
Ten past two Catorze e dezCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 14h10 Duas e dezCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 2h10
Quarter past two Catorze e quinzeCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 14h15 Duas e um quartoCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 2h15
Half past two Catorze e trintaCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 14h30 Duas e meiaCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 2h30
Twenty to three Catorze e quarentaCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 14h40 Vinte para as trêsCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 2h40
Quarter to three Catorze e quarenta e cincoCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 14h45 Um quarto para as trêsCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 2h45
Ten to three Catorze e cinquentaCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 14h50 Dez para as trêsCommunity More Actions Slow Audio Slow audio Normal Audio Play audio 2h50

Portuguese Time Format

The written format 0h00 (e.g. 23h30, 7h15, etc.) is more common in Portugal. If it’s right on the hour, you will often see just 3h, for example. As you may have guessed, the h stands for horas. Using colons (e.g. 23:30, 7:15, etc.) is also acceptable. Members: In the following lessons, we’ll use this 0h00 format as a default for consistency. However, if you would rather practice spelling numbers or thinking of it word by word, you also have the option to write it out (e.g. vinte e três horas e meia instead of 23h30). If you get one incorrect, check down below the answer to see the correct spelling.

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