Telling the Time in Italian
Italian counts the hours as plural, so the verb changes at one o'clock. Everything after that follows a single pattern.
Asking and answering
-
Che ore sono?
keh OH-reh SOH-noh
-
What time is it?
-
È l'una
eh LOO-nah
-
It is one o'clock
The only hour that is singular
-
Sono le due
SOH-noh leh DOO-eh
-
It is two o'clock
-
alle otto
AL-leh OT-toh
-
at eight o'clock
Parts of an hour
-
e un quarto
eh oon KWAR-toh
-
quarter past
-
e mezza
eh MED-dzah
-
half past
-
meno un quarto
MEH-noh oon KWAR-toh
-
quarter to
-
Sono le tre e dieci
SOH-noh leh treh eh DYEH-chee
-
It is ten past three
-
Sono le sei meno venti
SOH-noh leh say MEH-noh VEN-tee
-
It is twenty to six
Parts of the day
-
la mattina
lah mat-TEE-nah
-
the morning
-
il pomeriggio
eel poh-meh-REED-joh
-
the afternoon
-
la sera
lah SEH-rah
-
the evening
-
la notte
lah NOT-teh
-
the night
-
mezzogiorno
med-dzoh-JOR-noh
-
midday
-
mezzanotte
med-dzah-NOT-teh
-
midnight
One is singular, and the 24-hour clock
The verb agrees with the hour. One is singular, so è l'una. Every other hour is plural, so sono le due, sono le tre.
Mezzogiorno and mezzanotte are also singular: è mezzogiorno.
Italian has no am and pm. Add di mattina, di pomeriggio or di sera instead.
Timetables, tickets and opening hours use the 24-hour clock: le 20:30. Spoken, people still say le otto e mezza.
Dates are written day first and read with il: 3/5/2026 is il 3 maggio 2026.
- Sono le sette e mezza.It is half past seven.
- Il treno parte alle sedici e venti.The train leaves at 4:20pm.
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