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The time in Italian: how do you say it and ask for it?

Quick Summary
  • The question: You ask “Che ore sono?” (plural) or “Che ora è?” (singular).
  • The verb: Use “Sono le…” for all hours except 1am/pm, noon and midnight.
  • The exception: Say “È l’una” (1:00), “È mezzogiorno” (12:00) and “È mezzanotte” (00:00).
  • The minutes: Add with “e” (and) or subtract with “meno” (minus).
  • The format: Speech favours the 12-hour format, official writing uses the 24-hour format.
Telling the time in Italian requires a slightly different mental approach than in English. The main difference lies in the systematic use of the plural for most hours.

Two ways to ask the time

Italian offers two possibilities for asking this question. Both forms are interchangeable and very common. The plural form is the most frequent in everyday conversation: Che ore sono? The singular form is also heard regularly: Che ora è? When approaching a stranger or an elderly person, politeness is required. Add “Scusi” (excuse me) at the beginning of the sentence: Scusi, sa che ore sono? (Excuse me, do you know what time it is?)

The rule of the verb Essere: Singular or Plural?

The answer depends directly on what time it is. Italian follows a strict mathematical logic based on the number of hours.

The majority use of the plural (Sono le…)

Numbers from two to twelve are plural. The verb “essere” is therefore conjugated in the third person plural (sono) and the definite article becomes feminine plural (le), as it agrees with the implied word ore (hours). To master this part, you need to know the numbers from 1 to 12. Examples:
  • 2:00am : Sono le due.
  • 4:00am : Sono le quattro.
  • 7:00am : Sono le sette.
  • 11:00am : Sono le undici.

The specific use of the singular (È…)

The singular applies only when the time corresponds to a single unit or the exact middle of the day/night. The verb switches to the third person singular (è). Case 1: One o’clock (1:00am or 1:00pm). Use the apostrophised article l’ before una. È l’una. Case 2: Noon. No article before this word. È mezzogiorno. Case 3: Midnight. No article either. È mezzanotte.

Indicating the minutes: addition and subtraction

The clock face is divided into two distinct parts in Italian. This logic is similar to the English system but has specific pronunciation features.

First half: from 1 to 30 minutes (E)

For minutes in the first half of the hour, use the conjunction e (and). State the hour, then the minutes.
  • 9:05 : Sono le nove e cinque.
  • 10:10 : Sono le dieci e dieci.
  • 2:20pm : Sono le due e venti.

Quarter past and half past

Like in English, Italian has specific terms for 15 and 30 minutes. For 15 minutes, say un quarto:
  • 5:15 : Sono le cinque e un quarto.
For 30 minutes, say mezza (half) or trenta (thirty):
  • 9:30 : Sono le nove e mezza. (More common)
  • 9:30 : Sono le nove e trenta.
Note the agreement of mezza (feminine) with ora (hour). You sometimes hear mezzo, but the feminine form remains the academic standard.
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Second half: from 31 to 59 minutes (Meno)

Past the half hour, you look ahead to the next hour. Take the next hour and subtract the remaining minutes using the word meno (minus).
  • 8:40 : Sono le nove meno venti. (It’s twenty to nine).
  • 10:50 : Sono le undici meno dieci. (It’s ten to eleven).
  • 4:55 : Sono le cinque meno cinque.
For “quarter to” (45 minutes), use meno un quarto:
  • 7:45 : Sono le otto meno un quarto.

The alternative construction: “Mancano…”

Another way to express that minutes are “missing” before the next hour exists. It is slightly more complex but very elegant. Structure: Mancano + [minutes] + alle + [next hour].
  • 8:40 : Mancano venti minuti alle nove. (There are twenty minutes to nine).
  • 3:55 : Mancano cinque minuti alle quattro.
Pay attention to the contracted prepositions here: alle (at + the) for all hours except the next “one o’clock” which takes all’ (at + the).
  • 12:50 : Mancano dieci minuti all’una.

Specifying the time of day

Italians often use the 12-hour format in speech. To avoid any confusion between 3:00am and 3:00pm, time-of-day qualifiers are added. The preposition di is used.

Di mattina (in the morning)

Used from sunrise until around noon.
  • 7:00am : Sono le sette di mattina.
  • 10:00am : Sono le dieci di mattina.

Di pomeriggio (in the afternoon)

Covers the period from noon until early evening (around 5pm/6pm).
  • 3:00pm : Sono le tre di pomeriggio.
  • 5:00pm : Sono le cinque di pomeriggio.

Di sera (in the evening)

Starts around 6:00pm and lasts until bedtime or around midnight.
  • 8:00pm : Sono le otto di sera.
  • 10:30pm : Sono le dieci e mezza di sera.

Di notte (at night)

Used for very late or very early hours, when it is dark and most people are asleep.
  • 2:00am : Sono le due di notte.
  • 4:00am : Sono le quattro di notte.

The 24-hour format: official use

The 24-hour format (from 00:00 to 23:59) is used systematically in formal contexts:
  • Train and flight timetables.
  • Television schedules.
  • Administrative appointments.
  • Cinema and shows.
In writing, you see “20:30”. In speech, in an official context, one can say Sono le venti e trenta. However, in everyday conversation, even when reading “20:30” on a train ticket, an Italian will often say Sono le otto e mezza.

Making an appointment: the preposition “A”

Saying what time it is (the present moment) and setting a time (a future moment) require different structures. To say “at a certain time”, use the preposition a combined with the definite article (le or l’).

The contraction “Alle”

For all plural hours (from 2 to 12), a + le becomes alle.
  • The train leaves at 8:00: Il treno parte alle otto.
  • The film starts at 8:00pm: Il film inizia alle venti (or alle otto).

The contraction “All'”

For the singular hour (1:00am/1:00pm), a + l’ becomes all’.
  • We meet at one o’clock: Ci vediamo all’una.

Exceptions without an article

For noon and midnight, use the preposition a alone, without an article.
  • At noon: A mezzogiorno.
  • At midnight: A mezzanotte.

Expressing uncertainty or approximation

Sometimes you don’t know the exact time or want to express a probability (“it must be about…”). Italian then uses the simple future of the verb essere. This is known as the suppositional future.
  • It must be around 5:00pm: Saranno le cinque.
  • It must be noon: Sarà mezzogiorno.
  • It must be one o’clock: Sarà l’una.
Note that the singular/plural agreement is maintained even in the future: sarà (singular) for noon/midnight/one o’clock, saranno (plural) for the rest.
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Vocabulary for time precision

To add nuance to the time, several expressions are added to the base sentence. In punto (on the dot): Used to stress exactness.
  • Sono le tre in punto. (It’s exactly three o’clock).
Verso (around): Indicates an approximation for an appointment.
  • Arrivo verso le sette. (I’ll arrive around seven).
Precisamente (precisely): Reinforces exactness, often used in transport contexts.
  • Sono le due precisamente.

Summary table of prepositions

This table summarises the mandatory contractions for saying “at” before a time.
Time Preposition + Article Example
1:00pm (L’una) All’ Vengo all’una (I’m coming at one)
12:00pm (Mezzogiorno) A Vengo a mezzogiorno (I’m coming at noon)
12:00am (Mezzanotte) A Vengo a mezzanotte (I’m coming at midnight)
All others Alle Vengo alle due / alle sette (I’m coming at 2 / at 7)

Practice exercise

Test your knowledge of telling the time in Italian:
Question 1: How do you say “It’s 10 o’clock”?
Use the plural “Sono le…” for all hours except 1am/pm, noon and midnight.
Question 2: What is the correct form for “1:00pm”?
One o’clock is singular. Use the verb “È” and the apostrophised definite article “l'”.
Question 3: How do you say “It’s 4:15”?
Although “e quindici” is grammatically possible, “e un quarto” is the standard idiomatic expression.
Question 4: Complete the sentence: “Il treno parte ___ tre.” (The train leaves at three o’clock).
The preposition “a” merges with the plural article “le” to give “alle”.
Question 5: How do you say “It’s 8:50” (ten to nine)?
For 8:50, look ahead to the next hour (9) and subtract 10 minutes: “Sono le nove meno dieci”.
Question 6: Which sentence expresses a supposition: “It must be around noon”?
Use the simple future of “essere” in the singular (sarà) because “mezzogiorno” is singular.

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