Esperanto treats a clock hour as a position in the daily sequence, so the hour is an ordinal: la tria “three o’clock,” literally “the third hour.” Minutes are ordinary cardinals: la tria kaj dek “3:10.” Once this hour–minute contrast is clear, both conversational and 24-hour time follow a predictable system.
If either number type is new, review ordinal numbers and cardinal numbers before combining them here.
Asking what time it is
The standard question is Kioma horo estas? The word kioma asks “which numbered one?” and matches ordinal answers such as la dua and la deka.
— Kioma horo estas? — Estas la sepa.
— What time is it? — It is seven o'clock.
Ĉu vi scias, kioma horo nun estas?
Do you know what time it is now?
English asks “what time,” but literal Kio horo estas? does not express the numbered position. Kiom da horoj? asks how many hours, usually a duration, not the current time.
The clipped verb kiomas? meaning “what time is it?” is attested (informal, slang). It is useful to recognize in casual conversation, but Kioma horo estas? is the neutral form for speaking and writing.
Whole hours
Use estas + la + ordinal when stating the current time. The noun horo is normally omitted because the context supplies it.
Estas jam la dekunua; mi devas iri hejmen.
It is already eleven; I have to go home.
Ne estas la kvina, sed nur la kvara.
It isn't five o'clock, but only four.
The article la belongs in the spoken-out form: la kvara, la oka, la dek-dua. It marks the particular numbered hour. A digital display may simply show 4:00, but when you read that time as a sentence, say la kvara.
The hour can be written with a digit and Esperanto adjective ending in schedules: la 8-a. In running A1 prose, the word la oka is usually easier to read.
Adding minutes
The most transparent pattern is la + ordinal hour + (kaj) + cardinal minutes. The understood nouns are horo and minutoj.
La buso alvenos je la sesa kaj dek kvin.
The bus will arrive at 6:15.
La novaĵelsendo komenciĝas je la dudeka kaj tridek.
The news broadcast starts at 20:30.
Kaj may be included or omitted: la sesa kaj dek kvin and la sesa dek kvin are both understandable. Keeping kaj is a clear choice for learners. The hour stays ordinal; do not say la ses as a full spoken clock expression.
You can instead count minutes after or before an hour:
Estas dek minutoj post la naŭa.
It is ten minutes past nine.
Estas kvin minutoj antaŭ la dua.
It is five minutes to two.
This second pattern makes the temporal relation explicit. For 9:45, both la naŭa kaj kvardek kvin and dek kvin antaŭ la deka are standard. Esperanto does not force speakers to switch to the next hour after the half hour.
Quarter hours and half hours
For fifteen minutes, use kvarono, kvaronhoro, or kvarona horo. For thirty minutes, use duono, duonhoro, or duona horo.
Ni renkontiĝu je kvarono post la oka.
Let's meet at a quarter past eight.
La trajno foriros je la sepa kaj duono.
The train will leave at half past seven.
— Ĉu la filmo komenciĝas je la naŭa? — Ne, je kvarono antaŭ la naŭa.
— Does the film start at nine? — No, at a quarter to nine.
The relation must be stated. Duono de la naŭa copies a pattern found in some European languages and is ambiguous in Esperanto. Say duono post la oka, duono antaŭ la naŭa, or simply la oka kaj duono for 8:30.
Although twenty minutes is mathematically a third of an hour, standard clock language does not normally use trionhoro for it. Say dudek minutoj. This is a conventional limit rather than a failure of Esperanto's regular fraction system.
Saying when something happens
Current time uses Estas la.... An event time needs a role marker, most often je:
La kurso komenciĝos je la deka kaj dudek.
The course will begin at 10:20.
Other prepositions add their own meaning: antaŭ la oka, post la dekunua, ĝis la dua, ĉirkaŭ la sesa.
Bonvolu alveni antaŭ la oka, ĉar la pordoj fermiĝos ĝustatempe.
Please arrive before eight, because the doors will close on time.
Mi restos en la oficejo ĝis ĉirkaŭ la sesa.
I will stay at the office until around six.
Do not use bare accusative -n for a clock hour. Je la tria means “at three o’clock,” while la trian naturally suggests “on the third,” with an understood tagon. This deliberate contrast distinguishes clock time from a calendar date.
Twelve-hour and twenty-four-hour time
When context is enough, ordinary conversation can use hours one through twelve. Add a day-part adverb when needed: matene, antaŭtagmeze, posttagmeze, vespere, or nokte.
La kuracisto telefonos je la naŭa matene, ne je la naŭa vespere.
The doctor will call at nine in the morning, not at nine in the evening.
The more explicit phrases en la antaŭtagmezo and en la posttagmezo are also standard. The conventional abbreviations atm. and ptm. are possible in schedules, but 24-hour notation is often clearer for an international audience.
In the 24-hour system, the hour remains ordinal when spoken:
La lasta trajno ekveturas je la dudek-tria kaj kvindek.
The last train departs at 23:50.
Use tagmeze for noon and noktomeze for midnight when the boundary itself matters. In schedules, 12:00 and 00:00 are unambiguous only when the chosen notation is stated; words prevent confusion.
La registriĝo finiĝos noktomeze, do ne atendu ĝis la lasta minuto.
Registration will close at midnight, so don't wait until the last minute.
Digital notation and exact formatting
Numeric time normally uses a colon: 7:05, 14:30, 21:45. Inside a full sentence, the written digits do not normally require a preceding la:
La retkunveno komenciĝos je 18:05 laŭ la pariza horo.
The online meeting will begin at 18:05 Paris time.
When read aloud, expand 18:05 as la dek-oka kaj kvin or kvin minutoj post la dek-oka. Keep the leading zero in formal timetables when the house style requires fixed-width times, but do not pronounce it as part of the grammar.
Time zones and local-time labels belong after the time: je 16:00 UTC, laŭ la loka horo. In (formal) international notices, combining 24-hour time with an explicit zone is safer than adding a vague “morning” or “evening.”
Clock time is not duration
An ordinal hour locates an event; a cardinal measurement states how long it lasts:
La kunveno komenciĝos je la dua kaj daŭros du horojn.
The meeting will begin at two and last two hours.
Here je la dua is a point on the clock. Du horojn is measured duration, so the plural unit receives extent -n. English uses “two” in both places, which can hide this important Esperanto distinction.
Common Mistakes
Asking with a quantity question
❌ Kiom da horoj estas?
Incorrect for asking the current time — this asks how many hours there are.
✅ Kioma horo estas?
What time is it?
Using a cardinal for the hour
❌ Estas la tri kaj dek.
Incorrect — the named clock hour is ordinal.
✅ Estas la tria kaj dek.
It is 3:10.
Copying a national half-hour pattern
❌ Estas duono de la naŭa.
Incorrectly ambiguous — de does not say whether the half hour is before or after nine.
✅ Estas la oka kaj duono.
It is half past eight.
Using accusative for an event's clock time
❌ La koncerto komenciĝos la okan.
Incorrect for ‘at eight’; the bare accusative suggests the eighth day.
✅ La koncerto komenciĝos je la oka.
The concert will begin at eight.
Confusing time with duration
❌ La leciono daŭros la duan.
Incorrect for a duration of two hours — la duan is an ordinal expression.
✅ La leciono daŭros du horojn.
The lesson will last two hours.
Key Takeaways
Ask Kioma horo estas? and answer with la + ordinal hour. Add cardinal minutes, or relate them with post and antaŭ. Use je and other prepositions for the time of an event, never bare temporal -n for the clock hour. Keep clock position (je la dua) distinct from duration (du horojn), and use 24-hour notation plus a time zone when international precision matters.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Cardinal NumbersA1 — Use Esperanto cardinal numbers to count, quantify noun phrases, identify items, and read basic dates, times, measurements, and decimal notation.
- Ordinal NumbersA1 — Form and use Esperanto ordinal numbers for sequence, labels, dates, clock hours, and ranked noun phrases.
- FractionsA2 — Build exact fractions with the official suffix -on-, then use their noun, adjective, and adverb forms with quantities and units.
- Dates and YearsA2 — Form, inflect, write, and read Esperanto calendar dates and years without importing ambiguous English date order.
- Duration and FrequencyA2 — Express how long and how often events occur with measured accusatives, dum-phrases, recurring time expressions, and fojo-based forms.
- JeB1 — Use je for conventional clock-time, measure, body-part, and abstract relations when no more specific preposition expresses the intended role.