Time is one of the first things you need to talk about in any language — asking what time it is, arranging to meet, describing when something happened. Portuguese handles time with a set of small but high-stakes constructions: the clock uses é for one o'clock and são for the rest; at + time corresponds to às; and there is a rich vocabulary of time-of-day expressions (à noitinha, à tardinha, madrugada) that English simply does not have. This page covers everything you need to tell time, describe schedules, and navigate the rhythm of the Portuguese day.
Clock time
To ask the time, use Que horas são? — literally "What hours are they?" Portuguese puts the time in the plural because most hours are plural (são duas horas, são três). The single exception is one o'clock, which is singular.
Que horas são?
What time is it?
É uma hora em ponto.
It's one o'clock sharp.
São três e meia, ainda temos tempo.
It's half past three, we still have time.
É meio-dia, está quase na hora de almoço.
It's midday, it's almost lunchtime.
É meia-noite em ponto.
It's midnight exactly.
Note the important split: one o'clock is singular (é uma hora), everything else is plural (são duas, são três, são quatro). Meio-dia and meia-noite are also singular — they agree with their implied "midday hour" and "midnight hour".
Minutes past, minutes to
For telling minutes past or before the hour, Portuguese uses e (and) for "past" and para (to) or menos for "to".
São dez e vinte.
It's twenty past ten.
São cinco para as dez.
It's five to ten.
É um quarto para as três.
It's a quarter to three.
Falta um quarto para as três.
It's a quarter to three. (lit. there is a quarter missing to three)
São três menos dez.
It's ten to three. (alternative, slightly old-fashioned)
São três e um quarto.
It's a quarter past three.
The construction falta X para as Y — literally "X is missing to Y" — is very common in Portugal, especially in casual speech. Faltam dez minutos para as três means "it's ten to three", with the subject being dez minutos (hence faltam plural).
The 24-hour clock
In formal contexts — schedules, transport timetables, official announcements — European Portuguese uses the 24-hour clock. In casual speech, 12-hour is more common, with da manhã (in the morning), da tarde (in the afternoon), or da noite (at night) to disambiguate.
O comboio parte às quinze horas e trinta.
The train leaves at 15:30.
A reunião é às catorze.
The meeting is at 14:00 (= 2 PM).
Às oito da manhã começo a trabalhar.
At 8 AM I start working.
Jantamos às nove da noite.
We have dinner at 9 PM.
Notice how "at X" + time becomes "às X" — the contraction of a + as (the feminine plural article that agrees with the implied horas). For one o'clock, you say à uma (contraction of a + a). This is one of the most useful prepositional contractions in Portuguese.
Começamos à uma em ponto.
We start at one sharp.
Chega às duas da tarde.
He arrives at two in the afternoon.
General time words
The vocabulary of general time — now, today, yesterday, next week — is high-frequency and worth memorizing as a block.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| agora | now |
| neste momento | at this moment |
| hoje | today |
| ontem | yesterday |
| amanhã | tomorrow |
| anteontem / antes de ontem | the day before yesterday |
| depois de amanhã | the day after tomorrow |
| na semana passada | last week |
| na próxima semana | next week |
| este mês / este ano | this month / this year |
| naquele tempo / naquela altura | back then, at that time |
| por agora / por enquanto | for now |
| até já | see you in a bit |
| daqui a bocado | in a little while |
| daqui a um minuto | in a minute |
| em breve | soon |
| dentro em pouco | before long |
Estou a caminho, chego daqui a bocado.
I'm on my way, I'll be there in a little while.
Naquela altura, ainda vivia no Porto.
Back then, I still lived in Porto.
Por enquanto, não preciso de nada.
For now, I don't need anything.
The phrase daqui a — literally "from here to" — is the standard way to say "in X minutes/hours/days". Daqui a bocado (in a bit), daqui a uma hora (in an hour), daqui a dois dias (in two days).
Frequency
Sempre gostei de café forte.
I've always liked strong coffee.
Nunca fui ao Brasil, mas adorava ir.
I've never been to Brazil, but I'd love to go.
Frequentemente almoço no trabalho.
I frequently have lunch at work.
Às vezes apetece-me comer algo doce.
Sometimes I feel like eating something sweet.
De vez em quando vou ao cinema.
Every now and then I go to the cinema.
Raramente vejo televisão.
I rarely watch TV.
Quase nunca bebo álcool.
I almost never drink alcohol.
Vou ao ginásio todos os dias.
I go to the gym every day.
O médico recebe de dois em dois dias.
The doctor sees patients every other day.
Note apetece-me in the third example. Portuguese uses the verb apetecer (to feel like, to have an urge) with an indirect object pronoun. Apetece-me X = "X appeals to me" = "I feel like X". This is a key construction for talking about wishes and cravings — there is no close English equivalent.
Duration
Portuguese has distinct words for durations that English handles with a single preposition. Há (there is/ago), durante (during/for), desde (since), até (until), entre (between) — each with its own structural rules.
Há uma hora que espero pelo autocarro.
I've been waiting for the bus for an hour.
Estou aqui há duas horas, onde é que andas?
I've been here for two hours, where are you?
Falta uma hora para o filme começar.
There's an hour left before the film starts.
Estive lá durante toda a manhã.
I was there the whole morning.
Passei o dia a trabalhar, estou estafada.
I spent the day working, I'm exhausted.
Desde as oito da manhã que estou aqui.
I've been here since 8 AM.
Trabalho até às cinco, depois estou livre.
I work until five, after that I'm free.
A consulta é entre as duas e as quatro.
The appointment is between two and four.
The construction há X que + indicative ("X ago since ...") is one of the most useful in Portuguese. Há dois anos que moro aqui = "I've lived here for two years". Note the indicative — not the subjunctive — because you are stating a fact about duration.
Dates and months
Hoje é dia dez.
Today is the tenth.
Estamos em abril.
It's April. (lit. we are in April)
O casamento é no dia quinze de março.
The wedding is on March 15th.
Nasci em mil novecentos e noventa.
I was born in 1990.
Estamos em dois mil e vinte e seis.
It's 2026.
No século XXI, tudo mudou.
In the 21st century, everything changed.
Na primavera, as amendoeiras florescem.
In spring, the almond trees bloom.
No verão, vamos sempre ao Algarve.
In summer, we always go to the Algarve.
O outono é a minha estação preferida.
Autumn is my favorite season.
No inverno chove muito no Norte.
In winter it rains a lot in the North.
Note the preposition pattern: em + month/year (em abril, em dois mil e vinte), no + season (no verão, no inverno), no dia + number for specific dates (no dia quinze). Portuguese months are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.
PT-PT time-of-day expressions
European Portuguese has a beautiful set of time-of-day expressions that describe the edges of the day — the moment the sun comes up, the time just before sunset, the small hours of the night. These are worth learning because they are heard constantly and have no direct English equivalent.
| Portuguese | English approximation | When |
|---|---|---|
| a madrugada | the wee hours | roughly 1 AM – dawn |
| de madrugada | in the early morning hours | 2 AM – 5 AM |
| ao amanhecer | at dawn | sunrise |
| de manhã | in the morning | 6 AM – noon |
| ao meio-dia | at midday | 12 PM |
| com o sol a pino | with the sun overhead | around noon, sun at its peak |
| à tarde | in the afternoon | noon – 7 PM |
| à tardinha | in the late afternoon | roughly 5 – 7 PM |
| ao fim da tarde | at the end of the afternoon | 6 – 8 PM |
| à beira da noite | at the edge of night | just before dark |
| à noitinha | in the early evening | 7 – 9 PM |
| à noite | at night | after dark |
| passada a meia-noite / pela meia-noite | past midnight / around midnight | after 12 AM |
Gosto de passear à tardinha, quando o sol está baixo.
I like to take a walk in the late afternoon, when the sun is low.
À noitinha costumamos jantar em família.
In the early evening we usually have dinner as a family.
Cheguei a casa de madrugada, estava morto de cansaço.
I got home in the wee hours, I was dead tired.
Vamos estar a trabalhar até passar da meia-noite.
We're going to be working until past midnight.
Note the diminutive pattern — tardinha, noitinha. The -inha ending softens the noun and typically refers to the gentle, transitional version of the time of day. À tardinha is not simply "in the afternoon" but specifically the late afternoon, with the gentle light of the day winding down. This kind of affective morphology is a hallmark of European Portuguese.
Idioms for being late or out of time
Fui às tantas para casa, nem me apercebi da hora.
I went home very late, I didn't even notice the time.
Não há tempo a perder, temos de despachar-nos.
There's no time to waste, we have to hurry.
Está quase na hora, vamos embora.
It's almost time, let's go.
É sempre a andar, não paro um segundo.
It's nonstop, I don't stop for a second.
O dia foi-se abaixo sem eu ver.
The day ran out on me before I noticed.
Ir às tantas — literally "to go to the so-manys" — is a uniquely Portuguese way of saying "very late", when the hour is so late you have lost track. The phrase é sempre a andar ("it's always walking") is another idiomatic favorite, describing a life or a day that never slows down.
Telling time at a specific point in the past
Eram sete horas quando chegaste.
It was seven o'clock when you arrived.
São dez horas em ponto, vamos começar.
It's ten o'clock sharp, let's start.
Falta pouco para as sete.
It's almost seven. (lit. there's little missing to seven)
Já passava da meia-noite quando saímos.
It was already past midnight when we left.
Note the past-tense telling of time: Eram sete horas (imperfect plural for past time), and era uma hora (imperfect singular for one o'clock in the past). The imperfect is used because you are describing a state — the fact that it was a certain hour — not an action.
Common mistakes
❌ É duas horas.
Incorrect — two o'clock is plural, so use *são*.
✅ São duas horas.
It's two o'clock.
❌ São uma hora.
Incorrect — one o'clock is singular, so use *é*.
✅ É uma hora.
It's one o'clock.
❌ Chego em dez minutos.
Incorrect — 'in ten minutes' from now uses *daqui a*, not *em*.
✅ Chego daqui a dez minutos.
I'll be there in ten minutes.
❌ Vivo aqui por cinco anos.
Incorrect — ongoing durations use *há*, not *por*.
✅ Vivo aqui há cinco anos.
I've lived here for five years.
❌ Em três horas.
Incorrect as a translation for 'at three o'clock' — use *às*.
✅ Às três horas.
At three o'clock.
❌ No segunda-feira.
Incorrect — days of the week take *à/na* (feminine), not *no*.
✅ Na segunda-feira / À segunda-feira.
On Monday. / On Mondays.
Key takeaways
Related Topics
- Prepositions of Time: em, a, de, para, por, desde, até, duranteA2 — How Portuguese uses em, a, de, para, por, desde, até, durante, and há to mark points, durations, starting points, endpoints, and frequencies in time.
- Weather ExpressionsA1 — Talking about the weather in European Portuguese — the three grammatical frames (estar a, fazer, estar), temperature, forecasts, and why Portuguese has no dummy 'it' subject.
- The Preposition atéA2 — Uses of the preposition até — spatial up to, temporal until, the emphatic even, and the PT-PT até ao construction.
- The Preposition desdeA2 — Uses of the preposition desde — since, from a starting point, and the desde que construction with indicative and subjunctive.