Questions & Answers about Het is twee uur.
Does uur mean "o'clock" or "hour"?
It means both! In this sentence, it translates to "o'clock". Dutch uses uur for whole hours on the clock, but it is also the standard word for a literal "hour" of time.
Why isn't uur plural since the number is two?
When telling the time or measuring a number of hours, Dutch keeps the word uur in its singular form. You will always say twee uur rather than twee uren.
Can I drop uur and just say Het is twee, like we say "It's two" in English?
No, in Dutch you should include uur when stating the exact hour. Saying just Het is twee sounds incomplete when telling the time.
Is Het is the standard way to introduce the time?
Yes! Just like in English, Dutch uses the neutral phrase Het is (It is) to talk about the time, the weather, and other general situations.