Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Hubo confusión sobre la hora de la cita, así que pedí una aclaración por mensaje. - There was confusion about the appointment time, so I asked for clarification by message.

In Hubo confusión sobre la hora de la cita, the speaker is treating the confusion as a specific incident that arose and was resolved (you asked for clarification and fixed it). So preterite hubo fits well.

If you said Había confusión sobre la hora de la cita, it would sound more like:

“There was (ongoing) confusion about the time of the appointment” — describing a background situation, without focusing on it as a single event that got cleared up.

So:

hubo confusión → there was confusion (it came up as an event)
había confusión → there was confusion (as an ongoing state, background)

Why is it hubo confusión and not hubo una confusión?

Both are possible:

Hubo confusión sobre la hora de la cita.
→ more general; confusión is treated like an uncountable abstract idea (there was confusion).
Hubo una confusión sobre la hora de la cita.
→ points more clearly to one specific mix‑up (there was a misunderstanding / a particular confusion).

In many cases with abstract nouns (like confusión, miedo, tensión, desorden), Spanish can drop the article when speaking in a general way. Adding una makes it feel more like a distinct incident.

Your original sentence, without una, sounds very natural and neutral.

What does sobre mean in sobre la hora de la cita? Could I use de or acerca de instead?

Here, sobre means “about / regarding / concerning”:

confusión sobre la hora de la cita
→ confusion about the time of the appointment

Alternatives:

confusión acerca de la hora de la cita
→ also correct; a bit more formal or “bookish.”
confusión de la hora de la cita
→ possible, but can sound slightly less clear; it may sound more like the hour itself is confusing.

In everyday speech in Latin America, sobre is very common for “about” in this sense:

hablar sobre un tema – to talk about a topic
dudas sobre el contrato – doubts about the contract

So sobre la hora de la cita is very natural.

Does cita mean an appointment or a romantic date?

Cita can mean both, depending on context:

Appointment (doctor, dentist, office, etc.):
- Tengo una cita con el médico a las 5.
  I have a doctor’s appointment at 5.
- Perdí mi cita en la embajada.
  I missed my appointment at the embassy.
Romantic date:
- Tengo una cita con alguien que conocí en línea.
  I have a date with someone I met online.

How do you know which one it is?

Context usually tells you.
If you want to be explicit, you can say:
- cita médica, cita con el dentista, cita de trabajo (appointment)
- cita romántica, cita amorosa (romantic date)

In your sentence, la hora de la cita most naturally sounds like an appointment time (doctor, office, etc.), unless the broader context makes it clearly romantic.

Why is it la hora de la cita and not something with tiempo, like el tiempo de la cita?

In Spanish:

hora is used for clock time / a specific hour:
- la hora de la cita – the time of the appointment
- ¿A qué hora es la cita? – At what time is the appointment?
tiempo is “time” in a more general sense:
- No tengo tiempo. – I don’t have time.
- Hace mucho tiempo. – A long time ago.
- El tiempo pasa rápido. – Time goes by fast.

So you use hora when you’re talking about the scheduled time of something.
El tiempo de la cita would sound strange or ambiguous here; la hora de la cita is the natural phrase.

What does así que do here? Is it the same as entonces or por eso?

Así que is a connector that introduces a consequence, similar to:

“so”
“therefore”
“as a result”

In your sentence:

Hubo confusión…, así que pedí una aclaración…
→ There was confusion…, so I asked for clarification…

Comparison:

así que – very common in speech, neutral, often like “so”:
- Estaba cansado, así que me fui a dormir.
entonces – can mean “then” (time) or “so” (conclusion). As a pure connector of consequence, así que or por eso usually sound more natural:
- Tenía hambre, entonces comí algo. (OK, but many speakers prefer así que or por eso.)
por eso – literally “because of that,” very clearly causal:
- Hubo confusión, por eso pedí una aclaración.

Your choice of así que here is very natural in Latin American Spanish.

Why is it pedí and not pregunté?

English uses “ask” for two different ideas:

Ask someone a question – preguntar
- Le pregunté la hora. – I asked him/her the time.
Ask someone for something – pedir
- Le pedí un favor. – I asked him/her for a favor.

In pedí una aclaración, you are asking for something (a clarification), not necessarily asking a single concrete question like “What time is it?”.

So:

pedir una aclaración = to request / ask for clarification (correct here)
preguntar would need a direct question or an indirect question:
- Pregunté cuál era la hora de la cita. – I asked what time the appointment was.

That’s why pedí una aclaración is the right verb choice.

What exactly is una aclaración? Is clarificación also possible?

Una aclaración is:

literally “a clarification”
very common and natural in everyday Spanish

It means an explanation that clears up doubt or confusion:

¿Me puedes hacer una aclaración? – Can you clarify this for me?
Gracias por la aclaración. – Thanks for the clarification.

About clarificación:

clarificación exists, but it is much less common in everyday speech.
It sounds more technical or formal, often in scientific or specialized contexts (e.g., “water clarification” in a treatment process).

For normal communication about misunderstandings, Latin American speakers overwhelmingly say:

aclarar algo – to clarify something
pedir / dar una aclaración – ask for / give a clarification

So una aclaración is the natural choice here.

Why is it por mensaje? Could I say por un mensaje, en un mensaje, or por mensaje de texto?

Por often introduces the means or medium used to do something:

por teléfono – by phone
por correo electrónico – by email
por mensaje – by message

That’s why pedí una aclaración por mensaje = “I asked for clarification by message.”

About the alternatives:

por un mensaje – “by a message”
- Grammatically correct.
- Focuses more on there being one specific message.
- Less common if you’re just describing the medium in general.
en un mensaje – “in a message”
- Also correct.
- Emphasizes that the request was contained inside a message:
  - Le pedí una aclaración en un mensaje que le mandé.
por mensaje de texto / por WhatsApp / por mensaje privado
- More specific: by text message, by WhatsApp, by private message.
- Very natural if you want to specify the type of message.

In the original sentence, por mensaje is a concise, natural way to say “by message” without specifying the exact app or type.

Is the comma before así que necessary?

You’re joining two independent clauses:

Hubo confusión sobre la hora de la cita
pedí una aclaración por mensaje

In Spanish, it is normal and recommended to use a comma before así que when it links two full clauses:

Hubo confusión…, así que pedí…

You can sometimes find it without a comma in informal writing, but the version with the comma is clearer and more standard.

So:
Hubo confusión sobre la hora de la cita, así que pedí una aclaración por mensaje. ✔️

Could the word order be Hubo confusión sobre la hora de la cita, así que por mensaje pedí una aclaración?

Yes, that order is grammatically correct:

Hubo confusión sobre la hora de la cita, así que por mensaje pedí una aclaración.

Differences in nuance:

…así que pedí una aclaración por mensaje.
→ Slightly more neutral; the focus is on what you did, and how you did it comes at the end.
…así que por mensaje pedí una aclaración.
→ Puts a bit more emphasis on por mensaje (the medium), as if contrasting it with other options (phone, in person, etc.).

Both are acceptable; your original ordering is more typical.

If the confusion was ongoing for a while, could I say Había confusión sobre la hora de la cita instead?

Yes, you could use había to highlight that the confusion is seen as an ongoing state rather than a single event.

For example:

Había confusión sobre la hora de la cita, así que pedí una aclaración por mensaje.

Nuance:

Hubo confusión…
→ A specific confusion arose (event‑like), and you dealt with it.
Había confusión…
→ There was confusion as an ongoing situation in the background, and at some point you decided to ask for clarification.

Both sentences are correct; it’s mainly a subtle difference in how you frame the situation in time.