Scusi is the formal way to say "excuse me", used when talking to strangers, older people, or in professional settings. If you were asking a friend or someone your own age, you would use the informal Scusa.
Why is the sentence plural (ore sono) when in English we ask "what time is it"?
In Italian, you are literally asking "what hours are they?" (che ore sono?). Because ore (hours) is plural, you must use the plural verbsono (they are) instead of the singular è (it is).
Is it wrong to ask this in the singular, like "what hour is it"?
Not at all! You can absolutely say che ora è? (literally: "what hour is it?"). Both che ore sono? and che ora è? are perfectly correct and mean the exact same thing.
Why use che for "what" here instead of cosa?
When "what" is placed directly in front of a noun (like ore), Italian uses che. You usually use cosa or che cosa when "what" stands alone, like in cosa mangi? (what are you eating?).
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Italian grammar and vocabulary.