Learn Turkish: Saat tam dokuz. - It is exactly nine o'clock.

In simple Turkish sentences, the 'to be' verb is often invisible. You don't need a word for 'It' or 'is'. Just saying Saat tam dokuz perfectly translates to 'It is exactly nine o'clock.'

Does saat mean 'clock', 'hour', or 'time'?

It means all of them! Context tells you which one it is. When placed before a number to tell the time, like saat dokuz, it works exactly like 'o'clock' in English.

Is tam required to tell the time?

No, you can just say Saat dokuz to mean 'It is nine o'clock.' Adding tam (which means 'exact' or 'full') just emphasizes that it is nine o'clock on the dot.

What if I want to say 'It is exactly half past nine'? Where does tam go?

The word tam stays right before the number phrase it modifies. You would say Saat tam dokuz buçuk.