How to Tell the Time In Italian

Telling the time in Italian follows a straightforward structure, but there are a few key differences from English.

I'll cover these below.

Che ore sono?

This is the most common way to ask, "What time is it?" You're literally asking, "what are the hours?"

To respond, you start with "Sono le..." (They are the...) for most hours, except for one o'clock, which is singular rather than plural, so you say "È l'una."

Hours and minutes

Telling full hours

  • È l'una. → It is 1:00.
  • Sono le due. → It is 2:00.
  • Sono le tre. → It is 3:00.
  • Sono le quattro. → It is 4:00.

Italian uses the 24-hour clock more commonly than English, especially for formal situations like train schedules and business hours.

This means that:

  • 14:00 is "Sono le quattordici." (It’s 2:00 PM)
  • 21:00 is "Sono le ventuno." (It’s 9:00 PM)

For times from 1:00 to 12:00, the context or using di mattina (in the morning), di pomeriggio (in the afternoon), di sera (in the evening), or di notte (at night) clarifies AM versus PM.

Telling minutes

To tell the time with minutes, Italian follows a similar pattern to English:

  • Sono le due e dieci. → It is 2:10.
  • Sono le cinque e quindici. → It is 5:15.
  • Sono le sette e trenta. → It is 7:30.

For times past 30 minutes, Italians often start referencing the next hour:

  • Sono le sette meno venti. → It is 6:40. (Literally, "It is 20 minutes to 7.")
  • Sono le otto meno un quarto. → It is 7:45. ("A quarter to 8.")

You can also say:

  • Mezzogiorno (noon)
  • Mezzanotte (midnight)

Useful time phrases

  • Che ore sono? – What time is it?
  • A che ora? – At what time?
  • Alle... – At... (used to specify time in response)
    • Example: Alle tre. (At 3:00)
  • Di mattina – In the morning
  • Di pomeriggio – In the afternoon
  • Di sera – In the evening
  • Di notte – At night