Telling the time in Greek
Τι ώρα είναι; What time is it? The answer is a number, but not quite the counting number: η ώρα is feminine, so one, three and four o'clock change.
The hours
| Time | Greek | Say it | Counting form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | Είναι μία. | EE-ne MEE-a | counting: ένα |
| 2:00 | Είναι δύο. | EE-ne THEE-o | the same |
| 3:00 | Είναι τρεις. | EE-ne TREES | counting: τρία |
| 4:00 | Είναι τέσσερις. | EE-ne TE-se-rees | counting: τέσσερα |
| 5:00 | Είναι πέντε. | EE-ne PEN-de | the same |
| 6:00 | Είναι έξι. | EE-ne E-ksee | the same |
| 7:00 | Είναι εφτά. | EE-ne ef-TA | the same |
| 8:00 | Είναι οχτώ. | EE-ne okh-TO | the same |
| 9:00 | Είναι εννιά. | EE-ne e-NYA | the same |
| 10:00 | Είναι δέκα. | EE-ne THE-ka | the same |
| 11:00 | Είναι έντεκα. | EE-ne EN-de-ka | the same |
| 12:00 | Είναι δώδεκα. | EE-ne THO-the-ka | the same |
Minutes: και and παρά
Up to half past, add the minutes with και (and); after half past, count down to the next hour with παρά (less). A quarter is τέταρτο and half is μισή. Here is three o'clock in five-minute steps:
| Time | Greek | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | τρεις | three |
| 3:05 | τρεις και πέντε | three and five |
| 3:10 | τρεις και δέκα | three and ten |
| 3:15 | τρεις και τέταρτο | three and a quarter |
| 3:20 | τρεις και είκοσι | three and twenty |
| 3:25 | τρεις και είκοσι πέντε | three and twenty-five |
| 3:30 | τρεις και μισή | three and a half |
| 3:35 | τέσσερις παρά είκοσι πέντε | four less twenty-five |
| 3:40 | τέσσερις παρά είκοσι | four less twenty |
| 3:45 | τέσσερις παρά τέταρτο | four less a quarter |
| 3:50 | τέσσερις παρά δέκα | four less ten |
| 3:55 | τέσσερις παρά πέντε | four less five |
At a time: στις and στη
“At” is στις, the plural article, for every hour except one, which takes the singular στη: στη μία, στις τρεις και μισή, στις έντεκα το πρωί (the last is the dictionary's own example).
The 24-hour clock
Timetables, ferries and the news read times on the 24-hour clock as plain numbers, still feminine: δεκατέσσερις και τριάντα for 14:30, είκοσι μία for 21:00, δεκατρείς for 13:00. Written times use a colon or a point: 14:30 or 14.30.
Questions teachers and learners ask
How do you ask what time it is in Greek?
Τι ώρα είναι; (tee O-ra EE-ne). The answer starts with Είναι, it is, followed by the hour: Είναι τρεις, it is three o’clock. To ask when something happens, say Τι ώρα; and answer with στις: στις τρεις, at three; for one o’clock, στη μία.
Why is it τρεις and not τρία when telling the time?
Because the word for hour, η ώρα, is feminine, and the hour agrees with it even when ώρα is left unsaid. So one, three and four o’clock are μία, τρεις and τέσσερις, and half past is και μισή, the feminine of half. The other hours look the same as the counting forms.
How do you say quarter past and half past in Greek?
και τέταρτο for quarter past (and a quarter), και μισή for half past (and a half), and παρά τέταρτο for quarter to (less a quarter). So 3:15 is τρεις και τέταρτο, 3:30 τρεις και μισή and 3:45 τέσσερις παρά τέταρτο.
Does Greece use the 24-hour clock?
For timetables, announcements and official times, yes, read as plain numbers with the feminine hours: 14:30 is δεκατέσσερις και τριάντα, an example given in the Triantafyllidis dictionary. In conversation people mostly use the 12-hour clock with το πρωί (in the morning), το μεσημέρι (at midday), το απόγευμα (in the afternoon) or το βράδυ (in the evening).
Sources: Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής (Triantafyllidis Foundation), entries δεκατέσσερις (“Ώρα Ελλάδος δεκατέσσερις. H ώρα είναι δεκατέσσερις και τριάντα”) and έντεκα (“Στις έντεκα το πρωί”); Holton, Mackridge, Philippaki-Warburton and Spyropoulos, Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar (2nd ed., 2012), on agreement of the numerals with ώρα.