#1 Best Guide For Telling The Time In Tagalog

telling the time in Tagalog - A photo of a man with a clock beside him

Wondering about the perfect response in Tagalog if someone asks you, “Anong oras na?” Well, we’ve got you covered! In this post, we will discuss the concept of telling the time in Tagalog and how you can easily do it using simple Tagalog words. If you are ready for that, then let’s get the ball rolling!

Time In The Philippines: An Overview

In the Philippines, time is crucial, but they have this ‘Filipino time,’ which is a surprising culture. This often means that some Filipinos might be late by a few minutes or even an hour compared to the scheduled time.

Some believe this attitude has roots in the Spanish colonial period, though it’s not directly related to the ‘siesta time’ observed in Spain. But aside from the habit of being late, Filipinos also adopted the Spanish way of telling the time. Even today, the locals use Tagalog and Spanish versions interchangeably.

Filipino Way Of Telling Time

Below are examples of how Filipinos tell the time in Spanish and Tagalog.

Time In EnglishTagalog
1:00 (one o’clock)ika-isa
2:00 (two o’clock)ika-dalawa
3:00 (three o’clock)ika-tatlo
4:00 (four o’clock)ika-apat
5:00 (five o’clock)ika-lima
6:00 (six o’clock)ika-anim
7:00 (seven o’clock)ika-pito
8:00 (eight o’clock)ika-walo
9:00 (nine o’clock)ika-siyam
10:00 (ten o’clock)ika-sampu
11:00 (eleven o’clock)ika-labing-isa
12:00 (twelve o’clock)ika-labing-dalawa

Spanish Way Of Telling Time

Below are the examples of how Filipinos tell the time in the Spanish language:

Time In EnglishSpanish
1:00 (one o’clock)ala-una
2:00 (two o’clock)alas-dos
3:00 (three o’clock)alas-tres
4:00 (four o’clock)alas-kwatro
5:00 (five o’clock)alas-singko
6:00 (six o’clock)alas-sais
7:00 (seven o’clock)alas-siete
8:00 (eight o’clock)alas-otso
9:00 (nine o’clock)alas-nueve
10:00 (ten o’clock)alas-dies
11:00 (eleven o’clock)alas-onse
12:00 (twelve o’clock)alas-dose

Telling The Time In Tagalog

When you’re in the Philippines, knowing how to talk about time is important. The table below will show you the Tagalog words for hours and minutes so you can fit right in!

EnglishTagalog
What time is it?Anong oras na?
It’s one o’clockAla una na
It’s quarter past oneLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang ala una
It’s half past oneAla una y media na
It’s quarter to twoLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas dos
It’s two o’clockAlas dos na
It’s quarter past twoLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas dos
It’s half past twoAlas dos y media na
It’s quarter to threeLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas tres
It’s three o’clockAlas tres na
It’s quarter past threeLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas tres
It’s half past threeAlas tres y media na
It’s quarter to fourLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas kwatro
It’s four o’clockAlas kwatro na
It’s quarter past fourLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas kwatro
It’s half past fourAlas kwatro y media na
It’s quarter to fiveLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas singko
It’s five o’clockAlas singko na
It’s quarter past fiveLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas singko
It’s half past fiveAlas singko y media na
It’s quarter to sixLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas sais
It’s six o’clockAlas sais na
It’s quarter past sixLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas sais
It’s half past sixAlas sais y media na
It’s quarter to sevenLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas siyete
It’s seven o’clockAlas siyete na
It’s quarter past sevenLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas siyete
It’s half past sevenAlas siyete y media na
It’s quarter to eightLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas otso
It’s eight o’clockAlas otso na
It’s quarter past eightLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas otso
It’s half past eightAlas otso y media na
It’s quarter to nineLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas nueve
It’s nine o’clock in the eveningAlas nueve na ng gabi
It’s quarter past nineLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas nueve
It’s half past nineAlas nueve y media na
It’s quarter to tenLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas diyes
It’s ten o’clockAlas diyes na
It’s quarter past tenLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas diyes
It’s half past tenAlas diyes y media na
It’s quarter to elevenLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas onse
It’s eleven o’clockAlas onse na
It’s quarter past elevenLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas onse
It’s half past elevenAlas onse y media na
It’s quarter to twelveLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas dose
It’s twelve o’clockAlas dose na
It’s quarter past twelveLabinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas dose
It’s half past twelveAlas dose y media na
It’s quarter to oneLabinlimang minuto pa bago mag-ala una
It’s midnightHatinggabi na
It’s middayTanghali na
in the morningng umaga
in the afternoonng hapon
in the eveningng gabi

Did you notice something? Yes, “y media” is a way Filipinos say “half past” in Tagalog. It comes from Spanish because of their history with Spain. Many people in the Philippines, young and old, use “y media” daily.

There’s another way to say it: “kalahating oras pagkatapos ng [hour],” which means “half an hour after [hour].” This way is more formal. But in everyday talk, most people just say “y media” when telling the time in Tagalog. So, if you hear both, now you know they mean the same thing.

telling the time in Tagalog - A photo of a man and a woman looking at the woman's wrist watch

Other Tagalog Vocabulary Related To Time

Time is a constant topic in daily conversations, no matter where you are. In the Philippines, there are specific Tagalog words that help describe different times of the day and related concepts. Here’s a list to expand your Tagalog vocabulary and help you discuss time more fluently in Tagalog.

EnglishTagalog
MorningUmaga
NoonTanghali
High noonTanghaling tapat
AfternoonHapon
EveningGabi
MidnightHating-gabi
Middle of the night/Early morningMadaling-araw
MinuteMinuto
SecondsSegundo
Now/Right nowNgayon
TodayNgayon o ngayong araw
YesterdayKahapon
TomorrowBukas
LaterMamaya
In a WhileMayamaya

With this list in hand, you’re well-equipped to discuss time in Tagalog. These words are essential for daily conversations in the Philippines. So, practice them regularly, and you’ll find yourself blending in seamlessly with native speakers in no time!

telling the time in Tagalog - A photo of girl friends pointing their fingers to a phone

Learn The Tagalog Language With The Ling App!

I hope these vocabularies about telling the time in Tagalog helped you expand your vocabulary. If you’re looking for other Tagalog topics to improve your vocabulary skills, you may visit Ling’s articles about the Tagalog language.

But wait, do you know what is the Ling app? Well, the Ling app is a user-friendly language learning application suitable for every language level (beginner, intermediate, and advanced level).

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In addition, the Ling app offers 60+ foreign languages so learners can choose which language they want to master and learn. Aside from that, blogposts about their target language and honest reviews related to other language learning applications are on deck here.

Are you excited to try this app now? Download the Ling app from the App Store and Google Play today and start a new way of learning your target language! See you there!

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