Wondering about the perfect response if someone asks you, “anong oras na?” Well, we 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 means that Filipinos tend to always be late by a minute or an hour than the standard time. This attitude came from the Spanish culture, known as ‘siesta time.’ But aside from the habit of being late, Filipinos also adopted the Spanish way of telling the time. Even today, the locals both use the Tagalog and the Spanish version interchangeably.
Below are examples of how Filipinos tell the time in Spanish and Tagalog.
Filipino Way Of Telling Time
Time | Filipino Language | English Language |
1:00 | ika-isa | one o’clock |
2:00 | ikalawa | two o’clock |
3:00 | ikatlo | three o’clock |
4:00 | ikaapat | four o’clock |
5:00 | ikalima | five o’clock |
6:00 | ika-anim | six o’clock |
7:00 | ika-pito | seven o’clock |
8:00 | ika-walo | eight o’clock |
9:00 | ika-siyam | nine o’clock |
10:00 | ika-sampu | ten o’clock |
11:00 | ika-labing-isa | eleven o’clock |
12:00 | ika-labing-dalawa | twelve o’clock |
Spanish Way Of Telling Time
Below are the examples of how Filipinos tell the time in the Spanish language:
Time | Spanish Language |
1:00 | ala-una |
2:00 | alas-dos |
3:00 | alas-tres |
4:00 | alas-kwatro |
5:00 | alas-singko |
6:00 | alas-sais |
7:00 | alas-siete |
8:00 | alas-otso |
9:00 | alas-nueve |
10:00 | alas-dies |
11:00 | alas-onse |
12:00 | alas-dose |
Telling The Time In Tagalog

Tagalog Language | English Language |
Anong oras na? | What time is it? |
Ala una na | It’s one o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang ala una | It’s quarter past one |
Ala una y media na | It’s half past one |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas dos | It’s quarter to two |
Alas dos na | It’s two o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas dos | It’s quarter past two |
Alas dos y media na | It’s half past two |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas tres | It’s quarter to three |
Alas tres na | It’s three o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas tres | It’s quarter past three |
Alas tres y media na | It’s half past three |
Labinlimang pa minuto bago mag-alas kwatro | It’s quarter to four |
Alas kwatro na | It’s four o’clock |
Labinlimang na minuto makalipas ang alas kwatro | It’s quarter past four |
Alas kwatro y media na | It’s half past four |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas singko | It’s quarter to five |
Alas singko na | It’s five o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas singko | It’s quarter past five |
Alas singko y media na | It’s half past five |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas sais | It’s quarter to six |
Alas sais na | It’s six o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas sais | It’s quarter past six |
Alas sais y media na | It’s half past six |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas siyete | It’s quarter to seven |
Alas siyete na | It’s seven o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas siyete | It’s quarter past seven |
Alas siyete y media na | It’s half past seven |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas ots | It’s quarter to eight |
Alas otso na | It’s eight o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas otso | It’s quarter past eight |
Alas otso y media na | It’s half past eight |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas nuwebe | It’s quarter to nine |
Alas nuwebe na ng gabi | It’s nine o’clock in the evening |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas nuwebe | It’s quarter past nine |
Alas nuwebe y media na | It’s half past nine |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas diyes | It’s quarter to ten |
Alas diyes na | It’s ten o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas diyes | It’s quarter past ten |
Alas diyes y media na | It’s half past ten |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas onse | It’s quarter to eleven |
Alas onse na | It’s eleven o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas onse | It’s quarter past eleven |
Alas onse y media na | It’s half past eleven |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-alas dose | It’s quarter to twelve |
Alas dose na | It’s twelve o’clock |
Labinlimang minuto na makalipas ang alas dose | It’s quarter past twelve |
Alas dose y media na | It’s half past twelve |
Labinlimang minuto pa bago mag-ala una | It’s quarter to one |
Hatinggabi na | It’s midnight |
Tanghali na | It’s midday |
ng umaga | in the morning |
ng hapon | in the afternoon |
ng gabi | in the evening |
Other Tagalog Vocabulary Related To Time

Tagalog Vocabulary | English Translation |
Umaga | Morning |
Tanghali | Noon |
High noon | Tanghaling tapat |
Hapon | Afternoon |
Gabi | Evening |
Hating-Gabi | Midnight |
Madaling-Araw | Middle of the night or Early morning |
Minuto | Minute |
Segundo | Seconds |
Ngayon | Now/Right now |
Ngayon o Ngayong Araw | Today |
Kahapon | Yesterday |
Bukas | Tomorrow |
Mamaya | Later |
Mayamaya | In A While |
Learn Tagalog Language With Ling App
I hope that these vocabularies about telling the time in the Tagalog language helped you expand your vocabulary. If your looking for other Tagalog topics to improve your vocabulary skills, here are other related blog posts that you can read and study: Common Tagalog Shapes, Words For Tagalog Cooking Utensils, and Tagalog Animal Names. These blog posts are available in one of the best language learning applications, the Ling App.
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