"a las 15.00 horas"

[Manuel]

I read this on a Spanish website "a las 15.00 horas". How would you say this in Spanish?

"A las quince horas" or "a las tres horas"?

Thanks in advance!

Manuel

[Julvenzor]

Originally Posted by Manuel

I read this on a Spanish website "a las 15.00 horas". How would you say this in Spanish?

"A las quince horas" or "a las tres horas" ?

Thanks in advance!

Manuel

A las quince horas (en formato 24 horas)
A las tres de la tarde (en formato 12 horas)

Un saludo cordial.

[Manuel]

Muchas gracias por la respuesta tan pronta!

[Glen]

I've always liked the 24-hour format for its simplicity. Somewhere I heard it can be written that way but not spoken. Is that right? If so, it's different from English, at least in the military where one commonly hears fifteen hundred instead of three in the afternoon. I myself would like to start saying, for example, a las trece horas rather than a la una de la tarde if that's generally understandable. What do you think?

[Julvenzor]

Hi Glen,

As you know, the 24-hour format or "military" is uncommon in spoken English; where frequently AM and PM are preferred. In Spanish, we also prefer "X de la mañana", "Y de la tarde", "Z de la noche" instead of "a las quince horas". I think the main difference between languages is just "visual". All of you use digital systems with AM and PM (for example: a laptop showing 3:00 AM); whereas we always have them in 24-hour format (15:00) and, mentally, convert the hour into AM and PM upon speaking.

A pleasure.

[Glen]

Right you are, Julvenzor, that it's uncommon outside military circles - and perhaps the BBC, where I hear such things as Twenty three hours, Coordinated Universal Time following the series of high-pitched beeps. Nevertheless, as a former soldier I still like it and wish it could gain wider acceptance in both languages!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

There's an answer already, but I'd like to add that a Mexican using 24 hours format in daily speech can be mocked, so it's safer not to use it if it's not formal writing or a media announcement:


- Invitamos al público en general a la asamblea a las 16:30 horas (read "a las dieciséis treinta horas").
- La reunión se llevará a cabo a las 18:00 hrs. (read "a las dieciocho horas").
- Tome sus precauciones, la avenida estará cerrada de las 10:00 a las 14:30 horas (read "de las diez a las catorce treinta horas").


You don't say your friends: "Te veo a las catorce horas con treinta en la cafetería", or "vamos a la fiesta, paso por ti a las veinte horas".
It's preferred to say "te veo a las dos y media" or "paso por ti a las ocho".