To tell the time in Dutch, say _Het is_ plus the time: _Het is drie uur_ means "It is three o'clock". The big surprise is _half_: it points forward to the next hour, so _half drie_ is 2:30, not 3:30. Around the half hour, Dutch counts from that half: _vijf voor half drie_ is 2:25 and _tien over half drie_ is 2:40.
The pattern
On the everyday clock, _half_ names the hour that is coming: _half drie_ is halfway to three. Minutes near the hour count from the hour, and minutes near the half usually count from the half.
- Ask: _Hoe laat is het?_ ("What time is it?")
- Whole hour: _Het is drie uur_ (3:00). For the other everyday times, you normally leave out _uur_.
- Quarters: _kwart over drie_ (3:15), _kwart voor drie_ (2:45).
- Near the hour: _tien over drie_ (3:10), _tien voor vier_ (3:50).
- Near the half: _tien voor half vier_ (3:20), _vijf voor half vier_ (3:25), _half vier_ (3:30), _vijf over half vier_ (3:35), _tien over half vier_ (3:40).
- Timetables and official texts: the 24-hour clock, written _14.30 uur_ and read as _veertien uur dertig_.
In daily speech, people usually round to five minutes. You will sometimes hear _twintig over drie_ for 3:20, but counting from the half is the usual way in the Netherlands. For the word _om_ before a time, see [Om, op, in: talking about time](#/lesson/time-prepositions).
Examples
| Hoe laat is het? Het is drie uur. | What time is it? It is three o'clock. |
|---|---|
| Mijn les begint om half drie. | My lesson starts at half past two. |
| De bus komt om kwart over vier. | The bus comes at a quarter past four. |
| Daan eet om kwart voor zeven. | Daan eats at a quarter to seven. |
| Het is tien over acht. | It is ten past eight. |
| Fatima heeft om vijf voor half elf een afspraak bij de huisarts. | Fatima has an appointment with the GP at twenty-five past ten. |
| Joris fietst om tien over half zes naar huis. | Joris cycles home at twenty to six. |
| Het is tien voor twaalf. | It is ten to twelve. |
| De trein naar Utrecht vertrekt om 14.32 uur. | The train to Utrecht leaves at 14:32. |
Why it works this way
Dutch looks ahead. At 2:30 you are on your way to three o'clock, so the time is _half drie_. German says "halb drei" in the same way. English, Spanish and Arabic do the opposite: they add the half to the hour that has passed, and in British English "half three" even means 3:30.
The half hour is a second landmark. Between twenty past and twenty to, the half is closer than the full hour, so you usually count from it.
Timetables, opening hours and letters from the _gemeente_ use the 24-hour clock because it leaves no doubt. In conversation, most people still say _om half drie_, adding _'s middags_ ("in the afternoon") when needed. If the number words are still new, see [Numbers: eenentwintig, not twenty-one](#/lesson/numbers).
Remember: read _half_ as "halfway to". _Half drie_ is halfway to three, _half acht_ is halfway to eight.
Watch out
- Not: _Ik kom om drie en een half._ Say: _Ik kom om half vier._ (for 3:30, say _half_ plus the coming hour)
- Not: _De les begint om half over zeven._ Say: _De les begint om half acht._ (_half_ goes straight before the coming hour, without _over_)
- Not: _De trein vertrekt op half drie._ Say: _De trein vertrekt om half drie._ ("at" before a clock time is _om_)
- Not: _Het is drie uren._ Say: _Het is drie uur._ (in clock times _uur_ stays singular)
Quick check
- It is 4:30. _Het is half ..._
- Choose the right word for 7:45: _Het is kwart over / voor acht._
- It is 9:25. _Het is vijf voor half ..._
- Fix the sentence (the film starts at 6:30, keep the word _half_): _De film begint om half over zes._
Answers
- _vijf_ (half looks ahead to the next hour)
- _voor_ (7:45 is a quarter before eight)
- _tien_ (9:25 is five minutes before _half tien_)
- _De film begint om half zeven._ (6:30 is halfway to seven)
Use it today
Every time you check your phone today, say the time out loud in Dutch, rounded to five minutes, for example _Het is tien voor half vier_. At the station or bus stop, read one 24-hour departure time and say it the everyday way too.