Hour in Vietnamese

In Vietnam, the concept of AM (Ante Meridiem) and PM (Post Meridiem) is not commonly used in daily life. Instead, Vietnam primarily uses the 24-hour clock system, especially in official documents, schedules, or public announcements.

In everyday conversations, Vietnamese people use the 12-hour system and add specific words to indicate the time of day:

Sáng: Morning (roughly 12:00 AM to 11:59 AM)

Chiều: Afternoon (roughly 12:00 PM to 5:59 PM)

Tối: Evening (roughly 6:00 PM to 11:59 PM)

Examples:

7:00 AM - 7 giờ sáng

3:00 PM - 3 giờ chiều

8:00 PM - 8 giờ tối

Though AM and PM aren't officially used, many Vietnamese people understand these terms, especially when dealing with devices or documents that follow the 12-hour format.

In general, when telling time in Vietnamese, you can simply say "9 giờ" (9:00), "2 giờ" (2:00), or "5 giờ 30" (5:30) without specifying whether it's morning, afternoon, or evening. Context, such as whether it's light or dark outside, helps the listener understand which part of the day you're referring to.

Here are common ways to express time in Vietnamese:

Exact Hours:

Nine o'clock - 9 giờ (9:00)

Two o'clock - 2 giờ (2:00)

Five thirty - 5 giờ 30 (5:30) or Five and a half - 5 rưỡi (5:30)

Seven ten - 7 giờ 10 (7:10)

Minutes to (Giờ kém):

In Vietnamese, "kém" is used to express time approaching the next hour, similar to "quarter to" or "minutes to" in English.

Quarter to nine - 9 giờ kém 15 (8:45)

Ten to two - 2 giờ kém 10 (1:50)

Five to five - 5 giờ kém 5 (4:55)

Half past six - 7 giờ kém 30 (6:30)

*Basic Vocabulary

• Hour: Giờ
(Example: A day has 24 hours - Một ngày có 24 giờ)
• Minute: Phút
(Example: It’s 2:55 - Bây giờ là 3 giờ kém 5 phút)
• Second: Giây
(Example: The stopwatch shows 10 seconds - Đồng hồ bấm giờ hiển thị 10 giây)

• O'clock: Giờ
(Example: It’s exactly 7 o'clock - Bây giờ là 7 giờ đúng)

• Quarter: Một phần tư (15 minutes)
(Example: 9:15 - 9 giờ 15 phút)
• Half: Nửa giờ (30 minutes)
(Example: 10:30 - 10 giờ 30 phút)

*Expressions for Time

• Past: Hơn (used for times after the hour)

(Example: 6:10 - 6 giờ 10 phút)

• To: Kém (used for times before the next hour)

(Example: 6:55 - 7 giờ kém 5 phút)

• Midnight: Nửa đêm

(Example: I usually go to bed at midnight - Tôi thường đi ngủ lúc nửa đêm)

• Midday / Noon: Buổi trưa

(Example: Lunch is at 12 noon - Bữa trưa vào lúc 12 giờ trưa)

*Common Phrases Related to Time

• Set the clock: Chỉnh đồng hồ

• Check the time: Xem giờ

• Time zone: Múi giờ

• Daylight saving time: Giờ tiết kiệm ánh sáng ban ngày

• At the stroke of midnight: Đúng lúc nửa đêm

*Time-Telling Devices

• Clock: Đồng hồ treo tường

• Watch: Đồng hồ đeo tay

• Alarm clock: Đồng hồ báo thức

• Timer: Đồng hồ hẹn giờ

• Stopwatch: Đồng hồ bấm giờ

*Exact Time (O'clock)

Used when the time is exactly on the hour, with no minutes mentioned.

Examples:

• It’s 7 o’clock - Bây giờ là 7 giờ đúng)

• It’s 12 o’clock - Bây giờ là 12 giờ đúng)

*Minutes Past the Hour (Past)

Used to express the number of minutes past the current hour.

Examples:

• It’s ten past three - Bây giờ là 3 giờ 10 phút

• It’s twenty past nine - Bây giờ là 9 giờ 20 phút

*Minutes to the Hour (To)

Used to express the number of minutes before the upcoming hour.

Examples:

• It’s ten to five - Bây giờ là 5 giờ kém 10 phút

• It’s five to seven - Bây giờ là 7 giờ kém 5 phút

*Half Past the Hour (Half past)

Used to express half an hour past the current hour.

Examples:

• It’s half past four - Bây giờ là 4 giờ 30 phút

• It’s half past eleven - Bây giờ là 11 giờ 30 phút

*Quarter of an Hour (Quarter)

• Quarter past: Used to express 15 minutes past the hour.

Examples:

It’s quarter past two - Bây giờ là 2 giờ 15 phút

• Quarter to: Used to express 15 minutes before the upcoming hour.

Examples:

It’s quarter to eight - Bây giờ là 8 giờ kém 15 phút

*24-Hour Clock (Military Time)

Used in military, aviation, or official schedules.

Examples:

• 14:00 - It’s two p.m - 2 giờ chiều

• 22:30 - It’s ten thirty p.m - 10 giờ 30 tối

*Other Time Expressions

• Noon: 12:00 PM - 12 giờ trưa

Example: It’s noon.

• Midnight: 12:00 AM - 12 giờ đêm

Example: It’s midnight.

• In the morning: From midnight to noon (0:00 - 12:00)

Example: It’s 9 in the morning - 9 giờ sáng

• In the afternoon: From noon to evening (12:00 - 18:00)

Example: It’s 3 in the afternoon - 3 giờ chiều

• In the evening: From evening to night (18:00 - 21:00)

Example: It’s 7 in the evening - 7 giờ tối

• At night: From night onwards (21:00 and later)

Example: It’s 11 at night - 11 giờ đêm