las ocho y media
/las ot͡ʃo i medja/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'half past eight' is translated into Spanish as las ocho y media.
In some Latin American countries, you may also hear the phrase Son las ocho y treinta to say 'It's eight and thirty'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase las ocho y media literally translates to 'the eight and half'.
Which one should you use?
While las ocho y media is the most common way to say half past eight, las ocho y treinta (eight thirty) is also grammatically correct and is used in more formal or digital contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
You must use the feminine plural article las to agree with the plural hours. To specify the time of day, you can add phrases to the end: add de la mañana to specify 8:30 AM or add de la noche to specify 8:30 PM.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, if an event is scheduled for las ocho y media, arriving exactly at that time may be considered too early in social contexts.
- The word ocho shares a common ancestor with the English word 'eight', both tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *oḱtṓw.
- Spanish uses the feminine plural article las because it refers to the hidden word horas, meaning 'hours'.
Examples in context
- Son las ocho y media.It's half past eight.This sentence is useful for stating the current time using las ocho y media.Tatoeba #4636668 by AucaCoyan, translation #434820 by lukaszpp
- Dormiré hasta las ocho y media.I will sleep until it is half past eight.This sentence is useful for using las ocho y media to indicate a duration or end point of an action.Tatoeba #2764646 by Shishir, translation #2764651 by estambulista
- La escuela empieza a las ocho y media.School begins at half past eight.This sentence is useful for using las ocho y media to state when an event begins.Tatoeba #1287897 by enteka, translation #266224 by CK
- ¿A qué hora nos vemos? Las ocho y media está bien.What time should we meet? Half past eight is fine.
- ¿Llegarás tarde? No, estaré listo a las ocho y media.Will you be late? No, I'll be ready at half past eight.
- A las ocho y treinta.At half past eight.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are meeting at a cafe in the morning.
- Mateo¿A qué hora quedamos, Lucía?What time are we meeting, Lucía?
- LucíaPodemos vernos a las ocho y media.We can meet at half past eight.
- MateoPerfecto, estaré allí a esa hora.Perfect, I will be there at that time.
- LucíaVale, nos vemos entonces.Okay, see you then.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries las, media, ocho, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
