How to Say "Half Past" in Spanish

la una y media

/la una i medja/from spelling rules

In Spanish, "half past one" is expressed as la una y media.

Meaning: "half past one" as example of usage in other languages (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The part y media literally means "and half".

While media translates to "half", you cannot use la media on its own to mean "half past". You must use the structure of the hour followed by y media.

When the hour is plural (2 through 12), you must use the plural article las instead of the singular la used in la una y media.

When using media for time, you never use the word mitad, even though it also means 'half'. Mitad is used for parts of a whole, like 'half an apple', but not for the clock.
In many Spanish-speaking regions, people might actually skip the y media and simply say la una y treinta. While media is traditional, the use of treinta is increasingly common in digital or more modern contexts.
The term media is related to the English word 'median', both stemming from the same Latin root. They both describe something positioned in the middle.

Es la una y media.
It's half past one.
This sentence is useful for stating the current time using la una y media.
Tatoeba #8803545 by carlosalberto, translation #3550808 by adamtrousers
Vamos a quedar a las dos y treinta.
We are going to meet at half past two.
Son las cuatro y media.
It is half past four.
Empieza a las ocho y media de la noche.
It starts at half past eight at night.
Nos vemos a la una y media.
See you at half past one.
El tren sale a la una y media.
The train leaves at half past one.

Alejandro and Sofía are discussing their lunch plans.

Sources

Wiktionary, “half past” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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