son las doce
/son las doθe/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for "it is twelve o'clock" is son las doce.
This phrase is used to state that the current time is twelve o'clock. You can use the construction Son las… to express most hours in Spanish.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "they are the twelve". This reflects the Spanish grammatical structure where the plural verb son is used with the plural article las and the plural number doce.
Which one should you use?
Unlike English, which uses the singular "it is", Spanish uses the plural son to agree with the plural number twelve.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you want to specify that it is exactly twelve o'clock on the dot, you can add en punto to the end of the phrase to say Son las doce en punto.
How do you pronounce it?
/son las doθe/
Did you know?
- In some traditional Spanish celebrations, such as New Year's Eve, people eat twelve grapes exactly as it becomes las doce to bring good luck for each month of the coming year.
- The word doce is a linguistic hybrid inherited from the Latin duodecim, which literally combines the words for 'two' and 'ten'.
- If you are referring to noon specifically, you might switch the grammar entirely and say Es mediodía, using the singular 'es' instead of the plural 'son'.
Examples in context
- Mira el reloj, son las doce.Look at the clock, it is twelve o'clock.
- No te preocupes, ya son las doce.Don't worry, it is already twelve o'clock.
- Por fin, son las doce.Finally, it is twelve o'clock.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Lucía are waiting for their lunch break.
- Alejandro¿Sabes qué hora es?Do you know what time it is?
- LucíaSí, son las doce.Yes, it is twelve o'clock.
- Alejandro¡Perfecto! Es hora de comer.Perfect! It is time to eat.
- LucíaTengo mucha hambre.I am very hungry.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries doce, las, son, CC BY-SA 4.0.
