mediodía
/medjoˈdia/
In Spanish, the phrase for middle of the day is mediodía.
mediodía refers to the time of day when the sun is at its highest point, typically around twelve o'clock. To say "at noon" or "at midday", use the prepositional phrase al mediodía. In a relaxed or informal context, you might hear the phrase A eso del mediodía to mean "around noon".
What does it mean word for word?
The word mediodía is a compound of medio (middle) and día (day).
Which one should you use?
While mediodía specifically refers to the time around 12:00 PM, the word tarde is used for the entire period from the afternoon until evening.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico and parts of Central America, la hora de la comida is a common way to say "lunchtime" or "midday".
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to the specific time of day as a noun, mediodía is used with the masculine article el, forming el mediodía.
How do you pronounce it?
/medjoˈdia/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, mediodía is not just a time but a signal for la siesta. This traditional midday break allows people to avoid the peak heat of the sun.
- The word mediodía is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'mid', as both stem from the same ancient Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'middle'.
- In Spain, the transition from mediodía to tarde happens much later than in English. A person might still be in the mediodía phase while an English speaker would have called it 'afternoon'.
Examples in context
- La reunión tendrá lugar a mediodía.The meeting will take place at noon.
- La siesta es perfecta a eso del mediodía.The nap is perfect around noon.
- Nos vemos al mediodía.We will see each other at noon.
- Al mediodía hace mucho calor.At midday it is very hot.
- Nos vemos al mediodía en la plaza.We will see each other at noon in the plaza.
- El restaurante abre justo al mediodía.The restaurant opens exactly at midday.
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are planning their meeting time.
- Sofía¿A qué hora quieres quedar, Javier?What time do you want to meet, Javier?
- JavierPodemos vernos al mediodía.We can meet at midday.
- SofíaPerfecto, me viene muy bien.Perfect, that works great for me.
- JavierEntonces quedamos así.Then it's a date.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mediodía, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mediodía, CC BY-SA 4.0.
