las nueve
/las nwebe/from spelling rulesfeminine, plural
Nine o'clock in Spanish is las nueve.
las nueve is used to refer to the start of the tenth hour.
Meaning: the start of the tenth hour (noun)
Which one should you use?
If you want to specify that it is exactly nine o'clock, you can add en punto after las nueve to mean 'on the dot' or 'sharp'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'at' a certain time, use the preposition a before the article to form a las nueve. When stating what time it is, use the plural verb son to agree with the number, as in son las nueve.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, if someone says they will arrive a las nueve for a social gathering, it is often understood as a flexible window rather than a strict deadline.
- Because the phrase las nueve is a shorthand for las nueve horas, the article las must always be feminine and plural. Even though numbers themselves do not have gender, the hidden word 'hours' dictates the grammar.
- The word nueve shares a common ancestor with the English word 'nine', both descending from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁néwn̥.
Examples in context
- Me desperté a las nueve.I woke up at nine o'clock.This sentence is useful for showing how to use las nueve to indicate when an action happened.Tatoeba #13724535 by ecorralest101, translation #5509266 by mailohilohi
- Él dijo: "son las nueve."He said, "It's nine o'clock."This sentence shows how to use las nueve when stating the time.Tatoeba #522765 by Shishir, translation #295564 by CM
- El avión despegó a las nueve en punto.The plane took off at exactly nine o'clock.This sentence demonstrates using the time with the phrase en punto to indicate precision.Tatoeba #1408347 by hayastan, translation #44360 by CK
- Las nueve en punto. La sesión comenzará sin demoras.Nine o'clock. The session will start without delays.
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are discussing their plans for dinner.
- Javier¿A qué hora es la reserva?What time is the reservation?
- SofíaEs a las nueve.It is at nine o'clock.
- JavierPerfecto, llegaré puntual.Perfect, I will arrive on time.
- SofíaNos vemos entonces.See you then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nine o'clock” 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.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries las, nueve, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
