una hora
/una oɾa/from spelling rules
The English phrase "one hour" is translated into Spanish as una hora.
una hora refers to a period of time lasting sixty minutes. If you want to express that something will happen in one hour, you can use the phrase dentro de una hora.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, the noun for hour (hora) is feminine. Consequently, you must use the feminine form of the number one, which is una, rather than the masculine un.
How do you pronounce it?
/una oɾa/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying un hora. Because the word for hour is feminine, English speakers often mistakenly use the masculine un, but you must use una to be correct.
Did you know?
- Spanish has the expression perder la hora, which means to waste time or to be distracted, even if the person has wasted more or less than una hora.
- The word hora is used in the phrase a última hora, which means 'at the last minute' or 'lastly', regardless of whether a literal hour has passed.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying something will happen in una hora is often understood as a rough estimate rather than a precise deadline.
Examples in context
- Tú tienes una hora.You have one hour.This sentence shows how to state that someone possesses una hora.Tatoeba #3353663 by cueyayotl, translation #2648184 by CK
- Él habló por una hora.He spoke for one hour.This sentence demonstrates the use of una hora to describe a duration of speech.Tatoeba #2112992 by marcelostockle, translation #1893286 by dgibbons
- La esperé por una hora.I waited for her for one hour.This sentence shows how to use una hora to express the duration of waiting.Tatoeba #2109912 by marcelostockle, translation #1577365 by rbbrbb
- La conferencia durará una hora.The conference will last one hour.
- Voy a tardar una hora en llegar a tu casa.I will take one hour to get to your house.
- Quedemos en el café en una horita, ¿vale?Let's meet at the cafe in an hour, okay?
- El vuelo despegará dentro de una hora, así que asegúrate de estar en el aeropuerto a tiempo.The flight will take off in one hour, so make sure to be at the airport on time.
- Podríamos jugar al fútbol por una horita antes de cenar.We could play soccer for an hour before dinner.
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are coordinating a meeting time.
- DanielLlego en una hora.I'll be there in one hour.
- LucíaEstá bien, te espero.That's fine, I'll wait for you.
- Daniel¿Necesitas una hora más?Do you need one more hour?
- LucíaNo, una hora es suficiente.No, one hour is enough.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
