seis y veinte
/seis i beinte/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'six twenty' is expressed in Spanish as seis y veinte.
seis y veinte is used to state the time when it is twenty minutes past six o'clock.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you are stating the time within a full sentence, you must use the feminine plural article las before the hour, resulting in las seis y veinte.
Did you know?
- Because Spanish does not use 'am' or 'pm', speakers often add de la mañana or de la tarde to seis y veinte to ensure an appointment is not mistaken for the wrong time of day.
- While seis y veinte is universal, speakers in some Latin American countries may use the phrase seis veinte without the y in digital or formal contexts, whereas in Spain the y is almost always expected.
- The word veinte shares a common ancestor with the English word 'twenty' and the Latin 'vīgintī', both stemming from an ancient Proto-Indo-European root for 'two'.
Examples in context
- Son las seis veinteIt is six twenty
- La reunión comenzará a las seis veinteThe meeting will start at six twenty
- Llegaré a tu casa a las seis y veinteI will arrive at your house at six twenty
- Déjame recordar, era a las seis y veinte, ¿verdad?Let me remember, it was at six twenty, right?
- Son las seis y veinte.It is six twenty.
- El tren sale a las seis y veinte.The train leaves at six twenty.
- Nos vemos a las seis y veinte.We'll see each other at six twenty.
Example conversation
Javier and María are deciding when to meet for dinner.
- Javier¿A qué hora cenamos, María?What time are we having dinner, María?
- MaríaPodemos quedar a las seis y veinte.We can meet at six twenty.
- JavierPerfecto, me parece bien.Perfect, that works for me.
- MaríaTe veo entonces, Javier.I'll see you then, Javier.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries seis, veinte, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
