las diez
/las djeθ/from spelling rules
The phrase for ten o'clock in Spanish is las diez.
las diez is used to indicate the time of day when the clock shows ten hours. You can expand this phrase to describe related times, such as saying Son las diez y media to mean "It's half past ten".
Which one should you use?
While las diez is plural, note that one o'clock is expressed in the singular as la una because it refers to a single hour. If you want to specify that it is exactly ten o'clock sharp, you can use the form las diez en punto.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the feminine plural article las because the implied noun is las horas (the hours). To indicate that an event happens at ten o'clock, you must use the preposition a followed by the article, resulting in a las diez.
How do you pronounce it?
/las djeθ/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word diez is a very distant relative of the English word 'ten'. Both words can be traced back to the same prehistoric root in Proto-Indo-European.
- While las diez refers to the time, the word diezmo comes from the same root and refers to a 'tithe', which was historically a tenth of one's income given to the church.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, if you tell someone you will meet them at las diez in the evening, they may assume you mean 10:00 PM without you needing to say 'night'.
Examples in context
- ¿Son cerca de las diez?Is it about ten o'clock?This sentence is useful for asking if the time is approximately las diez.Tatoeba #630824 by Leono, translation #266488 by CK
- El tren llegará a las diez.The train will arrive at ten o'clock.This sentence uses las diez to indicate the arrival time of a train.Tatoeba #2260321 by marcelostockle, translation #43448 by CK
- Son casi las diez en punto.It's almost ten o'clock.This sentence uses las diez to state that it is almost ten o'clock.Tatoeba #10197627 by manufrutos, translation #10195315 by CK
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are planning to meet for coffee.
- Alejandro¿A qué hora es la cita?What time is the appointment?
- SofíaEs a las diez.It is at ten o'clock.
- AlejandroPerfecto, nos vemos en la cafetería.Perfect, I will see you at the coffee shop.
- SofíaVale, hasta luego.Okay, see you later.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries diez, las, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
