How to Say "Times" in Italian

tempi

The English word "times" is translated into Italian as tempi.

Meaning: multiplied by (prep)

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The word tempo is a linguistic 'double agent' that covers both 'time' as a duration and 'weather'. To say the weather is bad, Italians say il tempo è brutto, literally 'the time is ugly'.
While tempi refers to eras or periods, the mathematical 'times' used for multiplication is actually expressed by the word per, which also means 'for' and 'by'.
While tempi refers to eras or periods, you must use the word volte when counting how many 'times' an event has occurred, such as 'tre volte' for 'three times'.

I tempi sono duri.
Times are tough.
This sentence illustrates the use of tempi to describe difficult periods.
Tatoeba #1495392 by Guybrush88, translation #1495336 by Thryth
I tempi erano duri.
Times were hard.
This sentence demonstrates how to use tempi when speaking about difficult eras in the past.
Tatoeba #4504112 by Guybrush88, translation #4502659 by CK
È un segno dei tempi.
It's a sign of the times.
This sentence shows how tempi is used in the idiomatic expression 'sign of the times'.
Tatoeba #3287929 by Guybrush88, translation #1702713 by Spamster
Sono le due
It's two o'clock
Mancano cinque minuti alle tre
It's five minutes to three o'clock
Manca un quarto alle nove
It's a quarter to nine o'clock
Sono le due e quaranta
It's 2:40
Mancano dieci minuti alle sette
It's ten minutes to seven
È mezzogiorno in punto
It's exactly noon
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Francesco and Giulia are solving a math problem together.

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