a qué hora
/a ke oɾa/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for "what time" is a qué hora.
a qué hora is used specifically when asking for the specific time that an event will occur.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to at what hour.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish this from ¿Qué hora es? Use a qué hora to ask when an event occurs, but use ¿Qué hora es? to ask for the current time of day.
How does it change in a sentence?
The standard form is the singular a qué hora. In some specific dialects or colloquial contexts, you might hear the plural form a qué horas, though it is less common in formal writing.
How do you pronounce it?
/a ke oɾa/
Did you know?
- If you ask a qué hora regarding a party in some Latin American countries, an answer like a las ocho might actually mean the guests should arrive closer to nine.
- The word hora is also used in Spanish idioms to describe a critical moment, such as la hora de la verdad, which means 'the moment of truth'.
- The word hora comes from the Latin hōra, which was borrowed from the Ancient Greek word ὥρᾱ meaning 'season' or 'time of day'.
Examples in context
- ¿A qué hora abre?What time does it open?This example shows how to use a qué hora to ask about an opening time.Tatoeba #1712677 by marcelostockle, translation #24558 by CK
- ¿A qué hora pasó?What time did that happen?This example shows how to use a qué hora to ask when something happened.Tatoeba #6678987 by UsuarioX, translation #3763413 by cromwellt
- ¿A qué hora nació?What time was she born?This example shows how to use a qué hora to ask about a birth time.Tatoeba #981514 by Shishir, translation #509414 by CH
- 305 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are talking about a movie reservation.
- Mateo¿A qué hora empieza la película?What time does the movie start?
- SofíaEmpieza a las ocho.It starts at eight.
- MateoPerfecto, ¿a qué hora termina?Perfect, what time does it end?
- SofíaTermina a las diez.It ends at ten.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, hora, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
