In this post: Learn how to tell the time in Spanish and peek inside our Spanish curriculum lessons for learning the time.

One foundational elementary math skill is learning to tell the time. Even in today’s technology driven world, it’s still important to be able to read the time!

After building counting foundations in Level 1, Llamitas Spanish students are introduced to learning the time on the hour in Spanish in our Level 2 curriculum.

Then in Level 3, students learn how to tell the time in full. It’s taught in the context of the theme ‘Los animales nocturnos’ (nocturnal animals).

Spanish worksheets for telling the time

Asking the Time and Telling Time on The Hour

Ask the time in Spanish using the phrase, ¿Qué hora es? – What time is it? 

To respond, we say ‘son las ….’ followed by the number for that hour except for 1 o’clock where we use ‘es la…’ because it’s singular.

To help you tell time on the hour, use the table below: 

Spanish  English 
Es la una It’s one o’clock
Son las dos It’s two o’clock
Son las tres It’s three o’clock
Son las cuatro It’s four o’clock
Son las cinco It’s five o’clock
Son las seis It’s six o’clock
Son las siete It’s seven o’clock
Son las ocho It’s eight o’clock
Son las nueve It’s nine o’clock
Son las diez It’s ten o’clock
Son las once It’s eleven o’clock
Son las doce It’s twelve o’clock

Students will even get to learn a fun ‘on the hour’ counting song in Level 2! Take a listen now!

Spanish English
Tic, tac, tic, tac
Yo soy el Señor Reloj
Tic, tac, tic, tac
Doce horas toco yo. x2

A la una, como tuna.
A las dos, como arroz.
A las tres, todo al revés.
A las cuatro, voy al teatro.
A las cinco, pego un brinco.
A las seis, aprendo inglés.

A las siete, un juguete.
A las ocho, un bizcocho.
A las nueve, nadie se mueve.
A las diez, con los pies.
A las once, campanas de bronce.
A las doce, alguien tose.

Tic, tac, tic, tac,
Yo soy el Señor Reloj.

 Tick, tock, tick, tock
I am Mr. Clock
Tick, tock, tick, tock
I pass by 12 hours. x2

At one o’clock, I eat tuna.
At two o’clock, I eat rice.
At three o’clock, the other way around.
At four o’clock, I go to the theatre.
At five o’clock, I jump.
At six o’clock, I learn English.
At seven o’clock, a toy.
At eight o’clock, a biscuit.
At nine o’clock, nobody moves.
At ten o’clock, with your feet.
At eleven o’clock, bronze bells
At twelve o’clock, someone coughs.

Tick, tock, tick, tock,
I am Mr. Clock.

Expressing Quarter Past and Half Past in Spanish

To express that the time is half past the hour in Spanish, add the phrase ‘y media’. For example, half past 5/5:30 would be: Son las cinco y media

To express that the time is a quarter past the hour in Spanish, add the phrase ‘y cuarto’. For example, quarter past 3/3:15 would be: Son las tres y cuarto

Now challenge yourselves, how would you say 7:30 and 6:15? 

Telling time can sometimes get confusing (even in English). Rest assured that this and every unit in our curriculum is designed to go in-depth while ensuring that your kids can follow along and enjoy different themes.

The use of numbers and basic mathematical concepts in this topic emphasizes the importance of learning the fundamentals in the early years and completing our level 1 curriculum before jumping into levels 2 and 3.

Related post: Counting in Spanish Made Easy

Telling the Time in 5-Minute Increments

Use the table given earlier along with the one below as quick reference guides to tell time in 5-minute increments. Feel free to get creative and make your own versions at home. 

Spanish  English 
y cinco  5 minutes past 
y diez 10 minutes past 
y quince/y cuarto 15 minutes past/quarter past 
y veinte  20 minutes past 
y veinticinco 25 minutes past 
y treinta/y media 30 minutes past/half past 

Now let’s take a look at a few examples: 

  • 2:20 – Son las dos y veinte
  • 9:10 – Son las nueve y diez
  • 1:25 – Es la una y veinticinco 

Expressing Minutes to the Hour 

When we start talking ‘minutes to’ the hour, that’s where things get a bit tricky as the structure is different than English. In Spanish, we start with the number of the upcoming hour, menos (less) the number of minutes until the minute hand gets to that hour. 

For example: 

2:45 – Son las tres menos quince (Literally: It’s 3 o’clock less 15 minutes)

That’s because the upcoming hour is 3 o’clock and there are 15 minutes left until the minute hand gets to that hour to make it 3 o’clock on the dot. 

Take a look at another example:

6:45 – Son las siete menos quince (Literally: It’s 7 o’clock less 15 minutes)

Make your own clocks and practice at home using the table below:

MINUTES TO (the hour)
menos cinco  5 minutes to 
menos diez 10 minutes to
menos quince/menos cuarto 15 minutes to/quarter to 
menos veinte  20 minutes to
menos veinticinco 25 minutes to

Different ways to say ‘Quarter to’ the hour in Spanish

There are different variations of saying ’quarter to’ depending on which Spanish-speaking country you are in. The most common form ‘menos cuarto’ was mentioned previously and is used in Spain.

On the other hand, Mexico uses ‘cuarto para’ or ‘quince para’ which in English means ‘a quarter until’ or ‘15 minutes until’ respectively, and is used with the structure ‘Es un…’

For example, 

2:45 – Es un cuarto para las tres (It’s quarter to 3)

6:45 – Es un cuarto para las siete (It’s quarter to 7)

Spanish Curriculum for Elementary

Our level one curriculum has taken your kids to space, the ocean and more while building a solid foundation for getting them closer to being bilingual. Now we’re taking it to the next level! 

Expand their learning through even more themes with the structured open-and-go program of our Llamitas Spanish Curriculum: Levels 2 and 3.

Overview of the Llamitas Spanish Level 3 Curriculum with Textbooks

Your kids will enjoy 6 thematic units and 6 authentic stories in each level, while learning lower elementary math, phonics, geography, history and much more. 

If you’re ready for your kids to take the next step in their language learning journey, our series of elementary Spanish curriculum levels are waiting for you to explore!