HeyRuaPick a time
Choose the hour and the minutes. The clock and the sentence change as you go.
How it works
The hour takes a in front, like any number counted on its own, and a chlog after it. Minutes past the hour use tar éis; minutes to the hour use chun.
The hours
| Irish | English | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | a haon a chlog | one o'clock |
| 2 | a dó a chlog | two o'clock |
| 3 | a trí a chlog | three o'clock |
| 4 | a ceathair a chlog | four o'clock |
| 5 | a cúig a chlog | five o'clock |
| 6 | a sé a chlog | six o'clock |
| 7 | a seacht a chlog | seven o'clock |
| 8 | a hocht a chlog | eight o'clock |
| 9 | a naoi a chlog | nine o'clock |
| 10 | a deich a chlog | ten o'clock |
| 11 | a haon déag a chlog | eleven o'clock |
| 12 | a dó dhéag a chlog | twelve o'clock |
The h on a haon, a hocht and a haon déag is the h that counting a puts before a vowel. Twelve is a dó dhéag.
Past and to
| Time | Irish | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | a haon a chlog | one o'clock |
| 3:00 | a trí a chlog | three o'clock |
| 8:00 | a hocht a chlog | eight o'clock |
| 12:00 | a dó dhéag a chlog | twelve o'clock |
| 2:30 | leathuair tar éis a dó | half past two |
| 4:15 | ceathrú tar éis a ceathair | quarter past four |
| 6:45 | ceathrú chun a seacht | quarter to seven |
| 7:05 | cúig nóiméad tar éis a seacht | five past seven |
| 9:10 | deich nóiméad tar éis a naoi | ten past nine |
| 10:20 | fiche nóiméad tar éis a deich | twenty past ten |
| 11:25 | cúig nóiméad is fiche tar éis a haon déag | twenty-five past eleven |
| 5:40 | fiche nóiméad chun a sé | twenty to six |
| 1:50 | deich nóiméad chun a dó | ten to two |
| 12:55 | cúig nóiméad chun a haon | five to one |
The words you need
In a sentence
Telling the time in Irish: the questions people ask
How do you ask what time it is in Irish?
Cén t-am é? Answer with tá sé and the hour: tá sé a trí a chlog, it is three o'clock.
Why is there an a before the hour?
Counting numbers on their own take a in front: a haon, a dó, a trí. The h on a haon, a hocht and a haon déag is the h that a puts before a vowel. So one o'clock is a haon a chlog.
How do you say half past and quarter to?
Half past is leathuair tar éis: leathuair tar éis a dó, half past two. Quarter past is ceathrú tar éis and quarter to is ceathrú chun: ceathrú chun a ceathair, a quarter to four.
How do you say at a time?
With ag: ag a trí a chlog, at three o'clock; ag leathuair tar éis a dó, at half past two.
How do you say a.m. and p.m. in Irish?
Ar maidin for the morning and tráthnóna for the afternoon and evening: a hocht a chlog ar maidin, a hocht a chlog tráthnóna. In writing, r.n. (roimh nóin) and i.n. (iar nóin).
How do you say twenty-five past in Irish?
Cúig nóiméad is fiche tar éis: cúig nóiméad is fiche tar éis a dó, twenty-five past two. Twenty-five to is cúig nóiméad is fiche chun.