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Date & Time Calculators

Time in Words

Convert a clock time into a natural English phrase like quarter past ten.

Free browser toolRuns in your browserNo sign-up

In words

Quarter past ten

About the Time in Words

Time in Words turns a clock time into the way people say it out loud, such as quarter past ten, half past noon or twenty to six.

It uses the common English conventions: o'clock on the hour, quarter and half for 15 and 30 minutes, past for the first half of the hour and to for the second half, plus special words for noon and midnight.

This is useful for teaching children to tell the time, for language learners and for writing out times in prose. The phrase is generated instantly in the browser.

Key features

  • Natural English phrasing of any time
  • Quarter, half, past and to conventions
  • Special noon and midnight wording
  • One-click copy of the phrase

How to use

  1. 1Enter a time using the time picker.
  2. 2Read the spoken English phrase.
  3. 3Copy the phrase if you need it elsewhere.

Examples

Quarter past
Input: 10:15
Output: Quarter past ten

Fifteen minutes past the hour is spoken as a quarter past.

To the next hour
Input: 05:40
Output: Twenty to six

After the half hour the minutes count down to the next hour.

Frequently asked questions

How is 10:15 written in words?
10:15 is quarter past ten. Fifteen minutes past the hour is spoken as a quarter past.
How are noon and midnight handled?
12:00 in the middle of the day is noon and 00:00 is midnight, so the tool says half past noon or quarter to midnight where appropriate.
When does it use past versus to?
Minutes up to and including 30 use past the current hour, while minutes after 30 use to the next hour, matching everyday speech.

Continue your workflow

Open a related tool to prepare your files or refine the finished result.