Time (basic)

In Vietnamese, giờ (“hour”) is used to tell the time.

Hour

Place giờ after a number to indicate the time (what hour).

Structure

Examples

With parts of the day

In spoken Vietnamese, the 12-hour clock is preferred to the 24-hour clock. To distinguish between the two 12-hour periods, use parts of the day:

Vietnamese	Meaning	Hours
sáng	morning	1–10 a.m.
trưa	noon	11 a.m. & 12 p.m.
chiều	afternoon	1–6 p.m.
tối	evening	7–9 p.m.
đêm	night	10–11 p.m. & 12 a.m.

Structure

Add the part of the day after giờ.

Examples

Note that, in practice, this periodisation is not strict, i.e., there are overlaps between parts. Using đêm for 2 a.m., or tối for 6 p.m. (especially in winter) is not uncommon.

O’clock

To emphasise that the time is at exactly “o’clock”, add đúng after giờ.

Structure

Examples

Half hour

The word for “and a half” is rưỡi; add it after giờ to express “half past”.

Structure

In everyday conversation, giờ is usually omitted.

Note that half hour is only valid within the 12-hour clock, not the 24-hour clock. Hence, it is wrong to read “14:30” (“2:30 p.m.”) as mười bốn rưỡi; the correct expression is hai rưỡi (chiều).

Examples

Duration

The basic structure with giờ is also used to express duration (how many hours). However, in practice, giờ is generally not used for this purpose to avoid confusion; instead, it is replaced by tiếng.

Structure

In reality, tiếng has multiple meanings, which means the expression can be open to multiple interpretations. To clarify, add đồng hồ (“clock”) after tiếng or giờ.

Examples

Minutes and seconds

See time (advanced).