In Vietnamese, we use giờ to tell the time.
Basic structure
Structure
Place giờ after a number to indicate the time (hour).
hours + giờ
To emphasise an exact hour, like “o’clock” in English, add đúng after giờ.
hours + giờ + đúng
Examples
- 0 giờ0:00
- 7 giờ7:00
- 15 giờ15:00
- 8 giờ đúng8 o’clock
- 9 giờ ngày maiTomorrow 9:00
- Tôi có cuộc họp lúc 10 giờ.I have a meeting at 10:00.
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, like “a.m.” and “p.m.” in English, we use parts of the day:
| Vietnamese | Meaning | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| sáng | morning | 1–10 a.m. |
| trưa | noon | 11 a.m. & 12 noon |
| chiều | afternoon | 1–6 p.m. |
| tối | evening | 7–9 p.m. |
| đêm | night | 10–11 p.m. & 12 midnight |
Note that, in practice, this periodisation isn’t strict, i.e., there can be overlaps between parts. It’s common to use đêm for 2 a.m., or tối for 6 p.m. (especially in winter).
Structure
Add the part of the day after giờ.
hours + giờ + part of the day
Examples
- 3 giờ sáng3 a.m.
- 4 giờ chiều4 p.m.
- 7 giờ tối7 p.m.
Minute detail (pun intended)
We can add detail on minutes after giờ.
Half hour
We use rưỡi to express “half past”.
Structure
Add rưỡi after giờ to express “half past”.
hours + giờ + rưỡi
In everyday conversation, giờ is usually omitted.
hours + rưỡi
Note that this structure only works with the 12-hour clock, not the 24-hour clock. For example, it’s wrong to read “14:30” (“2:30 p.m.”) as mười bốn rưỡi; the correct expression is hai rưỡi (chiều).
Examples
- 8 giờ rưỡiHalf past 8
- 8 rưỡiHalf past 8
- 10 rưỡi sángHalf past 10 a.m.
- 6 rưỡi chiềuHalf past 6 p.m.
- 12 rưỡi đêmHalf past 12 a.m. (0:30)
Minutes past the hour
We use phút to express “minutes”.
Structure
Add the number of minutes plus phút after giờ to express “minutes past the hour”.
hours + giờ + minutes + phút
In everyday conversation, phút is usually omitted if the number of minutes is greater than or equal to ten.
hours + giờ + minutes
Examples
- 3 giờ 1 phútone past three (3:01)
- 7 giờ 20twenty past seven (7:20)
- 15 giờ 45forty-five past fifteen (15:45)
Minutes to the hour
Structure
Add kém plus the number of minutes plus phút after giờ to express “minutes to the hour”.
hours + giờ + kém + minutes + phút
In everyday conversation, phút is usually omitted if the number of minutes is greater than or equal to ten.
hours + giờ + kém + minutes
Examples
- 3 giờ kém 1 phútone to three (2:59)
- 7 giờ kém 20twenty to seven (6:40)
- 15 giờ kém 15fifteen to fifteen (14:45)
Structure for duration
The basic structure with giờ can also be used to express duration. However, in practice, it’s replaced by tiếng to avoid confusion.
Structure
Place tiếng after a number to express “(a number of) hours”.
hours + tiếng
In reality, since tiếng has multiple meanings, the expression can be open to multiple interpretations. To make clear that it means “hour”, add đồng hồ (“clock”) after tiếng or giờ.
hours + tiếng đồng hồ
The structure also works with giờ.
hours + giờ đồng hồ
For more details, use phút (“minute”) and giây (“second”). The structure is similar:
hours + tiếng + minutes + phút + seconds + giây
Examples
- 3 tiếng3 hours
- 1 tiếng rưỡi1 and a half hours
- 10 giờ đồng hồ10 hours
- Cuộc họp sẽ kéo dài 2 tiếng.The meeting will last for 2 hours.
- 1 tiếng 45 phút1 hour and 45 minutes
- 3 phút 20 giây3 minutes and 20 seconds
- 1 phút rưỡi1 and a half minutes