Het is drie uur.
English: It is three o'clock.
- Language
- Dutch
- Level
- A1
- Unit
- Voorzetsels, getallen en tijd
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
Kloktijden in Dutch are ways to say what time it is. They are used to tell the hour and minutes in daily life.
When to use it
Use these forms to ask or tell the time, make appointments, or talk about schedules in Dutch.
Key forms
- 'Het is ... uur.' (full hour)
- 'Het is half ... .' (half past the next hour)
- 'Het is kwart over ... .' (quarter past the hour)
- 'Het is kwart voor ... .' (quarter to the next hour)
- 'Het is ... over ... .' (minutes past the hour)
- 'Het is ... voor ... .' (minutes to the next hour)
Examples
Het is half vijf.
English: It is half past four.
Het is kwart over acht.
English: It is quarter past eight.
Het is tien voor negen.
English: It is ten to nine.
Het is vijf over zes.
English: It is five past six.
Tips
- In Dutch, 'half vijf' means 4:30, not 5:30. It is half an hour before five.
- Always use 'uur' for full hours. For example: 'Het is twee uur.'
- For minutes, use 'over' for past and 'voor' for to.