The one rule that changes everything
English looks back at the hour that has just gone: half past nine. Dutch looks forward to the hour that is coming: half tien, half an hour before ten.
So half tien is 9:30. Not 10:30. Every English speaker gets this wrong at least once, usually while standing somewhere at the wrong time.
If you remember one thing from this page: in Dutch, half always points at the next hour.
The seven shapes a Dutch time can take
At five minute steps, which is how people actually speak, every time in Dutch is one of these.
8:00
acht uur
Whole hour. Just the number plus uur.
8:10
tien over acht
Up to fourteen past, count from the hour you just had.
8:15
kwart over acht
Quarter past. Kwart, never vijftien.
8:20
tien voor half negen
Past the quarter, the half hour becomes the landmark.
8:30
half negen
Half an hour before nine. This is the big one.
8:35
vijf over half negen
Still measured from the half, now counting up.
8:45
kwart voor negen
Quarter to. Back to the coming hour.
Why the half hour matters so much
Between twenty past and twenty to, Dutch stops counting from the hours altogether and counts from the half. That is why 8:20 is tien voor half negen and not twintig over acht. You will hear the second one occasionally, but it marks you out as a learner.
Parts of the day
Dutch speech uses the twelve hour clock, so when it matters you add the part of the day. Note the 's at the front, a leftover of an old genitive that nobody thinks about any more.
| Dutch | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 's ochtends | 06:00 to 11:59 | half negen 's ochtends |
| 's middags | 12:00 to 17:59 | kwart over twee 's middags |
| 's avonds | 18:00 to 23:59 | acht uur 's avonds |
| 's nachts | 00:00 to 05:59 | drie uur 's nachts |
In writing, on timetables and in appointments, the Netherlands uses the 24 hour clock: 14:15, 20:30. Nobody says it that way out loud in a normal conversation.
The mistakes everybody makes
- Reading half tien as 10:30. It is 9:30. This one costs people appointments.
- Saying twintig over acht for 8:20. Understandable, but Dutch goes through the half: tien voor half negen.
- Saying vijftien over instead of kwart over. The quarter has its own word and it gets used.
- Forgetting the 's. It is 's ochtends, not ochtends.
- Using een for one o'clock in writing. The number takes accents: kwart over één.
Practise this out loud with someone
Times are the kind of thing that only sticks when you say them under a bit of pressure. The free intro lesson is 25 minutes and there is nothing to prepare.
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