Understanding the Basics of Telling Time in Czech

Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to understand the general approach to telling time in the Czech language. Czech time expressions can be conveyed in both the 12-hour and 24-hour formats. The 24-hour clock is commonly used in official contexts like train schedules, TV guides, and formal announcements. Meanwhile, the 12-hour format is more prevalent in informal, everyday conversations among native speakers.

In Czech, telling time involves a combination of numbers, specific vocabulary for hours and minutes, and particular syntactic structures that differ from English. For example, the way minutes are expressed relative to the hour is unique and requires practice to master. Let’s start by reviewing the vocabulary for numbers and time-related words essential for telling time accurately.

Key Vocabulary: Numbers and Time-related Words

• Hours (hodiny): 1 – jedna, 2 – dvě, 3 – tři, 4 – čtyři, 5 – pět, 6 – šest, 7 – sedm, 8 – osm, 9 – devět, 10 – deset, 11 – jedenáct, 12 – dvanáct
• Minutes (minuty): 1 – jedna minuta, 2 – dvě minuty, 3 – tři minuty, up to 59
• O’clock: hodina (singular), hodiny (plural)
• Half: půl
• Quarter: čtvrt
• Past: po
• To: do

The 12-Hour Clock Format in Czech

In informal settings, Czechs typically use the 12-hour clock to tell time. However, unlike English, where you say “quarter past” or “quarter to,” the Czech language has a distinctive way of expressing these time intervals.

Expressing Hours and Minutes

The basic structure to tell time in Czech using the 12-hour format is:

Hour + (minutes) + hodin

For example:

• “Je jedna hodina” – It is one o’clock.
• “Jsou tři hodiny” – It is three o’clock.

Notice that the verb changes depending on whether the hour is singular or plural. “Je” is used with singular “hodina” (one o’clock), while “jsou” is used with plural “hodiny” (two to four o’clock). For five or more, “je” is again used but with “hodin” (genitive plural). This is an important grammatical nuance in Czech.

Talking About Minutes

When mentioning minutes past the hour, Czechs say the number of minutes followed by the word “po” (past) and then the hour:

• “Je deset minut po třetí” – It is ten minutes past three.
• “Je dvacet minut po čtvrté” – It is twenty minutes past four.

Similarly, to express minutes before the hour, the phrase “do” (to) is used:

• “Je deset minut do pěti” – It is ten minutes to five.
• “Je pět minut do dvanácti” – It is five minutes to twelve.

Special Expressions for Half and Quarter Hours

The Czech language has unique ways to refer to half and quarter hours:

• Half past the hour is expressed by saying “půl” followed by the upcoming hour in genitive case (not the current hour):
• “Je půl čtvrté” – It is half past three (literally: half of four).
• Quarter past</ and quarter to hours are expressed as:
• “Čtvrt na” + the upcoming hour (quarter to the next hour): “Je čtvrt na pět” (It is quarter to five, meaning 4:45).
• “Čtvrt přes” + the current hour (quarter past the hour): “Je čtvrt přes tři” (It is quarter past three, 3:15).