What Time Is It in Portuguese? How to Ask Que Horas São and Answer Back

Why 'Que horas são?' is the question to learn first

You can know every number in Portuguese and still freeze on the street if you can't ask the question. That's what this lesson fixes. The sibling lesson on time in Portuguese teaches the clock itself, hoje to são duas e meia; this one teaches the conversation around it, how to ask what time is it in Portuguese and how to reply.

Everything here is Brazilian Portuguese, with a note where Portugal differs. Two quick sound reminders before the tables: são is a nasal "sown", hummed through your nose, and que is simply "keh". So Que horas são? lands as "keh OH-rahs sown".

How do you ask 'what time is it' in Portuguese?

To ask the time, the safe, works-anywhere question is Que horas são? Among friends, Brazilians trim it to Tem horas?, which literally asks "do you have hours?". They all mean the same thing; the difference is how casual you sound.

Notice that Tem horas? drops the word for "time" completely. It asks "do you have hours?", the same way English asks "do you have the time?". It's the phrase you'll actually hear most in Brazil.

How do you politely ask a stranger for the time?

Start with a softener. Brazilians rarely fire a bare question at a stranger; they open with com licença ("excuse me", said "kohn lee-SEN-sah") and often add por favor ("please"). That small courtesy turns a demand into a favor.

Three openers do almost all the work:

• Com licença ("kohn lee-SEN-sah") to get someone's attention or slip past them
• Desculpa ("dees-KOOL-pah") a casual "sorry to bother you"
• Por favor ("poor fah-VOR") tacked onto the end for extra warmth

Here's the whole exchange, start to finish:

• You: Com licença, que horas são? ("Excuse me, what time is it?")
• Them: São quatro e vinte. ("It's 4:20.")
• You: Obrigado! ("Thanks!")

Say obrigado if you're male and obrigada if you're female; the word agrees with you, not with the person you're thanking. If you want more openers like these, our hello in Portuguese lesson has the full greeting kit.

How do you answer the question 'what time is it' in Portuguese?

To answer, name the hour with é or são: é uma hora for 1:00, são duas horas for 2:00, and so on up. Noon and midnight take é too: é meio-dia, é meia-noite. Add minutes with e ("and") after the hour, or count down to the next hour with faltam ... para as.

Your job when you ask is mostly to recognize the reply. Here's a compact set to catch:

Two patterns cover most replies. E meia means "half past", so são três e meia is 3:30. And faltam quinze para as oito means "fifteen to eight", which is 7:45; in fast speech para as squeezes into pras, so you'll hear quinze pras oito. That's plenty to hold a time exchange. For every hour, the quarter rules, and the Brazil-versus-Portugal quirks, the full walkthrough lives in our time in Portuguese lesson.

How do you ask what time something starts? (A que horas?)

There's a second time question, and it's just as handy: A que horas? ("ah keh OH-rahs"), meaning "at what time?". Use it to pin down when things happen, from a movie to a meeting to a store's opening.

The reply swaps in às ("at the"): às oito ("at eight"), às duas da tarde ("at 2 in the afternoon"). So you ask O filme começa a que horas? and hear às oito. One little word, and you can plan a whole day around it.

What's the etiquette for asking the time in Brazil?

Brazilians are approachable, and asking a stranger the time is completely normal, no awkwardness attached. A few habits make it go smoothly:

• Lead with a greeting. A quick bom dia or boa tarde before your question reads as warm, not pushy.
• Soften with com licença. It signals respect and usually earns you a smile.
• Relax about the reply. If the answer comes fast (São três e meia!), just grab the hour and say obrigado.

Brazilian plans run loose, so an answer might round off to meio-dia e pouco ("a little after noon") instead of an exact minute. If you want to hear how locals bend the clock like that, the time in Portuguese lesson digs in. For your next words after "thanks", the 100 essential Portuguese words has the everyday set. That's the whole toolkit for asking what time is it in Portuguese, from the question to a polite reply back. Now go try it: Com licença, que horas são? is all it takes to start a real Brazilian conversation.