Telling the time in Croatian
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HideAsk the time in Croatian
Do you wonder what time it is? On this page we will teach you how to properly say the exact time in Croatian. We will start with a few basic rules and then you will see some examples. Firstly, it is important to know how to identify and recognize these questions:
| English word | Croatian word |
|---|---|
| What's the time? | Koliko je sati? |
| Do you know what time it is? | Znaš li koliko je sati? |
| Can you tell me what time is ti? | Možeš li mi reći koliko je sati? |
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The clock rules 
Croatians take a relaxed approach to being on time, so do not expect too much. 24- hour clock is officially used by all Croatians. It is very common to hear the following way of expressing the time, i.e on television or radio. Keep in mind that the times are expressed in plural. The only exception is one hour, which is in singular.
Apart from that, the clock is divided into two parts, on the left side it is "minute" meaning minutes and on the right side it is "i" which literally means "and", word "sati" means hours.
Below are some examples of clock times in the table!
| English | Croatian | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| It's one o'clock | Jedan je sat |  |
| It's three o'clock | Tri su sata |  |
| It's twelve o'clock | Dvanaest sati |  |
| It's ten o'clock | Devet sati |  |
- Ivane, već je dvanaest sati, moramo ići! - Ivane, it's already noon, we must go!
- Uvijek kasniš, već je deset sati i petanest minuta. - You are always late, it's already fifteen past ten.
The half hours
In order to understand the usage of "half hours", in Croatian you should just add "i pol" to express "half an hour"
| English | Croatian |
|---|---|
| Half past eight | Osam i pol |
| Half past six | Šest i pol |
| Half past eleven | Jedanaest i pol |
The quarters
Comparing to English language, in Croatian you should first add the hour and than minutes.
| English | Croatian |
|---|---|
| Quarter past four | Četiri sata i petanaest minuta |
| Quarter past seven | Sedam sati i petnaest mintua |
| Quarter to two | Petnaest minuta do dva |
The minutes
In Croatian, you should first say the hour + minutes. If in English is used "to" we will translate that as "do".
| English | Croatian |
|---|---|
| Seven minutes past four | Četirti sata i sedam minuta |
| Twenty minutes past twelve | Dvanaest sati i dvadeset minuta |
| Eleven minutes to five | Jedanaest minuta do pet |
Times of the day in Croatian
If you have time, it might be useful to know about which part of your day you have. Below you can find an overview of the day parts in Croatian.
| English word | Croatian word |
|---|---|
| The morning | Jutro |
| The afternoon | Poslijepodne |
| The night | Noć/ Večer |
| The evening | Predvečer |
| AM | Prijepodne |
| PM | Poslijepodne |
Exercises
- Multiple-choice exercise for clock times in Croatian
- Right or wrong? Practice with the times in Croatian.
- Talking about the time: exercise
Multiple-choice exercise for clock times in Croatian
Right or wrong? Practice with the times in Croatian.
Solution
Midnight - ponoć
True
9:50 - deset minuta do deset
True
Half past eight - trideset minuta do osam
False
It's one o'clock - jedan sat je
True
Five to ten - deset do pet
False
Half past eleven - jedanaest i pol
True
Quarter to two - petnaest do dva
True
Half past ten - devet i pol
False
It's two o'clock in the night - dva sata su po noći
True
Quarter past seven - sedam sati i petnaest minuta
True
Noon - ponoć
False
Talking about the time: exercise
Complete the sentences. Use tips for help!
1. Koliko je ? = What time is it?
2. je i = It's one o'clock past five.
3. i = Half past eight.
4. = Half past eleven.
5. i = Quarter past four.
6. Dvadeset i = Twenty minutes past twelve
7. = Eleven minutes to five
8. ću ići na plažu. = In the morning I will go to the beach.
9. Danas idem u shopping = Today afternoon I will go to shopping.
10. Možeš li mi reći koliko je ? = Can you tell me what time is it?
Exercises
- Multiple-choice exercise for clock times in Croatian
- Right or wrong? Practice with the times in Croatian.
- Talking about the time: exercise
Multiple-choice exercise for clock times in Croatian
Right or wrong? Practice with the times in Croatian.
Solution
Midnight - ponoć
True
9:50 - deset minuta do deset
True
Half past eight - trideset minuta do osam
False
It's one o'clock - jedan sat je
True
Five to ten - deset do pet
False
Half past eleven - jedanaest i pol
True
Quarter to two - petnaest do dva
True
Half past ten - devet i pol
False
It's two o'clock in the night - dva sata su po noći
True
Quarter past seven - sedam sati i petnaest minuta
True
Noon - ponoć
False
Talking about the time: exercise
Complete the sentences. Use tips for help!
1. Koliko je ? = What time is it?
2. je i = It's one o'clock past five.
3. i = Half past eight.
4. = Half past eleven.
5. i = Quarter past four.
6. Dvadeset i = Twenty minutes past twelve
7. = Eleven minutes to five
8. ću ići na plažu. = In the morning I will go to the beach.
9. Danas idem u shopping = Today afternoon I will go to shopping.
10. Možeš li mi reći koliko je ? = Can you tell me what time is it?