Montessori Filipino
Pagbasa at Pagsabi ng Oras sa Filipino (Telling Time in Tagalog)
Quick lesson and free practice worksheets to help learners master how to say the time in Filipino / Tagalog.
Telling time in Filipino is a bit more complicated than in English.
Whereas you could just say 8:32 AM in English, in Filipino you would have to say “tatlumpu’t dalawang minuto makalipas ang ika-walo ng umaga” or at least “alas otso trenta y dos ng umaga.”
That said, telling the time — pagbasa ng oras — in Tagalog/Filipino is something you can learn easily enough, especially if you’re already familiar with how to say numbers in Filipino.
As demonstrated above, there are two ways to say the time in Filipino:
- The purely Tagalog way, which is longer, more formal, and less commonly used outside of news broadcasts and the like; and
- The style adapted from Spanish, which is shorter, more commonly used, and involves Filipinized versions of Spanish (Kastila) numbers.
Honestly, it’s also quite common in the Philippines to just say the time in English. But it’s nice to know how to say it in the local language as well, plus it helps you establish a sense of kapwa and common ground with people from all walks of life, so it’s something you should definitely learn.
What you need to know to tell time in Filipino/Tagalog
To be able to tell the time in Filipino/Tagalog, you need to know:
- how to say numbers in Filipino
- the parts of the day
If you aren’t very familiar yet with how to say numbers in Filipino, there’s a table after the worksheets below, in the very last part of this page, that can serve as a cheat sheet for you when figuring out how to say the time in Filipino.
The parts of the day are the following:
- umaga – morning – from 6 AM to 11:59 AM
- tanghali – noon – 12:00 PM
- hapon – afternoon – from 12:01 PM to 5:59 PM
- gabi – evening/night – from 6:00 PM to 11:59 PM
- hating-gabi – midnight – 12:00 AM
- madaling-araw / umaga* – dawn – from 12:01 AM to 5:59 AM
* The boundaries between dawn and morning can be fluid. When the sunrise is at 5:15 AM, for example, it seems kind of silly to refer to 5:30 AM as madaling-araw when it’s already quite bright out. To remove the uncertainty, it’s perfectly acceptable to refer to the dawn hours as “umaga” or morning too. So 2:00 AM can be either “alas dos ng madaling-araw” or “alas dos ng umaga.”
How to say the time in Filipino/Tagalog
The format for telling time in Tagalog is like this:
_____ minuto makalipas ang ika-_____ ng [part of the day]
As you can probably tell, it’s the Tagalog translation for “_____ minutes past the hour of _____ in the [part of the day].”
Examples:
- 1:15 AM – labinlimang minuto makalipas ang ika-isa ng umaga
- 2:46 PM – apatnapu’t anim na minuto makalipas ang ikalawa ng hapon
- 8:37 PM – tatlumpu’t pitong minuto makalipas ang ikawalo ng gabi
There is also a way to say that it’s just a certain number number of minutes before a certain hour. The format in Tagalog is:
_____ minuto bago mag-ika-[next hour] ng [part of the day]
Examples:
- 7:55 AM – limang minuto bago mag-ika-walo ng umaga
- 4:45 PM – labinlimang minuto bago mag-ika-lima ng hapon
- 9:59 PM – isang minuto bago mag-ika-sampu ng gabi
This minutes-before format is usually more commonly used with the adapted-Spanish way of telling the time, though. Speaking of which…
How to say the time in Filipino - adapted Spanish
The format for telling time in adapted Spanish is:
ala/s [hour] [minutes] ng [part of the day]
Examples:
- 1:15 AM – ala una kinse ng umaga
- 2:46 PM – alas dos kuwarenta y sais ng hapon
- 8:37 PM – alas otso trenta y siyete ng gabi
If you want to say that it’s a couple of minutes before a certain hour, it’s a combination of Tagalog and adapted Spanish, like this:
_____ minuto bago mag-ala/s [next hour] ng [part of the day]
Examples:
- 7:55 AM – limang minuto bago mag-alas-otso ng umaga
- 4:45 PM – labinlimang minuto bago mag-alas-singko ng hapon
- 9:59 PM – isang minuto bago mag-alas-diyes ng gabi
I know it all *seems* a bit complicated but use the cheat sheets below the worksheets — and eventually memorize the numbers — and you’ll find it actually pretty easy!
Practice, practice, practice!
Worksheets
Note on the Worksheets
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Telling Time in Filipino: Worksheet 1 for Grade 2
You can download a printable version of this worksheet here: Pagbasa ng Oras sa Filipino – HuntersWoodsPH Worksheet 1 (PDF)
liveworksheets.com
Pagbasa ng Oras sa Tagalog: Worksheet 2 for Grade 2
You can download a printable version of this worksheet here: Pagbasa ng Oras sa Filipino – HuntersWoodsPH Worksheet 2 (PDF)
liveworksheets.com
Pagbasa at Pagsulat ng Oras sa Tagalog: Worksheet 3
You can download a printable version of this worksheet here: Pagbasa ng Oras sa Filipino – HuntersWoodsPH Worksheet 3 (PDF)
liveworksheets.com
Tamang Pagsulat ng Oras sa Filipino: Worksheet 4
You can download a printable version of this worksheet here: Pagbasa ng Oras sa Filipino – HuntersWoodsPH Worksheet 4 (PDF)
liveworksheets.com
Pagbasa, Pagsabi at Pagsulat ng Oras sa Filipino: Worksheet 5
You can download a printable version of this worksheet here: Pagbasa ng Oras sa Filipino – HuntersWoodsPH Worksheet 5 (PDF)
liveworksheets.com
Mga Bilang: Filipino Numbers Essential for Telling Time
Here’s a two-part table of the numbers you’ll need to know in order to tell the time in Filipino.
Keep in mind that spellings for numbers may vary. Depending on your source, the number nine, for example, could be spelled nuwebe or nwebe or nueve. Four could be kwatro or kuwatro. Seven could be siete, siyete, or syete. Et cetera. Whichever spelling you use, the pronunciations are basically the same!
Part 1: Hours
Oras | Filipino / Tagalog | From Spanish |
|---|---|---|
12:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
1:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
2:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
3:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
4:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
5:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
6:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
7:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
8:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
9:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
10:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
11:00 | AM
PM
| AM
PM
|
Part 2: Minutes
Number | Filipino / Tagalog | From Spanish |
|---|---|---|
1 | isa | uno |
2 | dalawa | dos |
3 | tatlo | tres |
4 | apat | kuwatro |
5 | lima | singko |
6 | anim | sais |
7 | pito | siyete |
8 | walo | otso |
9 | siyam | nuwebe |
10 | sampu | diyes |
11 | labing-isa | onse |
12 | labindalawa | dose |
13 | labintatlo | trese |
14 | labing-apat | katorse |
15 | labinlima | kinse |
16 | labing-anim | disisais |
17 | labimpito | disisiyete |
18 | labing-walo | disiotso |
19 | labinsiyam | disinuwebe |
20 | dalawampu | bente |
21 | dalawampu't isa | bente uno |
22 | dalawampu't dalawa | bente dos |
23 | dalawampu't tatlo | bente tres |
24 | dalawampu't apat | bente kuwatro |
25 | dalawampu't lima | bente singko |
26 | dalawampu't anim | bente sais |
27 | dalawampu't pito | bente siyete |
28 | dalawampu't walo | bente otso |
29 | dalawampu't siyam | bente nuwebe |
30 | tatlumpu | trenta [y] |
40 | apatnapu | kuwarenta [y] |
50 | limampu | singkuwenta [y] |
So…what time is it now? 😉
Anong oras na?! ^_^