What time is it: στις τρεις και μισή, παρά τέταρτο
The hour in Greek is feminine, because behind it stands the understood word η ώρα. Hence η μία, οι δύο, οι τρεις — a feminine article with no visible word "hour" in the answer. For example: “Τι ώρα είναι; — Τρεις και τέταρτο” — What time is it? — Quarter past three. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The hour in Greek is feminine, because behind it stands the understood word η ώρα (i óra). Hence η μία (i mía), οι δύο (i dío), οι τρεις (i tris) — a feminine article with no visible word "hour" in the answer.
The question: Τι ώρα είναι (ti óra íne); The answer: Είναι τρεις (íne tris) — it is three. Note that the verb agrees with the number: Είναι μία (singular), but Είναι τρεις (plural).
Minutes after the hour are added with και (ke): τρεις και δέκα (tris ke déka), τρεις και μισή (half past three), τρεις και τέταρτο (quarter past three). Minutes before the hour — with παρά (pará): τέσσερις παρά δέκα (téseris pará déka), τέσσερις παρά τέταρτο (quarter to four). English counts the same way — "ten past three", "ten to five" — so the habit transfers; only the Greek "past" side uses και, and the "to" side παρά.
When, not what time — with the preposition σε (se), fused with the article: στη μία (sti mía), στις τρεις (stis tris), στις τρεις και μισή (stis tris ke misí). The form στις (stis) is no accident: it is σε plus the feminine plural accusative.
The parts of the day are added as words: στις τρεις το πρωί (stis tris to proí), στις τρεις το μεσημέρι (stis tris to mesiméri), στις οκτώ το βράδυ (stis októ to vrádi). The twenty-four-hour count is not used in speech — only in timetables.
Table
| in Greek | word for word | in English |
|---|---|---|
| τρεις | three | three o'clock |
| τρεις και δέκα | three and ten | ten past three |
| τρεις και μισή | three and a half | half past three |
| τέσσερις παρά τέταρτο | four against a quarter | quarter to four |
| στις τρεις | at three | at three o'clock |
By example
- Τι ώρα είναι; — Τρεις και τέταρτοti óra íne? — tris ke tétartoWhat time is it? — Quarter past three
- Το ραντεβού είναι στις πέντε παρά δέκαto randevú íne stis pénde pará dékaThe appointment is at ten to five
- Ξυπνάω στις επτά το πρωίksipnáo stis eptá to proíI get up at seven in the morning
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
What time is it: how does it work in Greek?
The hour in Greek is feminine, because behind it stands the understood word η ώρα. Hence η μία, οι δύο, οι τρεις — a feminine article with no visible word "hour" in the answer.
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Τι ώρα είναι; — Τρεις και τέταρτο” (ti óra íne? — tris ke tétarto) — What time is it? — Quarter past three. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.