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In Spanish, 'Son las doce menos cuarto' means what time?

Las doce menos cuarto is a quarter to twelve, or 11:45.

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  1. 12:15
  2. 11:45 ✔
  3. 12:45

Why: Menos means 'minus' or 'less', so it is twelve minus a quarter hour. For 12:15 you say las doce y cuarto, using y for 'and'.

Huh, didn't know that: Half past is 'y media', so 12:30 is las doce y media.

The dad joke
Why is a quarter to twelve so generous? It is menos cuarto, so you get a quarter back.
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References

Answer: 11:45. Menos means 'minus' or 'less', so it is twelve minus a quarter hour. For 12:15 you say las doce y cuarto, using y for 'and'.

  1. FSI Spanish Basic Course, Volume 1 Student Text (US government, public domain) fsi-language-courses-media.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/languages/Spanish/Basic/Volume%201/Fsi-SpanishBasicCourse-Volume1-StudentText.pdf
    It's a quarter to twelve. Son las doce menos cuarto.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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