How to Tell Time in Brazilian Portuguese: Hours, Minutes, and Plans
Learn how Brazilians ask and answer the time, then use those patterns to confirm a plan.
Real Life Portuguese · 6 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
The common question is Que horas são? (What time is it?). Answers use são for most clock times: São duas horas (It’s two o’clock) and São três e meia (It’s half past three). For one o’clock, use É uma hora.
Ask what time it is and give the hour
Meio-dia means noon, and meia-noite means midnight. For a time after the hour, e means ‘and’; for minutes before the next hour, para or faltam may be used, although a 24-hour digital time is also easy to read aloud.
Que horas são? São quatro e vinte.
What time is it? It’s four twenty.
A reunião começa à uma da tarde.
The meeting starts at one in the afternoon.
O voo sai à meia-noite.
The flight leaves at midnight.
Use the right phrase when making a plan
Use às before a specific hour: às nove (at nine). To describe an approximate time, say por volta das nove (around nine). Asking Que horas fica melhor para você? (What time works best for you?) gives the other person room to suggest a time.
After someone answers, repeat the time or confirm it with então: Então, às nove, na entrada? (So, at nine, by the entrance?). Brazil uses more than one time zone, so for an online meeting with someone elsewhere, name the city or time zone when there could be confusion.
Você pode chegar às sete e meia?
Can you arrive at seven thirty?
A gente se encontra por volta das oito.
We’ll meet around eight.
Só para confirmar: no horário de Brasília, certo?
Just to confirm: Brasília time, right?
Put it into practice
Ask Que horas são? for the current time, use à/às for a planned hour, and add por volta de when the time is approximate. Repeat the hour to confirm important plans.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “We’ll meet around eight”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
Build on this guide with everyday expressions and native Brazilian audio. Choose iPhone, Android, or the web app.