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Avoid a.m. vs. p.m. confusion with the 24-hour clock
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Military time is a precise, 24-hour timekeeping system used by the military, law enforcement, hospitals, and more. Converting standard 12-hour time to military time is simple—just start with midnight (12:00 a.m.) as 0000, and continue counting through hours all the way until 2359 (11:59 p.m.). In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to read, write, and pronounce military time, plus dive into the uses and history of 24-hour timekeeping.
Things You Should Know
- Write midnight (12:00 a.m.) as 0000. For all other single-digit a.m. hours, add a zero before the hour (for example, 9:45 a.m. is 0945).
- For 10 a.m. through 12:59 p.m., just take away the colon. For example, 11:32 a.m. is 1132.
- For 1 p.m. and later, add 12 to the hour. For example, 4:52 p.m. is 1652, and 11:07 p.m. is 2307.
Steps
Section 1 of 4:
Converting 12-Hour Time to Military Time
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Write midnight (12:00 a.m.) as 0000 (“zero hundred hours”). Instead of having a 12-hour clock that resets twice, the military clock starts at midnight (0000 hours) and runs for 24 hours through 11:59 p.m. (2359 hours) before resetting at 0000 hours. In these 4-digit times, the first two numbers represent the hour of the day, and the second two numbers represent the minutes within that hour. [1] X Research source Note that the military clock does not use a colon to separate the hours and minutes.
- There is no need to specify a.m. or p.m. in military time since the clock runs for 24 hours.
- Contrary to popular belief, the military does not call midnight 2400 hours, or “twenty-four hundred hours” (although some other organizations may use this terminology).
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Add a zero before the hour for times from 1:00 a.m. through 9:59 a.m. For example, 1:00 a.m. becomes 0100 hours (“zero one hundred hours”), 2:00 a.m is 0200 hours (“zero two hundred hours”), and so on. Remember to leave out the colon and add two zeros after the hour (like in standard 12-hour time). [2] X Research source
- 1 a.m. is 0100 hours.
- 2 a.m. is 0200 hours.
- 3 a.m. is 0300 hours.
- 4 a.m. is 0400 hours.
- 5 a.m. is 0500 hours.
- 6 a.m. is 0600 hours.
- 7 a.m. is 0700 hours.
- 8 a.m. is 0800 hours.
- 9 a.m. is 0900 hours.
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Write 10:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. without a colon. When you reach the 2-digit hour times after 9:59 a.m., just remove the colon to convert them to military time. For example, 10:00 a.m. becomes 1000 hours (“ten hundred hours”), 11:00 a.m. becomes 1100 hours (“eleven hundred hours”), and 12:00 p.m. becomes 1200 hours (“twelve hundred hours”). [3] X Research source
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Add 12 to hours from 1:00 p.m. through 11:59 p.m. In military time, you don't start a new 12-hour cycle after noon, but continue to count beyond 1200 instead. So, 1 p.m. becomes 1300 hours (“thirteen hundred hours”), 2 p.m. becomes 1400 hours (“fourteen hundred hours”), and so on. This continues until midnight, when the clock resets to 0000 hours. [4] X Research source
- 1 p.m. is 1300 hours.
- 2 p.m. is 1400 hours.
- 3 p.m. is 1500 hours.
- 4 p.m. is 1600 hours.
- 5 p.m. is 1700 hours.
- 6 p.m. is 1800 hours.
- 7 p.m. is 1900 hours.
- 8 p.m. is 2000 hours.
- 9 p.m. is 2100 hours.
- 10 p.m. is 2200 hours.
- 11 p.m. is 2300 hours.
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Pronounce hours without minutes as “[number] hundred hours.” If you're dealing with whole hours without any minutes and there's a zero as the first digit, then say the first two digits as “zero” and whatever number is next, followed by “hundred hours.” For example, if there's a 4 as the first digit, then say “zero four hundred hours.” For 2-digit hours from 1000 to 2300, simply say the hour number followed by “hundred hours” For example, 1300 would be “thirteen hundred hours.” Here are some more examples: [5] X Research source
- 0100 hours is “zero one hundred hours.”
- 0200 hours is “zero two hundred hours.”
- 0300 hours is “zero three hundred hours” and so on until 0900 hours.
- 1100 hours is “eleven hundred hours.”
- 2300 hours is “twenty-three hundred hours.”
- Note that in the military, “zero” is always used to signify the zero digit in front of a number. “Oh” is used more casually.
- Note that using “hours” is optional. For example, you could say 0300 as “zero three hundred.”
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Say hours with minutes as “[hour number] [minute number] hours.” When you tell military time, state the 4-digit number as two pairs of numbers—the first pair of two numbers represents the hour, and the second pair represents the minutes. For example, 1545 becomes “fifteen forty-five hours” or just “fifteen forty-five.” Here are some more rules for this process: [6] X Research source
- If there are one or more zeros in front of the number, say them. 0003 (12:03 a.m.) is “zero zero zero three hours” and 0215 (2:15 a.m.) is “zero two fifteen hours.”
- If there are no zeros in the first two digits of the number, say the first two numbers as a set and do the same with the last two digits. For example, 1234 becomes “twelve thirty-four hours,” 1404 becomes “fourteen zero four hours,” and 0130 is “zero one thirty.”
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Practice converting military time to regular time . If you see a number greater than 1200, that means you've reached the afternoon hours, so just subtract 1200 from that number to get the time using the 12-hour clock. For example, 1400 hours is 2 p.m. in standard time because you get 200 when you subtract 1200 from 1400. 2000 hours is 8 p.m. because when you subtract 1200 from 2000, you get 800. [7] X Research source
- If you're looking at a time less than 1200, then you know you're working with numbers from midnight until noon. Simply use the first two digits to get the a.m. hour, and the last two digits to get the minutes to convert to military time.
- For example, 0950 hours means 9 hours and 50 minutes, or 9:50 a.m. 1130 hours means 11 hours and 30 minutes, or 11:30 a.m.
- If you're looking at a time less than 1200, then you know you're working with numbers from midnight until noon. Simply use the first two digits to get the a.m. hour, and the last two digits to get the minutes to convert to military time.
![Step 5 Pronounce hours without minutes as “[number] hundred hours.”](#/Image:Tell-Military-Time-Step-5-Version-3.jpg)
![Step 6 Say hours with minutes as “[hour number] [minute number] hours.”](#/Image:Tell-Military-Time-Step-6-Version-3.jpg)
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Community Q&A
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QuestionHow do I convert minutes into military time?Community AnswerThe minutes stay the same as on a 12-hour system. You just won't use terms like a quarter after, a quarter to, half past, etc. So let's say it's 1:17 P.M. You would say it's 1317 (thirteen-seventeen) hours.
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QuestionHow do I tell military time on a 24-hour clock?Community AnswerThe military clock starts at midnight, known as 0000 hours. This is called "Zero Hundred Hours." Instead of having a twelve-hour clock that resets twice, in military time, you work with one clock that starts with 0000 at midnight and runs all the way until 2359 hours (11:59 p.m.) until it resets at 0000 hours at midnight again. Note that the military clock does not use the colon to separate the hours and minutes.
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QuestionWhy is there a 0 in front of 0630?Community AnswerIt simply shows that it is earlier in the day rather than later. In some sense, the zero is not necessary but it is just a formality that makes time keeping clear.
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Tips
- Military time is not exactly the same as 24-hour time. Even though both time systems are divided into 24 hours, there are some differences. In military time, for example, 1:57 p.m. appears as 1357 hours or 1357, while 24-hour time shows 13:57 without the word “hours.” [11] X Research sourceThanks
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References
- ↑ https://www.mma-tx.org/blog/13255/military-time-made-easy/
- ↑ https://www.mma-tx.org/blog/13255/military-time-made-easy/
- ↑ https://www.militarytime.us/how-to-prononce-read-military-time/
- ↑ https://www.militarytime.us/how-to-prononce-read-military-time/
- ↑ https://www.militarytime.us/how-to-prononce-read-military-time/
- ↑ https://militarytimeconverter.org/what-is-military-time-guide/
- ↑ https://www.mma-tx.org/blog/13255/military-time-made-easy/
- ↑ https://training.nwcg.gov/dl/s248/s-248-ho-military-time-conversion.pdf
- ↑ https://militarytimeconverter.org/what-is-military-time-guide/
About This Article
Article Summary
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To tell military time, keep in mind that the military clock starts at 0, or midnight, and counts to 2359, or 11:59 pm. At midnight, the clock resets back to 0. For times between midnight and noon, simply remove the colon and add a 0 before the time. For example, 1:15 am is 0115 hours, pronounced "Zero One Fifteen Hours." For times between noon and 11:59 pm, add 12 to the regular time and remove the colon to determine military time. For example, 7:00 pm plus 12 would be 1900 hours in military time. For more examples of telling military time, read on!
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