DutchYour colleague says the meeting is at half drie, so you arrive at half past three. The meeting started an hour ago. Welcome to the Dutch clock, where "half" looks ahead.
Short answer: in Dutch, half drie means half to three: 2:30. The minutes around the half hour are counted from the half: tien voor half drie is 2:20, vijf over half drie is 2:35. At work, timetables and on the train, people often just say the numbers: veertien uur dertig.
1 Whole hours and quarters
| Time | Dutch |
|---|---|
| 3:00 | drie uur |
| 3:15 | kwart over drie |
| 3:45 | kwart voor vier |
| 3:05 | vijf over drie |
| 3:50 | tien voor vier |
2 Half: always the next hour
The Dutch think of half drie as "halfway to three". So half drie is 2:30, half negen is 8:30. This is the one you must get right: it is the most common reason people turn up an hour late.
Tip: when you hear half, take the number you hear and subtract one hour. Half vijf: five minus one, so 4:30.
3 Around the half hour
| Time | Dutch |
|---|---|
| 2:20 | tien voor half drie |
| 2:25 | vijf voor half drie |
| 2:35 | vijf over half drie |
| 2:40 | tien over half drie |
If a Dutch person says "om half drie", they mean 2:30, and they mean it: Dutch meetings start on time. That is the other thing to get used to.
Partner tip Make the kitchen clock part of the day. Whenever one of you looks at it, ask: Hoe laat is het? and answer the Dutch way, kwart over zeven, tien voor half acht. No digital times allowed. Sooner or later the learner catches the partner out on half acht, which is the best moment of all.
Test yourself
The train leaves at "half zeven". What time is that?
6:30. Half to seven.
How do you say 4:35 in Dutch?
Vijf over half vijf.
