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How to Say ‘It's five to eight.’ in Italian

Sono le otto meno cinque.

SO-noh Leh OHT-toh MEH-noh cheen-kway

[SO-noh Leh OHT-toh MEH-noh cheen-kway]

Phrase Breakdown

Sono le otto

SO-noh Leh OHT-toh

It's eight

Name the coming hour first, then subtract the minutes.

Example

Sono le otto di sera.

It's eight in the evening.

Words in this phrase

Sono

[SO-noh]

They are

Used as a plural form of 'to be', indicating existence or identity of multiple entities.

Example

Sono 10 euro, grazie.

They are 10 euros, thank you.

[Leh]

The (feminine plural)

Definite article used for feminine plural nouns.

Example

Le mele costano tre euro al chilo.

The apples cost three euros per kilo.

otto

[OHT-toh]

eight

The number eight, often used for time expressions.

Example

Il tavolo è prenotato per le otto.

The table is booked for eight o’clock.

meno cinque.

MEH-noh cheen-kway

minus five (five to)

'Meno cinque' means five minutes before the hour. Say 'MEH-noh CHEEN-kweh'.

Example

Sono le dieci meno cinque.

It's five to ten.

Words in this phrase

meno

[MEH-noh]

less

Used to compare amounts, prices, or intensity.

Example

Per questa distanza pensavo di pagare un po' meno.

For this distance I thought I would pay a little less.

cinque

[cheen-kway]

five

The cardinal number next after four.

Example

Cinque persone hanno prenotato.

Five people have booked.

Guides for Italian learners

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