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

Sono le cinque e mezza.

SO-noh Leh cheen-kway eh MED-dzah

[SO-noh Leh cheen-kway eh MED-dzah]

Phrase Breakdown

Sono le cinque

SO-noh Leh cheen-kway

It's five

The hour comes first. Pronounce the 'c' in 'cinque' like 'ch' in 'cheese'.

Example

Sono le cinque di pomeriggio.

It's five in the afternoon.

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.

cinque

[cheen-kway]

five

The cardinal number next after four.

Example

Cinque persone hanno prenotato.

Five people have booked.

e mezza.

eh MED-dzah

and a half (thirty)

'Mezza' means half. The double 'z' sounds like a strong 'dz': 'MEHD-dzah'. You can also say 'e mezzo'.

Example

Ci vediamo alle sei e mezza.

See you at half past six.

Words in this phrase

[eh]

and

A conjunction used to connect ideas or qualities.

Example

Nella frase E collaborativa, E aggiunge una seconda qualità positiva dell'azienda.

In the phrase 'E collaborativa,' 'E' adds a second positive quality of the company.

mezza

[MED-dzah]

half

Means thirty minutes past the hour.

Example

È l'una e mezza.

It's half past one.

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