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How to Say ‘It took me an hour and a half’ in Mexican Spanish

Tardé una hora y media

tar-DEH OO-nah OH-rah ee MEH-dyah

[tar-DEH OO-nah OH-rah ee MEH-dyah]

💬 Usage Tip: tardar means 'to take time'. Add how long right after it: tardé veinte minutos "it took me twenty minutes".

Phrase Breakdown

Tardé una hora

tar-DEH OO-nah OH-rah

It took me an hour

'Tardé' means I took (time). Stress the final 'DEH'. The 'h' in 'hora' is silent.

Example

Tardé una hora en llegar.

It took me an hour to arrive.

Words in this phrase

Tardé

[tar-DEH]

I took (time)

Past tense of 'tardar', to take a certain amount of time or to be late.

Example

Tardé mucho en llegar.

It took me a long time to arrive.

una

[OO-nah]

Feminine singular indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one.'

Example

Una reclutadora me dio su tarjeta hoy.

A recruiter gave me her card today.

hora

[OH-rah]

time / hour

Feminine noun for a time of day or a sixty-minute hour.

Example

¿Qué hora es?

What time is it?

y media

ee MEH-dyah

and a half

Add 'y media' to say half past or and a half. Say 'ee MEH-dyah'.

Example

Son las tres y media.

It's three thirty.

Words in this phrase

[ee]

and

A conjunction used to join words or ideas.

Example

«Y» conecta «trabajo» y «vida personal».

“Y” connects “work” and “personal life.”

media

[MEH-dyah]

half

Feminine adjective meaning half, agreeing with 'cuadra'.

Example

Comí media torta.

I ate half a sandwich.

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