4/8/22, 1:36 AM How to Pronounce & Read Military Time - A Detailed Guide

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How to Pronounce & Read Military Time – A

Detailed Guide
April 2, 2022 by Everett Bledsoe

Among the many things you have to learn when you are in the military, the most important
job to know is how to pronounce and read the time. Just as there is specific jargon and lingo
that you, as a service member, have to be aware of, there is a particular way to tell military
time.

You may have even heard of military time pronunciations in movies and films that feature the
military. (It sounds pretty cool, right?)

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4/8/22, 1:36 AM How to Pronounce & Read Military Time - A Detailed Guide

Even though
Menu it is not common to learn how to say military time in basic education, you can
easily be a master at reading military time with our detailed article here.

The most important difference between the military and civilian time that you should keep in
mind is that the former uses a day clock measuring 24 hours rather than 12 hours. As such,
there is more accuracy and less chance of mixing up A.M and P.M hours.

We will take you through everything you need to know on the topic of saying military time.
So, are you ready to learn how to pronounce & read military time? Read on!

Table of Contents [hide]

A Simple But Detailed Guide on How to Speak Military Time

Reading the “Hours” in Military Time
Reading the “Minutes” in Military Time
Converting Military Time
Other Things Worth Noting
Conclusion

A Simple But Detailed Guide on How to Speak Military

Time

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As saidMenu
earlier, military time runs on a 24-hour clock. By the same token, military time begins
from 0000—midnight—and finishes with 24000.

However, this does not mean that military time is the same as 24-hour time. It only implies
that military time is also divided into a 24-hour format.

The main differences are in the presentation and pronunciation. In particular, military time
does not have a colon between the hours and minutes, and 24-hour time is not read or
displayed with the word “hours”.

When speaking military time, you will always see four digits. You should read them as two
pairs in order from left to right. The first two digits are for “hours”, and the remaining two are
for “minutes”.

Reading the “Hours” in Military Time

For hours without minutes, there are two ways that you can opt:

 Read the numbers and add “hundred” at the end

 Read the numbers, add “hundred” then “hours” at the end

So, how exactly do you read the numbers? For 0 to 9 hours, read it as “zero” and the
number that is given, and for 10 to 23 hours, read it as you would with pairs, like “eleven” for
11.

So, for instance, 0900 is “zero nine hundred hours” and 1900 is “nineteen hundred hours”.

Sometimes, it is also possible to read 0 to 9 hours’ “zero” as “oh”. For example, 0900 is “oh
nine hundred hours”, although “zero” is often considered more professional and diplomatic.

Reading the “Minutes” in Military Time

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Even though the minutes are not separated from hours with a colon like standard time, there
is a similarity that you should remember: As with reading hours, you first need to know if
what you are about to say is higher than 10.

Apply the same rules, but this time for 0 to 9 minutes and 10 to 59 minutes, respectively.
Again, this means “zero” plus the given number for 0 to 9 minutes and a “pair” for 10 to 59
minutes.

For example, it is 1905 military time. This is “nineteen zero fiver hours. A bit later, it is 1945
military time, which is “nineteen forty-five hours”.

Seconds are read the same as in standard time. But typically, you will not see seconds
spoken or written by classic military service members.

You may also find this table helpful.

24 Hour Military Time 12 hour Standard Time Way to Pronounce Military Time

12:00 Midnight 0000 Zero Hundred Hours

1:00 A.M 0100 Zero One Hundred Hours

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2:00 A.M
Menu 0200 Zero Two Hundred Hours

3:00 A.M 0300 Zero Three Hundred Hours

4:00 A.M 0400 Zero Four Hundred Hours

5:00 A.M 0500 Zero Five Hundred Hours

6:00 A.M 0600 Zero Six Hundred Hours

8:00 A.M 0700 Zero Seven Hundred Hours

9:00 A.M 0900 Zero Nine Hundred Hours

10:00 A.M 1000 Ten Hundred Hours

11:00 A.M 1100 Eleven Hundred Hours

12:00 P.M 1200 Twelve Hundred Hours

1:00 P.M 1300 Thirteen Hundred Hours

2:00 P.M 1400 Fourteen Hundred Hours

3:00 P.M 1500 Fifteen Hundred Hours

4:00 P.M 1600 Sixteen Hundred Hours

5:00 P.M 1700 Seventeen Hundred Hours

6:00 P.M 1800 Eighteen Hundred Hours

7:00 P.M 1900 Nineteen Hundred Hours

8:00 P.M 2000 Twenty Hundred Hours

9:00 P.M 2100 Twenty One Hundred Hours

10:00 P.M 2200 Twenty Two Hundred Hours

11:00 P.M 2300 Twenty Three Hundred Hours

12:00 P.M 2400 Twenty Four Hundred Hours

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Converting
Menu Military Time
When the hour is greater than 1200, subtract 1200 to get the standard time in P.M. For
example, at 1500 military time, the standard time is 1500 minus 1200, or 300, which equates
to 3 P.M.

When the hour is less than 1200, take the first two digits for A.M and the last two digits for
the minutes. For instance, at 0915 military time, the standard time is 9:15 A.M—9 hours and
15 minutes.

Other Things Worth Noting

It is not only good to know how to read military time if you are about to enter service, but
also in other contexts where you are frequented by hospitals and law enforcement. Also, it is
used in emergency services and the aviation sector.

This timing system is used more commonly in India, the Philippines, Australia, the United
Kingdom, and Germany as well.

Although military time is not easy to nail right off the bat, a little practice goes a long way. If
you want to become used to military time as quickly as possible, dedicate time and effort to
practicing how to read and convert it.

It is best to write these down as you pronounce them out loud. Attempt this from midnight
until noon, then noon until midnight—over and over until you know it by heart (Do not worry,
it is not impossible).

To help, here is an online military time converter that you can consider checking as you
practice.

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Conclusion
Now, you know how to pronounce & read military time. It is not the easiest to remember, but
as long as you do not forget it is a 24-hour system and bookmark this article for future
reference, you can rest assured that reading military time will never be a non-solvable
problem.

If you are a soon-to-be military personnel, go ahead and impress your leaders and
instructors! Otherwise, know that this small skill will be handy eventually. If you have any
other questions or opinions that you want to share on this topic, feel free to leave a
comment. We cannot wait to hear from you!

5/5 - (3 votes)

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