How to Convert the Time System from 24 to 12 Hours

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How to Convert the Time System from 24 to 12 Hours
How to Convert the Time System from 24 to 12 Hours
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If you've ever felt confused after reading 2:24 PM on a clock, you probably don't know the 12-hour format well for expressing time. This format is often used in Anglo-Saxon countries and other parts of the world. Fortunately, it's super easy to convert the time from 24-hour format to 12-hour format and vice versa. Remember that you only need to convert the hours; the minutes are always the same.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Convert a Time from 24 Hour Format to 12 Hour Format

Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 1
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 1

Step 1. Add 12 to the first hour of the day and add "AM"

In the 24-hour format, midnight is indicated as 00:00. So for the hour from midnight to 1am, add 12 and use the "AM" indication to convert it to the 12-hour format. For example, this means that 00:13 in the 24-hour format becomes 12:13 AM in the 12-hour format.

Did you know that?

The abbreviations "AM" and "PM" are of Latin origin. "AM" stands for "ante meridiem", ie "before noon", while "PM" stands for "post meridiem", ie "after noon".

Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 2
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 2

Step 2. Include "AM" for times between 1:00 and 11:59 am

Since the 24-hour format changes from 00:00 (midnight) to 1:00, just add "AM" to the times between 1:00 and 11:59. You can also delete the zero at the beginning of the number. For example, 06:28 in the 24-hour format becomes 6:28 AM in the 12-hour format. This means that:

  • 01:00 = 1:00 AM
  • 02:00 = 2:00 AM
  • 03:00 = 3:00 AM
  • 04:00 = 4:00 AM
  • 05:00 = 5:00 AM
  • 06:00 = 6:00 AM
  • 07:00 = 7:00 AM
  • 08:00 = 8:00 AM
  • 09:00 = 9:00 AM
  • 10:00 = 10:00 AM
  • 11:00 = 11:00 AM
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 3
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 3

Step 3. Add the "PM" indication for the time from 12:00 to 12:59

For the noon time, just add "PM" to the end of the hour in 24-hour format to change it to 12-hour format. So, for example, 12:45 PM becomes 12:45 PM.

Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 4
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 4

Step 4. Subtract 12 from the hours between 13:00 and 23:59, then include "PM"

For example, to convert 14:36 to 12-hour format, subtract 12 to get 2:36, then add "PM". There is no need to start the hour with a zero for single digits in the 12-hour format. Consequentially:

  • 13:00 = 1:00 PM
  • 14:00 = 2:00 PM
  • 15:00 = 3:00 PM
  • 16:00 = 4:00 PM
  • 17:00 = 5:00 PM
  • 18:00 = 6:00 PM
  • 19:00 = 7:00 PM
  • 20:00 = 8:00 PM
  • 21:00 = 9:00 PM
  • 22:00 = 10:00 PM
  • 23:00 = 11:00 PM

Method 2 of 2: Switch from 12-Hour Format to 24-Hour Format

Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 5
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 5

Step 1. Use 00:00 to indicate midnight in 24-hour format

Instead of using "12:00" twice, as in the 12-hour format, in the 24-hour format, midnight is indicated as "00:00". This means you just have to mark the minutes. For example, 12:30 AM becomes 00:30.

Did you know that?

There is no 24:00 in the 24-hour format because the time changes from 23:00 (11:00 PM) to 00:00 (12:00 AM).

Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 6
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 6

Step 2. Remove the "AM" indication for times between 1:00 and 11:59 AM

It is very easy to transform a time between midnight and noon from the 12-hour format to the 24-hour format. Just remove the word "AM". If the number representing hours is a single digit, add a zero to the beginning. So, as an example, 6:00 AM becomes 6:00 AM and 10:15 AM becomes 10:15 AM. Consequentially:

  • 1:00 AM = 01:00
  • 2:00 AM = 02:00
  • 3:00 AM = 03:00
  • 4:00 AM = 04:00
  • 5:00 AM = 05:00
  • 6:00 AM = 06:00
  • 7:00 AM = 07:00
  • 8:00 AM = 08:00
  • 9:00 AM = 09:00
  • 10:00 AM = 10:00
  • 11:00 AM = 11:00
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 7
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 7

Step 3. Leave noon unchanged, but remove the "PM" indication

You don't need to change anything else to change 12:00 PM to 12:00 on the 24-hour format. So, as an example, 12:22 PM simply becomes 12:22 PM.

Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 8
Convert from 24 Hour to 12 Hour Time Step 8

Step 4. Add 12 to the hours between 1:00 and 11:59 PM, then remove the "PM" indication

For afternoon, evening and night hours, just add 12 to the 12-hour time format if you want to convert it to 24-hour time. You also need to delete "PM". This means that 2:57 PM becomes 14:57, while 11:02 PM becomes 23:02. Consequentially:

  • 1:00 PM = 13:00
  • 2:00 PM = 14:00
  • 3:00 PM = 15:00
  • 4:00 PM = 16:00
  • 5:00 PM = 17:00
  • 6:00 PM = 18:00
  • 7:00 PM = 19:00
  • 8:00 PM = 20:00
  • 9:00 PM = 21:00
  • 10:00 PM = 22:00
  • 11:00 PM = 23:00

Advice

  • Note that "16:35" can be pronounced "sixteen thirty-five" or "thirty-five minutes after sixteen".
  • In English, depending on the speaker's preference, zero at the beginning of a time can be pronounced "zero" or "oh". For example, 08:00 is pronounced "oh-eight-hundred" or "zero-eight-hundred". However, for the midnight hour, zeroes are usually not pronounced.
  • If the colon in the center of the time is omitted, "hours" is added to the end of the time in English to indicate that it is military time. For example, "1600" becomes "sixteen hundred hours".
  • Practice makes perfect! If you have a digital device, it probably has a setting that allows you to change the time format from 12 to 24 hours. Use it to get used to reading the time in both formats.
  • Another quick and easy to use method is to subtract 2 from the second digit and 1 from the first digit of all times over 12 (ex: 17:00 - 2 = 5:00 PM; 22:00 - 2 = 10:00 PM). If you get a negative value, you have to "compensate" by subtracting the difference from the result, imagining a zero instead of the negative number (fortunately this only happens in two cases: 20:00 or 8:00 PM and 21:00 or 9:00 PM).

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