O’clock

What is o’clock?

O'clock is a way of telling the exact hour on a clock.

We say "o'clock" when the minute hand (the long hand) points to the number 12 on the clock.

When the minute hand points straight up to 12, it means it is the start of a new hour.

The short hand tells you which hour it is.

For example, when the clock shows the short hand on 3 and the long hand on 12, it is 3 o'clock.

Quiz: O’clock times

Test out your knowledge of reading o'clock times with this quiz, then read on to complete the page.

Reading time on a number line

Reading the hours on a clock is like following a number line from 1 to 12.

Each number shows an hour.

A whole day has 24 hours. The first 12 hours are in the morning and the second 12 hours are in the afternoon and evening.

This number line shows the hours in the morning.

Start by reading from 1 o’clock in the morning and following each hour along the line.

This number line shows 7 o’clock in the morning:

One hour after 7 o’clock in the morning is 8 o’clock in the morning. It is one jump up on the number line.

One hour before 7 o’clock in the morning is 6 o’clock in the morning. It is one jump down on the number line.

Afternoon and evening on a number line

This number line shows the hours in the afternoon and evening:

You can read the hours along the number line starting at 1 o’clock in the afternoon.

This number line reads 4 o’clock in the afternoon:

When you get to around 6 o’clock, it is the evening.

This number line shows 9 o’clock in the evening:

Reading a clock

A clock is like a number line in a circle.

You can count around the clock from 1 o’clock to 12 o’clock for the hours in the morning.

You can then count around the clock again from 1 o’clock to 12 o’clock for the hours of the afternoon and evening.

This shows how the clock works in a 12-hour cycle, repeating for each part of the day.

On this clock, the time is 1 o'clock.

The hour hand points to 1 and the minute hand points straight up to 12.

One hour after 1 o’clock is 2 o’clock.

One hour before 1 o’clock is 12 o’clock.

Example 1

Take a look at this clock.