I recently watched Broadchurch on Netflix and heard something that sounded like “half nine” or “nine half”. I always keep subtitles turned on (I’m losing my hearing), so I glanced down to the subtitle, only to see that the statement had been translated as “9:30.”
Sometimes, in the US, we will say, “half past nine.” Do Brits have another way of expressing 9:30, other than “nine-thirty” or"half past nine?"
Nine thirty, half past nine or half nine would all be normal.
“half nine” is a slightly informal way of saying “9:30”
Thank you!
But wouldn’t “half nine” be 4:30?
No. It is 0:39.
“Half nine” isn’t math, it’s a shortened way of sating “half past nine.”
Thanks for posting this question. I heard this usage on an old episode of Cracker a few days ago. I intended, but forgot, to look up whether it mean half an hour before or half an hour after the stated hour.
Now I’ll be eternally confused because it’s opposite the German usage. Halb neun (literally “half nine”) refers to 8:30, because it’s half an hour before 9:00.
There are other differences. I’ve lived in the US for long enough that I’m not completely sure that this is right, but I think:
Quarter to nine - UK & US
Quarter of nine - US only
Quarter past nine - UK & US
Quarter after nine - US only
Is that right? And I think similar for numbers of minutes less than 30?
In my experience, the UK norm is to use the “x past/to” only for the five minute increments - 5, 10, quarter, 20, 25, half, 25, 20, quarter, 10, 5.
Anything more precise tends to be “x minutes past/to”, or just the likes of “9:38”.
There are almost certainly regional dialect variations, but everyone will understand the above.
I (US, grew up in New England) usually say Quarter 'til nine.
I say “quarter to” here, but “quarter till” and “quarter of” are acceptable, too. ETA, oh, and “quarter before.”