MilitaryTime
Military time or the 24-hour clock continues counting past 12. Any number past 12 represents the PM. Here's how to tell military time: Anything before noon reads the way you normally say it while anything after noon cointinues counting up until the end of the day. Military time runs from 0000 to 2359, with no AM or PM to get wrong. So 1:00 PM is 1300. If you're used to 12-hour time, this might feel a bit different.
spoken “ten thirty-one” | Clock showing the current time — drag the hour hand to explore
How to use the military time converter
The outer ring is the 12-hour clock you know; the inner teal ring is what the same position means after noon. Drag the hour hand below and watch both clocks move together. Push it past 12 and the day rolls over, which is the part that trips most people up.
About Military Time
Military time, also known as the 24-hour clock, uses a unique number for each hour of the day, from 00 to 23. Because each hour has its own number, there s no need for AM or PM.
Standard time, or the 12-hour clock, uses the numbers 1–12 twice each day. AM and PM are used to distinguish morning hours from afternoon and evening hours.
The term “military time” is used mainly in the United States. In many other parts of the world, it s simply known as the24-hour clock. It s also commonly used in fields where confusing AM and PM could cause a real problem—such as the military, hospitals, emergency services, transportation, and other around-the-clock operations.
And its usefulness goes well beyond those fields. Here are a couple of ways our users have told us military time makes their lives easier:
- Coordinating overnight shifts. One user mentioned how helpful military time is when coordinating night shifts. Showing up at 2 AM instead of 2 PM is a pretty big difference. With military time, 0200 and 1400 are much harder to confuse.
- Tracking time worked. Military time can also make it easier to record work hours. If you start at 1345 and finish at 1530, you can quickly see that you worked 1 hour and 45 minutes. There s no need to stop and figure out whether 1:45 and 3:30 are AM or PM.
Have a military time tip of your own? Share it with us in the feedback and we may add it here.
How to Read Military Time
Military time has its own “grammar,” if you will—a consistent way of writing and saying times so they re easy to understand. Here's the basic breakdown:
- Don't use a separator between hours and minutes. Write 1906, not 19:06.
- Include leading zeros. For example, 7:06 AM is written 0706 and spoken as “zero seven zero six.”
- Time zone designators may be added as letters and spoken
using the NATO phonetic alphabet such as Juliett (J) to indicate local time. For example, 1906J may be spoken as “nineteen zero six Juliett.”Source: Wikipedia
Need to convert a time quickly? Use the military time converter above, or print our military time conversion chart for a handy desk reference.
