In telling time, normally the 12-hour set is used, not the 24-hour set. The 24-hour set is used in the Army and the media news broadcast. The cardinal numbers 1 to 12 are used for this purpose.

Remember that the word ساعت means ‘watch, clock, time, hour.’

The phrase in replying to asking the time is ساعت number است:

[tag resources time_02].ساعت یک است [/tag]
sā’at yek ast
It is one o’clock.
[tag resources time_03].ساعت دو است[/tag]
sā’at do ast
It is two o’clock.
[tag resources time_04].ساعت ده است[/tag]
sā’at dah ast
It is ten o’clock.
[tag resources time_05].ساعت دوازده است[/tag]
sā’at davāzda ast
It is twelve o’clock.

Usually the word ربع rob ‘a quarter’ and نیم nim ‘a half’ are used; but the words دقیقه daqiqe ‘minute’ and ثانیّه sāniyye ‘second’ are also used profusely:

[tag resources time_06]ساعت یک و ربع است[/tag]
sā’at yek-o rob’ ast
“It is one-fifteen.” (literally, ‘one and a quarter’)

[tag resources time_07]ساعت دو و نیم است[/tag]
sā’at do-vo nim ast
“It is two-thirty.” (literally, ‘ten and a half’)

[tag resources time_08]ساعت ده و پانزده دقیقه است[/tag]
sā’at dah-o pānzdah daqiqe ast
“It is ten-fifteen.”

[tag resources time_09]ساعت دوازده و سی دقیقه است.[/tag]
sā’at davāzdah-o si daqiqe ast
“It is twelve-thirty.”

[tag resources time_10]ساعت نه و بیست و سه دقیقه و چهار ثانیّه است[/tag]
sā’at noh-o bist-o se daqiqe-ve cahār sāniyye ast
“It is nine-twenty-three minutes and four seconds”

As we can see, between the hour and the fraction the linking –o- (‘and’) intervenes. However, if the time said is before the hour, the link is dropped and the word کم kam ‘less, short, shy’ follows the fraction:

[tag resources time_11]ساعت هشت٬ ربع کم است[/tag]
sa’at hašt, rob’ kam ast
“It is quarter to eight.” (literally, ‘it is eight, a quarter shy’)

[tag resources time_12]ساعت شش٬ هفده دقیقه کم است[/tag]
sa’at šeš, hefdah daqiqe kam ast
“It is seventeen minutes before/to six.”

A.M. is صبح sobh ‘morning, A.M.’ and P.M. is بعد از ظهر ba’d az zohr ‘afternoon, P.M.’, both of which follow the number, linked by ezāfe:

[tag resources time_13]ساعت چهارِ بعد از ظهر است[/tag]
sā’at cahār-e ba’d az zohr ast
“It is four P.M.”

[tag resources time_14]ساعت ششِ صبح است[/tag]
sā’at šeš-e sobh ast
“It is six A.M.”

In Persian the word for “midnight” doesn’t exclusively refer to 12 A.M., but to all the hours between twelve A.M. and the sunrise. Therefore, if the time is between twelve and the sunrise (including twelve itself), it is referred to as نصف شب nesf-e šab or (formally) نیمه شب nime šab ‘midnight’:

[tag resources time_15]ساعت سه و نیم نصف شب است[/tag]
sā’at se-vo nim-e nesf-e šab ast
“It is three-thirty A.M.”

The word for ‘noon’ is[tag resources time_16] ظهر [/tag]zohr. Between ظهر and four or five P.M. (depending on the season and how soon or late the sun sets) is usually referred to as [tag resources time_17]بعد از ظهر [/tag] ba’d az zohr . Between those hours and the sunset, while the sky is still bright enough is usually referred to as[tag resources time_18] عصر [/tag]asr. The word for ‘sunset’ is غروب γorub or مغرب maγreb, which also means ‘dusk.’ A word for ‘dawn’ as بامداد bāmdād is used exclusively formally. The spoken word is almost always[tag resources time_19] صبح[/tag]sobh ‘morning’.

The words for an ambiguous time span between the sunrise and noon is قبل از ظهر qabl az zohr, or پیش از ظهر piš az zohr. Therefore,[tag resources time_20] قبل از ظهر می بینمت [/tag]qabl az zohr mi binamat means “I’ll see you some time before noon,” but it is normally closer to noon than to the sunrise. Normally the time between the sunrise and ten o’clock is referred to as[tag resources time_21] صبح [/tag]sobh ‘morning.’