Basics
How to Say Military Time: A Complete Pronunciation Guide
How to pronounce military time correctly: hundred hours, zero vs oh, minutes, midnight, noon, radio and aviation styles, plus a full table of examples from 0000 to 2359.
By Free Military Time Calculator Team ·
To say military time, read the first two digits as the hour, the last two as the minutes, and add “hours”: 1430 is “fourteen thirty hours.” Times on the hour use “hundred,” so 1300 is “thirteen hundred hours,” never “one thousand three hundred.”
The 4 Pronunciation Rules
- Say the hour as one number: 17 is “seventeen.”
- Say the minutes as one number: 45 is “forty-five.”
- Use “hundred” for :00: 0900 is “zero nine hundred.”
- Add “hours” in formal use: “seventeen forty-five hours.”
Zero or Oh?
Formal military speech says “zero” for a leading zero: 0800 is “zero eight hundred.” Casual speech often says “oh”: “oh eight hundred.” Both are understood; “zero” is the safer choice on a radio or in a report.
Minutes Below 10
Say the zero before a single-digit minute: 1405 is “fourteen zero five,” and 0903 is “zero nine zero three.”
Midnight and Noon
- 0000: “zero hundred hours” (midnight, start of the day)
- 2400: “twenty-four hundred hours” (midnight, end of the day)
- 1200: “twelve hundred hours” (noon)
Pronunciation Table
| Time | Formal | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| 0000 | zero hundred hours | zero hundred |
| 0030 | zero zero thirty hours | zero zero thirty |
| 0600 | zero six hundred hours | oh six hundred |
| 0815 | zero eight fifteen hours | oh eight fifteen |
| 1000 | ten hundred hours | ten hundred |
| 1200 | twelve hundred hours | twelve hundred |
| 1405 | fourteen zero five hours | fourteen oh five |
| 1430 | fourteen thirty hours | fourteen thirty |
| 1800 | eighteen hundred hours | eighteen hundred |
| 2000 | twenty hundred hours | twenty hundred |
| 2145 | twenty-one forty-five hours | twenty-one forty-five |
| 2359 | twenty-three fifty-nine hours | twenty-three fifty-nine |
Radio and Aviation Style
Aviation and some radio procedures read each digit separately to avoid mishearing: 1430Z is “one four three zero Zulu.” Military voice traffic adds the zone letter: 0600R is “zero six hundred Romeo.”
3 Common Mistakes
- “Two thousand hours” for 2000. Say “twenty hundred.”
- “Fourteen hundred thirty.” Say “fourteen thirty.”
- “Nine hundred hours” for 0900. Say the leading zero: “zero nine hundred.”
Every time page on this site shows the spoken form; open 1430 military time for an example, or convert any time with the military time converter.