How to Read a Word Clock
A word clock shows the time as a sentence hidden in a grid of letters. Every five minutes a new phrase lights up, such as IT IS TWENTY FIVE PAST TEN or IT IS A QUARTER TO SIX. The four dots in the corners count the minutes in between: at 10:27 the clock reads TWENTY FIVE PAST TEN with two dots lit. Go fullscreen to turn a spare tablet or monitor into a word clock for your desk or wall.
Telling Time in Words
There are two common ways to say the time in English:
- Past and to: for the first half of the hour, say the minutes past the hour (10:20 is “twenty past ten”). For the second half, say the minutes to the next hour (10:40 is “twenty to eleven”). Fifteen minutes is “a quarter” and thirty minutes is “half”.
- Digital style: read the hour then the minutes, as in “ten forty”. For minutes under ten, say “oh”: 7:05 is “seven oh five”.
Use the converter above to see any time written both ways. It is a handy way to practice reading clocks, alongside the teaching clock.
About Word Clocks
Letter-grid word clocks became popular as designer wall clocks in the late 2000s and are a favorite DIY electronics project, built with an LED behind each letter. This online version uses the classic 11 by 10 English layout, so you can try the look before building or buying one.