7:23 PM in Spanish | Write Time Like a Native Speaker

In Spanish, you’ll usually write the time as 7:23 p. m. or 19:23, depending on whether you’re using the 12-hour or 24-hour clock.

Seeing “7:23 PM” and needing it in Spanish can feel oddly tricky. Not because Spanish is hard, but because time has a few “right” options, and the best one depends on where the text will appear.

If you’re texting a friend, an invite, a travel plan, a school form, or a work schedule, you’ll want the version that looks natural to Spanish readers. This piece gives you clean, copy-ready formats for writing it, plus the small punctuation details that make it look polished.

What Spanish readers expect when you write time

Spanish is comfortable with two time systems:

• 24-hour time (common in schedules, travel, signage, many formal settings)
• 12-hour time (common in everyday speech and casual writing, often clarified with words like “de la tarde”)

So “7:23 PM” maps cleanly to either 19:23 (24-hour) or 7:23 p. m. (12-hour with the abbreviation). Both can be correct. The “best” choice is the one that matches the context.

7:23 PM in Spanish For Texts And Forms

Here are the two safest ways to write it, with a third option that’s common in natural sentences:

• Digital, 12-hour:7:23 p. m.
• Digital, 24-hour:19:23
• In running text:a las 7:23 de la tarde (or de la noche, if the situation calls for it)

If you’re filling out something that looks official (appointment cards, flight or train details, event programs), 19:23 often fits best. If you’re writing a message or a sentence, a las 7:23 de la tarde reads smooth and clear.

Pick “tarde” or “noche” the way people do

Spanish splits the day with plain phrases. The exact boundary between “tarde” and “noche” can shift by region and habit, and people can disagree around sunset. If you want to avoid that whole debate, use the 24-hour clock.

If you do need a word, “7:23” is often treated as de la tarde in many places. In some contexts—dinner plans, evening events—people may also say de la noche. When you’re unsure, write 19:23 and you’re done.

Use the punctuation that looks native

If you choose the 12-hour abbreviations, Spanish style typically uses lowercase letters and periods with spacing: a. m. and p. m. That guidance is widely taught in Spanish usage notes and style recommendations, including guidance on these abbreviations and when they help remove ambiguity.

Here’s the clean pattern:

• 7:23 p. m. (space before p. m.)
• 7:23 a. m. (space before a. m.)

You can see the reasoning for using abreviaturas a. m. y p. m. para distinguir la franja del día in the Spanish language guidance pages from RAE.

How to write 7:23 PM so it works in real-life contexts

Before you choose a format, ask one quick question: “Is this a schedule-style time, or sentence-style time?” That’s the whole trick.

Use 24-hour time for schedules, travel, and signage

When time is shown in lists, tables, tickets, or itinerary layouts, Spanish commonly uses 24-hour time. It’s compact and avoids any doubt.

So you can write:

• 19:23

If you’re matching an international standard style for timestamps and systems, the ISO-style approach uses a 24-hour representation. A public NIST publication includes ISO 8601 material on representing dates and times; it’s a solid reference point for technical formatting and interoperability: NIST publication referencing ISO 8601 date-time representation.

Use 12-hour time in casual writing when you want a friendly feel

If you’re writing like a person (texts, DMs, emails to friends, casual event notes), 12-hour time feels natural. Spanish often clarifies the part of day with words:

• a las 7:23 de la tarde
• a las 7:23 de la noche

You can also write it with the abbreviation if you prefer a shorter digital look:

• 7:23 p. m.

Use “a las” in sentences

When Spanish time appears inside a sentence, a las is the usual lead-in for most hours:

• Nos vemos a las 7:23.
• La cena es a las 7:23 de la tarde.

One exception: for 1:xx, Spanish uses a la (singular): a la 1:10. For 7:23, it stays a las.

Minute-by-minute wording for 7:23 when you say it out loud

Writing time is one thing. Saying it is another. If you’re learning Spanish or preparing a script, here are natural spoken options that fit “7:23 PM.”

Direct minutes style

This is the most straightforward:

• Son las siete y veintitrés.
• Son las siete y veintitrés de la tarde.

“Twenty to” style is common too

Some speakers prefer counting down to the next hour:

• Son las ocho menos veintisiete.
• Son las ocho menos veintisiete de la tarde.

Both styles are normal. The “menos” style can sound especially natural in conversation.

When “en punto,” “y media,” and “y cuarto” matter

Those phrases are popular for round times:

• en punto (exactly on the hour)
• y media (half past)
• y cuarto (quarter past)

They don’t apply to 7:23, but they matter if you’re writing multiple times in the same message and want consistent style.

Table of formats that fit different situations

Use this table as a fast chooser. It’s meant to save you from second-guessing when the same time shows up in different places.

Where it appears	Best Spanish format	Why it fits
Train, flight, bus, metro schedules	19:23	Clean, compact, no ambiguity
Appointment cards and clinic reminders	19:23	Matches formal scheduling style
Work shifts and staffing rosters	19:23	Reads fast in lists and grids
School timetables and class calendars	19:23	Pairs well with dates and locations
Text messages and DMs	a las 7:23 de la tarde	Sounds human and clear
Casual invites in running text	a las 7:23 + de la tarde	Easy to read, avoids “PM” feel
Forms that force AM/PM fields	7:23 p. m.	Matches the field while staying Spanish
Customer service emails and confirmations	19:23 or 7:23 p. m.	Pick based on the rest of the message style
Scripts, subtitles, dialogue	Son las siete y veintitrés	Natural spoken rhythm
Tech logs, timestamps, system outputs	19:23	Aligns with technical conventions

Small style choices that make your time look polished

Time formatting is full of tiny details that can make a line look clean or messy. These are the ones Spanish readers notice most.

Colon vs. point

In many Spanish contexts, the colon is common for digital time (19:23, 7:23). You’ll also see a point in some regions and older style. If you’re writing for general readers and want the safest pick, the colon is the most widely understood.

Spacing with a. m. and p. m.

If you use the abbreviations, the spacing and punctuation matter. A clean Spanish style writes them in lowercase with points and spaces between letters: a. m. and p. m.

This matches guidance from language usage recommendations on hour notation and the 12-hour model, including the note that these abbreviations can be added when you use digits in the 12-hour system: recomendación de Fundéu sobre la grafía de las horas.

Don’t double-mark the time

Avoid stacking two markers that do the same job. These look clunky:

• 7:23 p. m. de la tarde (too much)
• 19:23 p. m. (mixes systems)

Pick one lane: 24-hour, or 12-hour with a marker.

Watch noon and midnight if you’re writing more times

“7:23 PM” itself is simple, yet people often get tripped up when the same message also includes noon or midnight. If your text includes 12:00, be extra clear. Some Spanish guidance recommends specific notation for those edge cases, and it’s worth checking your style if the stakes are high.

Table of common mistakes and clean fixes

If you want your writing to feel natural, these fixes do a lot of work with few keystrokes.

What people write	Cleaner Spanish	What improves
7:23 PM	19:23	Spanish-friendly schedule style
7:23pm	7:23 p. m.	Spacing and punctuation match Spanish conventions
7:23 P.M.	7:23 p. m.	Lowercase fits Spanish abbreviation style
7.23 PM	7:23 p. m.	Colon reads clearly across audiences
7:23 p. m. de la tarde	a las 7:23 de la tarde	Stops double-marking and reads smooth
19:23 PM	19:23	Keeps one system only
At 7:23	A las 7:23	Uses the natural Spanish preposition
7:23 de la tarde (in a list)	19:23	List-friendly format that scans fast

Copy-ready lines you can paste

Here are ready-to-use snippets, depending on what you’re writing.

Text message

Nos vemos a las 7:23 de la tarde.

Schedule entry

19:23

Event line on a flyer

Hora: 19:23

Sentence in an email

La reunión empieza a las 19:23.

Quick checklist before you hit send

• If it’s a grid, roster, ticket, or timetable, write 19:23.
• If it’s a sentence, write a las 7:23 de la tarde (or de la noche if that fits the event).
• If you must use AM/PM style, write 7:23 p. m. with spacing and points.
• Don’t stack markers like p. m. plus de la tarde.

If you want one simple default that almost never looks out of place, choose the 24-hour form: 19:23. It’s tidy, clear, and widely understood across Spanish-speaking regions.