How to Convert Time From a 12-Hour Format to a 24-Hour Format
Hours in a day are represented in 2 formats: a 12-hour clock and a 24-hour clock. The first one is common in Latin America and some English-speaking countries, the second one is common in the rest of the world.
5-Minute Crafts wants to share with you what the difference between the 2 formats is and how to convert them from one into the other. The bonus part will show you the complete time correspondence chart in 2 formats.
What 12-hour and 24-hour clock formats are
As we know, there are 24 hours in a day. In a 24-hour format, they are counted in order, and in the 12-hour format, they are divided into 2 periods: АМ (Latin ante meridiem, which means “before midday”) and РМ (Latin post meridiem, which means “after midday”).
This means in a 12-hour format a day is divided into 2 periods that have 12 hours each: from midnight to midday (AM) and from midday to midnight (PM). In the 24-hour format, a day lasts from midnight to midnight and is split into 24 hours — from 00:00 (midnight) to 23:59.
How to convert time from a 12-hour format to 24-hour format
If the clock is showing a period from 12:00 АМ to 12:59 АМ, subtract 12 hours and remove АМ:
- 12:00 АМ = 00:00
- 12:45 АМ = 00:45
If the clock is showing a period from 1:00 АМ to 12:59 РМ, then hours and minutes stay the same but without АМ and РМ:
- 9:00 АМ = 09:00
- 12:59 PM = 12:59
If the clock is showing a period from 1:00 РМ to 11:59 РМ, add 12 hours and remove PM:
- 1:00 РМ = 13:00
- 6:23 РМ = 18:23
- 11:59 РМ = 23:59
How to convert time from a 24-hour format to a 12-hour format
If the clock is showing a period from 00:00 to 00:59, add 12 hours to the time and make it AM:
- 00:00 = 12:00 АМ
- 00:45 = 12:45 АМ
If the clock is showing a period from 01:00 to 11:59, simply make it AM:
- 04:25 = 4:25 АМ
- 08:30 = 8:30 АМ
If the clock is showing a period from 12:00 to 12:59, simply make it PM:
- 12:15 = 12:15 РМ
- 12:50 = 12:50 РМ
If the clock is showing a period from 13:00 to 23:59, subtract 12 hours and make it PM:
- 13:55 = 1:55 РМ
- 18:30 = 6:30 РМ
- 22:45 = 10:45 РМ
Bonus: A time correspondence chart in both formats
