pusė trijų / be penkiolikos trys

Half Past and Quarter to

Level 4

pusė trijų = 2:30 (half of three), be penkiolikos trys = 2:45 (three without fifteen), dešimt po dviejų = 2:10 (ten after two).

How It Works

1. Half past. Lithuanian counts the half hour toward the next hour, like German halb drei:

  • pusė trijų = 2:30 (literally half of three)
  • pusė dviejų = 1:30

You may also hear an ordinal after pusė, as in pusė septintos (6:30).

2. Minutes to the hour. Use be + genitive of the minutes, then the next hour: be penkiolikos trys (2:45), be penkių šešios (5:55). Numbers ending in -lika change to -likos, while dešimt and dvidešimt usually stay the same: be dešimt trys (2:50), be dvidešimt trys (2:40).

3. Minutes past the hour. Use the minutes, then po + genitive of the hour: dešimt po dviejų (2:10), penkiolika po devynių (9:15).

4. At what time. For half hours, put pusė in the accusative: Susitinkame pusę penkių (We are meeting at half past four). Times with be and po stay the same: Traukinys išvyksta be dvidešimt septynios (The train leaves at twenty to seven). For full hours, see telling the time: trečią valandą (at three o'clock).

Examples (6)

  1. Dabar pusė trijų.

    It is half past two now.

    Word by Word: Now half of-three.

    Pusė trijų means half of three, so the time is 2:30.

  2. Susitinkame pusę penkių.

    We are meeting at half past four.

    At a time, pusė becomes the accusative pusę.

  3. Jau be penkiolikos trys.

    It is already a quarter to three.

    Word by Word: Already without fifteen three.

    Be penkiolikos means without fifteen minutes.

  4. Traukinys išvyksta be dvidešimt septynios.

    The train leaves at twenty to seven.

    Dvidešimt usually does not change after be.

  5. Dabar dešimt po dviejų.

    It is ten past two now.

    Dviejų is the genitive of du after po.

  6. Pamoka prasideda penkiolika po devynių.

    The lesson starts at a quarter past nine.

Common Mistakes

  • Counting the half hour from the hour that has passed, as in English.

    Dabar pusė dviejų. (meaning 2:30)
    Dabar pusė trijų.

    Pusė dviejų means 1:30. For half past two, name the next hour: pusė trijų.

  • Keeping pusė in the nominative when saying at what time.

    Susitinkame pusė penkių.
    Susitinkame pusę penkių.

    To say at half past, use the accusative pusę, just as other times of day take the accusative.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

pusė trijų / be penkiolikos trysLevel 4Half Past and Quarter to

Learn This First

These clock expressions use genitives for the next hour, remaining minutes or elapsed hour.

Words in This Pattern

pusėbe