A guide to saying it like a local
How to Say "At noon" in Spanish
Say 'al mediodía' for 'at noon' in Spanish. Perfect for scheduling lunch or midday meetings.
al mediodía
al meh-dee-OH-ee-ahneutral
Spanish TTS · 0:01
Use 'al mediodía' when you need to specify noon as a time. It's common for setting up lunch plans or referring to events happening precisely at midday.
Alternatives
- a mediodíaVery similar, often interchangeable, but 'al' is slightly more common.
- a las doceUse this if you want to be more specific about the hour, 'at twelve o'clock'.
Ways to get it wrong
Confusing 'medio' with 'middle'
'Mediodía' specifically means noon, not just any middle part of the day.
Forgetting the 'al'
You need the 'al' (a + el) contraction before 'mediodía' to mean 'at noon'.
A small cultural note
In many Spanish-speaking countries, the midday meal (la comida) is traditionally eaten later than in Anglo cultures, often between 2 and 4 PM. 'Al mediodía' refers strictly to 12 PM.
When you'd actually say this
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Coordinating a Workday Lunch Pickup
You're at your desk in a Mexico City office and your colleague leans over to ask when you want to grab tortas from the place downstairs. You say 'al mediodía' because you have a call at one and need to be back before then, and she nods and grabs her keys.
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Telling the Plumber When to Arrive
You're standing in your kitchen in Madrid, phone pressed to your ear, and the plumber asks what time works for him to come fix the pipe under the sink. You say 'al mediodía' because you'll be home from the school run by then and the noise won't wake anyone.
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Confirming a Plaza Meeting Point
You and a friend are texting the night before a day trip to Seville, sorting out where to split up and regroup after the morning market. You type 'nos vemos al mediodía en la plaza' so there's a fixed anchor to the day before the afternoon heat sets in.
Related ways to say it in Spanish
- a las doce del día — at twelve in the daytime
- Use this when there's any ambiguity about AM vs PM, particularly in spoken contexts where '12' alone could confuse — more explicit than 'al mediodía' but less common in casual speech.
- a la hora del almuerzo — at lunchtime
- Refers to the general midday meal window rather than the clock striking 12; common in Colombia and Venezuela where 'almuerzo' is the main midday meal.
- a mitad del día — in the middle of the day
- Vaguer than 'al mediodía' — use this when you mean roughly midday rather than exactly noon; informal and conversational.
- al filo del mediodía — right around noon
- Heard in Mexico and parts of Central America; implies noon is approaching or just arriving, useful when you're being approximate rather than precise.
Notes for English speakers
- English speakers often stress the wrong syllable, landing on 'ME-dio' when Spanish stress falls on the 'dí' in 'mediodía' — the accent mark is there to tell you exactly where to push.
- Because 'al mediodía' refers strictly to 12:00 PM, using it to mean 'during the middle of the day' or 'around lunchtime' will sound off to native speakers, especially in countries where lunch doesn't happen until 2 or 3 PM.
- The contraction 'al' is mandatory here — 'a el mediodía' is a grammatical error in standard Spanish, and unlike some contractions in other languages, there is no informal register where skipping it becomes acceptable.
The same phrase in other languages
Frequently asked
what is al mediodía in english
'Al mediodía' directly translates to 'at noon' in English. It refers to the specific time of 12:00 PM.
al mediodía vs a las doce
'Al mediodía' means 'at noon' (12 PM), while 'a las doce' means 'at twelve o'clock', which could be noon or midnight.
how to say midday in spanish
The most common way to say 'midday' or 'noon' is 'mediodía'. To say 'at midday', you would use 'al mediodía'.
Is there a word for noon in Spanish?
Yes, the word for noon in Spanish is 'mediodía'.
How would you say 'it's noon' in Spanish?
You would say 'Es mediodía'.
How do I say 12 pm in Spanish?
You say 'las doce de la mañana' or simply 'mediodía'.
What does 'qué hora' mean?
'Qué hora' means 'what time'.
