Time is weird. Even in the same language some people will tell time differently.
In French my parents are used to fractions while I don’t. So for me 9:45 is nine hours fourty five but for them it’s ten hours minus the quarter.
but for them it’s ten hours minus the quarter.
Wait, what?
I think it’s similar to saying “quarter to ten”, and I suspect it’s a result of how numbers/counting work in French.
Yep. French Canadian is the same:
9:45 - 10 hours less a quarter
Dix heures moin la quart
8:15 - 8 hours and quarter
Huit heures et quart
You can go both ways in Spanish, but “hour minus X” is definitely less popular with younger people. Does any time in the latter half work with that approach in French? For example, in Spanish you can call 9:39 “10 minus 21”
It works and would be understood but it would also be odd. The unwritten rule is to round up to a multiple of 5.
