Mennyi az idő? - a kemény verzió :) / What's the time? - the tough version :)

If you have followed the latest entries here or   posts on facebook, you know now how to tell the time when it's .15 / .30 / .45 (negyed / fél / háromnegyed). 

What if we are not that lucky and the time is 6.13? Or 6.18? The easiest way is to say 'hat óra tizenhárom' (6.13) and 'hat óra tizennyolc' (6.18).

If you want to sound more Hungarian, you can use 'múlt' or 'múlva'.

1. múlva
When you want to say that a certain time is coming, you can say 'negyed hét lesz két perc múlva' (6.13). That literally means 'it is quarter past six in two minutes'.

• In the first part, 'negyed hét lesz', you are saying the time that is coming (quarter past six).
• In the second part, 'két perc múlva', you are saying when that time is coming (in two minutes).
• These two parts are interchangeable. 'Negyed hét lesz két perc múlva.' 'Két perc múlva negyed hét (lesz).'

​2. múlt
When you want to say  that a certain time has passed by, you can say 'negyed hét múlt három perccel' (6.18). That literally means 'quarter past six passed by 3 minutes ago'. The first and second halves of the phrase are interchangeable. 'Negyed hét múlt három perccel.' 'Három perccel múlt negyed hét.'

Here is an exercise where you can practise these forms a bit. (It's the second task of the exercise.)