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12pm vs. 12am

English translation: 12pm = noon, 12am = midnight, prefer to use 12 noon and 12 midnight

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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	12pm vs. 12am
English translation:	12pm = noon, 12am = midnight, prefer to use 12 noon and 12 midnight
Entered by:	Alison Riddell

Options:
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15:07 Nov 10, 2003

English to English translations [Non-PRO]

English term or phrase: 12pm vs. 12am

Here's one that ALWAYS throws me....

Which one is midnight and which one is midday - 12pm or 12am?

Thanks!

Alison

Alison Riddell KudoZ activity Questions: 411 (2 open) (2 without valid answers) Answers: 2187
Local time: 03:39

00.00

Explanation:
is midnight, 12 noon is midday

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Note added at 2003-11-10 15:12:56 (GMT)
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Timetables show 24.00 as a bus/train arrival at midnight, and 0.00 as a departure at midnight.
Accurately speaking, 12.00 am and 12.00 pm cannot exist - or should not - because of the danger of confusion.

Selected response from:

David Moore
Local time: 03:39

Grading comment

Thanks to you all. So 12pm is midday, even though it sounds like it ought to be midnight - and I fully agree with you all that using 12pm or 12am should be avoided at all costs
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +11

12 a.m. - midnight/ 12 p.m. - noon (midday)

Katherine Matles

5 +8

12 noon and 12 midnight

Marian Greenfield

5 +6

below

Manuel Plaza

5 +5

00.00

David Moore

5 +5

12 pm = midday

Kardi Kho

12 pm is noon and 12 am is midnight

yolanda Speece

midday and midnight

Will Matter

Answers

3 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

00.00

David Moore
Local time: 03:39
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 840

Grading comment

Thanks to you all. So 12pm is midday, even though it sounds like it ought to be midnight - and I fully agree with you all that using 12pm or 12am should be avoided at all costs

3 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

below

Explanation:
12am - midnight
12pm - midday

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-11-10 15:12:19 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Crane Calendar / December 2003 - ... recess. NYSSMA Winter Conference. Crane open 12pm (Noon) - 12am (Midnight). -, 1. ... Crane
open 7am-12am (Midnight). Student Recitals @ Snell Theater and Hosmer Hall. ...
www.potsdam.edu/CRANE/Calendar/mmcal.mmd/m0312.htm

[PDF] Pricing, Booth & Exhibitor Information
Formato de archivo: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Versión en HTML
... Jan. 25 12pm – 6pm Sun. Feb. 1 12pm – 6pm Move-Out Move-Out Move-Out Move-Out
Sun. Oct. 5 6pm – 12am Midnight Sun. Nov. 9 6pm – 12am Midnight Sun. Jan. ...
www.canwestshows.com/sexshow/ resources/booth-prices.pdf

Manuel Plaza
Spain
Local time: 03:39
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 27

3 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +11

12 a.m. - midnight/ 12 p.m. - noon (midday)

Explanation:
12 a.m. - midnight
12 p.m. - noon

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Note added at 6 mins (2003-11-10 15:14:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

But if you want to get really technical, look at this article :-)))))

Time Questions and Answers from NIST - [ Traduzca esta página ]
... Are noon and midnight 12 am or 12 pm? ... Therefore, either 12 am or 12 pm could
work as a designation for midnight, but both would be ambiguous. ...
physics.nist.gov/News/Releases/questions.html - 8k - 9 Nov 2003 - En caché - Páginas similares

Katherine Matles
Spain
Local time: 03:39
Native speaker of:

English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Maria-Jose Pastor

2 mins

neutral

vixen: The reference you gave states that 12am and 12pm should not be used because they are confusing.

10 mins

-> Yes techncally speaking its incorrect, that's why I gave the reference but wouldn't you agree that people do use 12 a.m. and 12 p.m.!

agree

Maria Danielson

1 hr

agree

senin

1 hr

agree

Will Matter: not confusing, very simple!

1 hr

agree

Refugio: The logic is this: if one minute after noon is 12 pm (which we know it is by definition), then let's call noon 12:00 pm for consistency's sake.

1 hr

-> Yes it's quite logical!

agree

Sally van der Graaff: Yes, midnight is the beginning of the new day, and noon is the beginning of the latter half of the day.

2 hrs

agree

jccantrell: Man, this has to be one of the most confusing topics in quite a while. but noon is PM, as willmatter says in the answer below.

2 hrs

agree

Catherine Norton

3 hrs

agree

Empty Whiskey Glass

3 hrs

agree

Margarita

9 hrs

agree

chopra_2002

18 hrs

12 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +8

12 noon and 12 midnight

Explanation:
they are neither am or pm.

12 pm often is used for noon and 12 am for midnight, but that is inaccurate.

12:01 pm is one minute after noon and 12:01 am is one minute after midnight.

Marian Greenfield
Local time: 21:39
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 732

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

vixen

1 min

agree

David Knowles: logically this must be right - they are neither ante nor post meridiem. If pushed, I would say 12 a.m. is noon and 12 p.m. is midnight, but that disagrees with other contributors! So avoid if possible!

4 mins

agree

chopra_2002

42 mins

agree

John Bowden

50 mins

agree

jerrie

1 hr

disagree

Will Matter: 12:01 pm is 12:01 pm BECAUSE it's the 1st minute of the AFTERnoon (think deeply about the name & consider its possible origin) by the same token anything B4 that is MORNING, 11:59 AM (ante, like 'antes' right?), NOON, 12:01 (postmeridian) & so begins PM

1 hr

-> Huh? I think (but am not sure) that you're saying exactly what I said. 12:00 is either noon or midnight, neither a.m. or p.m, although it's often stated incorrectly. one minute after midnight is 12:01 a.m.

agree

Andy Watkinson

3 hrs

agree

Empty Whiskey Glass

3 hrs

agree

Chris Rowson: I´m with David: 12 p.m. sounds like night-time to me. And after all, it is "post meridian". But then also "ante meridian", so best avoided. I try to remember to say what I mean, with "midnight".

12 hrs

agree

Mario Marcolin

16 hrs

1 hr confidence:

12 pm is noon and 12 am is midnight

Explanation:
12 am is when the morning begins
High noon is 12 pm

yolanda Speece
Local time: 20:39
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 31

2 hrs confidence:

midday and midnight

Explanation:
Cannot believe the amount of trouble this is causing, it's simpler than almost everyone is making it out to be. A day has 24 hours, divided into two halves, night and day. Each consists of twelve hours because the sky is progressively becoming either lighter or darker. Getting lighter=in the night, moving towards morning. Getting darker, in the day moving towards night. The two meridians (halfway points BECAUSE 24 divided by 2 is 12) are NOON and MIDNIGHT. So, morning, noon, afternoon (remainder of the day), evening (night), midnight, the remainder of the night and then, of course, morning. 12pm=Noon,12:01 beginning of afternoon 12am=midnight.

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Note added at 2003-11-10 22:47:50 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In response to MG above, always EITHER AM or PM, 12PM exists, 12AM exists, 12 alone, in some independent, nebulous, undefined way does not, all \'twelves\' (so to speak) are, by definition, one or the other, either 12AM (midnight) OR 12PM (midday). I do not agree that a 12 that is not an AM or PM exists, in contrast to the above i would say that it\'s always either AM or PM and by definition always either midnight or midday.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-11-10 22:49:10 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

12PM=Noon 12AM=midnight.

Will Matter
United States
Local time: 18:39
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 428

3 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

12 pm = midday

Explanation:
12 am = midnight

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Note added at 27 mins (2003-11-10 15:35:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Please also take a look at the previous posting of this question:

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/374070

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Note added at 9 hrs 47 mins (2003-11-11 00:55:53 GMT)
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Take a careful look at the 24-hour clock system:

A day has 24 hours, which starts from 00.00 to 23.59 (It is 23.59, not 24.00 as 24.00 is the 00.00 of the next day), and a day is devided in two halves, i.e. am and pm:

00.00-11.59 is am
12.00-23.59 is pm

Please note that pm starts exactly at 12.00 not 12.01.

HTH

Kardi Kho
Indonesia
Local time: 08:39
Native speaker of:

Indonesian
PRO pts in pair: 35

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12pm vs. 12am

English translation: 12pm = noon, 12am = midnight, prefer to use 12 noon and 12 midnight

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12pm vs. 12am

English translation: 12pm = noon, 12am = midnight, prefer to use 12 noon and 12 midnight

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KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

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