Hello,
For hours around noon/midnight, in Spanish, is "mediodía" only used for noon sharp? Or is it also used with "menos/y + minutes"? For instance, for 12:30 PM, would you say "Es mediodía y media" or is it best to say "Son las doce y media"?
Same for "medianoche".
Hola Céline
Good question!
The answer is no. You can't use the words "mediodia" or "medianoche" when minutes are implied. They are only used to refer to specifically 12 o'clock.
Es mediodía.
Es medianoche.
Son las doce y cuarto, y media, menos diez...
However, the word "mediodía" is also used very often to refer to the times "around" 12 midday, so you could also hear things like "Vamos a ir a la piscina a la una del mediodía" - this is to distinguish it from 1 o´clock after midnight, so it clarifies it.
Also, because in Spain the "mediodía" also refers to the period around "lunch time" and this is definitely not 12 o'clock, but later (from about 2:00 to 3:00) - so if you hear someone saying "Te veo mañana a mediodía" for example, this means that they are seeing each other around lunch time (not necessarily 12 o'clock).
I hope this clarifies it.
Saludos
Inma
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