I noticed that I and Alexa say “six ‘oh’ five a m”, but is that the correct way of saying the time? Specifically the “oh” part?

Kind of like when speaking out a phone number, how we might say “my number is one two three, six ‘oh’ six…” but really, that’s not an “oh” like the letter O even though it looks like an O, but everyone knows the person is saying “six zero six”, which is the proper way of saying that.

Edit: thanks for all the answers everyone! This was just pure curiosity for me but I really enjoyed reading everyone’s responses and learning some new things!

  • @mateomaui@reddthat.comEnglish
    3•7 months ago

    Probably should take into account people with learning disabilities and processing disorders. six-oh-five is straight forward for anyone, five past six and five til six are commonly used but can trip up some people more than you’d expect.

    edit: the “quarter” variations are also problematic for some without taking a few beats longer to get it right because of the tendency to think of it as 25 instead of 15.

    • Auk
      0•7 months ago

      Probably should take into account people with learning disabilities and processing disorders

      As an option, definitely. As a default though I too would prefer the standard spoken form if the time is going to be spoken rather than displayed. It’s a bit like how simplified wikipedia is a good idea but I prefer regular English to be the default version.