Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 1: Telling the time
• Tips
• Warnings

Nowadays we all see the digital time on our phones, which makes reading an old mechanical clock seem very old-fashioned. Yet you still see these types of clocks hanging in all kinds of places. This article will help you brush up on your mechanical clock clock skills.

To step

Method 1 of 1: Telling the time

1. Look at the numbers on the clock face. You usually see one of these two types of clocks:
   • The most common clock has Arabic numerals from 1 to 12.
   • Another type of clock has Roman numerals from I to XII. Even if you don't know exactly what the Roman numerals mean, you can see that the Roman numerals are in the same place as the Arabic numerals they correspond to. For example, III is in the same place as 3.
2. Find the short hand that points to the hour. In this example, the hour hand is at 6, meaning that it is between 6:00 AM and 6:59 AM.
3. Find the long hand that points to the minutes. Each of the 12 digits on the clock divides an hour into 5-minute segments. Start at 12 and count 5 minutes for each digit that advances the long hand:
   • 12 = :00
   • 1 = :05
   • 2 = :10
   • 3 = :15
   • 4 = :20
   • 5 = :25
   • 6 = :30
   • 7 = :35
   • 8 = :40
   • 9 = :45
   • 10 = :50
   • 11 = :55
4. Use the long hand to find the individual minutes between the numbers. The long hand often points to places between the numbers. On some dials, as above, there are 4 dashes between each number.
   • Each dash represents an extra minute. So if the long hand is between 12 and 1, on the third line to the right of the thick line at 12, it is 3 minutes past the hour.
   • If there are no dashes, you have to guess where the long hand is approximately pointing. If he is halfway between 12 and 1, you can estimate that it is 3 minutes past the hour.
5. Read the time. The hour hand points to 6 and the long hand is between the third and fourth dash to the right of 12. It is then about 6:03 AM.
6. Try some more examples:
   • Example 1: The short hand on this clock is just after 10 and the long hand just before 4. It is now 10:19 am.
   • Example 2: The hour hand is further than 3, but not yet at 4, and the long hand is just after the 8 line. So it is about 3:41 PM.
   • Example 3: The short hand points to 7 and the long hand is on the second line after the 2. It is 7:12 am.

Tips

• Big hand at 6 and small one just after 12.
• If you see another hand spinning very quickly, it is the second hand. You read the second hand in the same way as the big hand; each large number represents 5 seconds. For example, if the second hand points to the 8, it is 40 seconds after a full minute.

Warnings

• Don't confuse the long and short hands, even though it may not seem quite logical. The hour hand indicates the longer period - the hour - and the long hand indicates the shorter period - the minute.