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What Time is 16 in Military Time? Not Everybody Knows!

Written by Everett Bledsoe / Fact checked by Brain Bartell

what time is 16 in military time

An important aspect that you should know if you are about to enter the armed forces is telling military time. It is not easy to understand right off the bat, but with the help of this article and a bit of practice, you should soon be able to read and pronounce military time with ease.

To start, you can consider the question, “What time is 16 in military time?” This is one of the most common inquiries regarding military time among those who are not yet familiar with the system.

16 military time is 4:00 P.M. However, there is more you should know about military time conversion. Continue to read to find out for yourself; go on!

16 in Military Time

16-military-time

Before we dive into the answer let’s take a look at what military time is and how it differs from civilian time.

Military time runs on a 24-hour clock. Therefore, it starts at 0000 and ends at 2400. This system is more accurate and eliminates potential confusion in differentiating AM and PM hours.

It is also used in the military as a universal system for easier communication. Many countries, such as the Philippines, Australia, India, and Germany see it as the “normal” time. However, military time is not exactly like the 24-hour time system either.

There are minor differences in the presentation and pronunciation. For example, military time does not have the colon that separates the hours and the minutes. It is also read with an accompanying “hours” and sometimes, “hundreds”.

Now that you know what military time is and its basic information, keep reading to learn to read and pronounce military time properly.

With military time, you will always see four digits. You should read them as pairs from left to right. The first two digits are “hours”, and the second two are “minutes”. For hours without minutes, you can read the numbers and add “hundred” at the end or read the numbers, add “hundred” and then “hours” at the end.

From 0 to 9 hours, read “zero” and the number is given, and from 10 to 23 hours, read it like pairs. For example, “sixteen” for 16. So, in our case, 1600 is “sixteen hundred hours”.

Even though we previously simplified 1600 to 16, the correct way to note it is 1600, and as said briefly in the opening, 1600 is 4:00 P.M in civilian time.

Summing up what we have explored above, here is a military time conversion chart. It is a good idea to bookmark or save this chart for future reference.

For more practice, consider completing this worksheet on military time conversion. 

military-time-zone

You can also check your answers with the converter tool below:

 

Conclusion

Now that you have answered the starting question, “What time is 16 in military time?” you can go ahead and move on to more complicated questions regarding military time.

Then, you will be accustomed to the time system and have no problem reading or pronouncing the time when you become admitted.

Knowing how to tell military time is a solid step to impressing your instructors and officers. Plus, you will surely be able to demonstrate your competency. It will reflect willingness and effort on your part. So, put what you have read to good use!

If there are still questions bugging you or other thoughts that you want to share, feel free to leave a comment. We will be glad to hear from you.

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