Home Time Zones AM and PMWhat Do AM and PM Stand For?By and Some countries use the 12-hour clock format with “am” and “pm” labels. What do these abbreviations mean? Is midnight am or pm?When traveling in countries using the 12-hour clock format, like the US, you should learn the difference between am and pm.©iStockphoto.com/LeoPatriziTwo 12-Hour PeriodsThe 12-hour system divides the 24 hours of a day into two periods lasting 12 hours each.Noon serves as the dividing point between the two periods and as the basis for the designations am and pm:What Is the Origin of AM and PM?The abbreviations derive from Latin:AM = ante meridiem (before noon)PM = post meridiem (after noon)AM means before noon. This is the 12-hour period from midnight to noon.PM means after noon. It covers the 12 hours from noon to midnight.Using numbers from 1 to 12, followed by am or pm, the 12-hour clock system identifies all 24 hours of the day.For example, 1 am is one hour after midnight, and 5 am is early in the morning; 5 pm is late in the afternoon, while 11 pm is one hour before midnight.Midnight and Noon: AM or PM?Which Abbreviation Is Correct?Ante meridiem is commonly denoted as AM, am, a.m., or A.M.; post meridiem is usually abbreviated PM, pm, p.m., or P.M.Like many other sources, timeanddate.com uses “am” and “pm” when using the 12-hour format, but the other variants are equally correct and widely used.The main weakness of the 12-hour system is widespread confusion about which abbreviation should be used for noon and midnight. Neither moment can logically be identified as before noon (am) or after noon (pm).For example, the moment of midnight occurs precisely 12 hours after noon on the previous day and 12 hours before noon on the following day.However, most digital clocks and a majority of sources, including timeanddate.com, designate midnight as 12 am and noon as 12 pm. Although the precise moment of noon falls in neither category, the hour succeeding it, from 12:00:01 to 12:59:59, is clearly after noon (pm).To avoid confusion when referring to the precise moment of noon or midnight, we recommend using the designations 12 noon and 12 midnight instead.Midnight Confusion: Which Date Is It?Another source of confusion is the lack of a date designator in the 12-hour system, which makes it impossible to logically identify a correct moment in time when only a date and 12:00 am (midnight) are provided.Imagine being asked to pick up a friend at the airport at 12:00 am on April 13. Would you go there at midnight between April 12 and April 13? Or 24 hours later?One way to overcome this problem is to sacrifice accuracy for clarity. Your friend could ask you to be at the airport at 12:01 am on April 13 or, if the following midnight is meant, at 11:59 pm on April 13.Alternatively, the 24-hour format, sometimes referred to as , could be used. Here, 0:00 refers to midnight at the beginning of the day while 24:00 is midnight at the end of the day.Time Formats12-hour24-hour12:00 (midnight)0:00 (beginning of the day)12:01 am0:011:00 am1:002:00 am2:003:00 am3:004:00 am4:005:00 am5:006:00 am6:007:00 am7:008:00 am8:009:00 am9:0010:00 am10:0011:00 am11:0012:00 (noon)12:0012:01 pm12:011:00 pm13:002:00 pm14:003:00 pm15:004:00 pm16:005:00 pm17:006:00 pm18:007:00 pm19:008:00 pm20:009:00 pm21:0010:00 pm22:0011:00 pm23:0012:00 (midnight)24:00 (end of the day)Converting TimesA 24-hour clock states the time according to the number of hours that have passed since midnight.Starting at midnight, hours are numbered from 0 to 24, removing the need for designations like am and pm.For example, at 23:00, 23 hours have passed since the beginning of the current day. It corresponds to 11:00 pm in the 12-hour system.Converting from 12-Hour to 24-HourFrom midnight to 12:59 am, subtract 12 hours.12:49 am = 0:49 (12:49 – 12)From 1 am to noon, just remove the am.11:49 am = 11:49From 12:01 pm to 12:59 pm, just remove the pm.12:49 pm = 12:49From 1:00 pm to midnight, add 12 hours.1:49 pm = 13:49 (1:49 + 12) Converting from 24-Hour to 12-HourFrom 0:00 (midnight) to 0:59, add 12 hours and add am.0:49 = 12:49 am (0:49 + 12)From 1:00 to 11:59, just add am.11:49 = 11:49 amFrom 12:00 to 12:59, just add pm.12:49 = 12:49 pmFrom 13:00 to 0:00, subtract 12 hours and add pm.13:49 = 1:49 pm (13:49 - 12)Where Is the 12-Hour Format Used?Most countries around the world today use the 24-hour system.However, the 12-hour format, including am and pm, is officially used in a number of countries, including the United States, Canada (except Québec), Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.Why Does the Day Have 24 Hours?The division of the day into 24 hours is often associated with ancient Egyptian timekeeping practices.Based on historical and archaeological evidence, the Egyptians divided the day into 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night, using tools like sundials, shadow clocks, and water clocks. Night hours were tracked using the movement of groups of stars called ‘decans.’While there is no single definitive source explaining the origin of the 24-hour system, the Egyptians’ innovations in timekeeping laid the groundwork for .Topics: , 123691245781011Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)07:55:59Monday, July 7, 2025UTC is the common time standard across the worldKeeping Time AM and PM: What Do They Mean? Advertising, What does AM and PM stand for on a clock? Is noon 12 pm and midnight 12 am? How do times on a 12-hour clock relate to the 24-hour format?, 如何使用am,pm表示时间? 经常在凌晨受到一些英文邮件 用12:36am 这样的表示方法,那请问凌晨两点多是14:xxam 还是2:xxam 中午十二点30又是12:30pm 还….