NPL
npl.co.uk › resources › q-a › is-midnight-12am-or-12pm
Midnight - is it 12am or 12pm? - NPL
There are no official standards established for the meaning of 12am and 12pm, but it is generally accepted that 12am means midnight and 12pm means midday. The ‘am’ and ‘pm’ stand for ante meridiem and post meridiem – Latin words meaning ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/nostupidquestions › if 12 am is midnight, why is 12 pm noon? shouldn’t “am” stand for after midnight and “pm” after morning?
r/NoStupidQuestions on Reddit: If 12 AM is midnight, why is 12 PM noon? Shouldn’t “AM” stand for after midnight and “PM” after morning?
May 20, 2025 -
It feels backwards—12 noon is exactly halfway between midnights, but we call it PM. Wouldn’t it make more sense for 12 noon to be AM, since it’s before the second midnight?
Top answer 1 of 5
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AM stands for "ante meridiem", which means "before midday" and PM stands for "post meridiem", meaning "after midday."
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The abbreviations come from Latin. AM = Ante Meridiem, PM = Post Meridiem. "Meridiem" (meri: middle, diem: day) is noon, and ante/post are before/after respectively. So AM is before noon and PM is after noon. 12-noon exactly is neither before nor after noon, but 12:59 and 12:30 and 12:01 are all after noon, so the "12" hour as a whole is treated as PM. It does look a little weird for the count to go "10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm" rather than the 12 having the same suffix as the 11 before it. That's an issue with having numbering indexed from one instead of zero. If the clock went "11am 12am, 0pm, 1pm" (with 0:00pm being the moment of noon, and 0:00am midnight) then it would make sense again. But counting from zero is a newer idea.
Is 12 PM at noon? How is that when 11 am is in the morning And 1 am is in the night. Where did the 12 am go?
12pm is noon, 12am is midnight. More on reddit.com
12am / 12pm - Which is noon? which is midnight? | WordReference Forums
Noon is 1200 hrs and midnight is 0000 hrs (pronounced zero hundred). The "wee hours" become "oh-dark-thirty." Synchronize your timepieces on my mark-- three, too, won...click! Problem solved, ball in your court, and smokem if you gottem. . . ... Hi, Can anyone explain why we say PM for noon when it's exactly, not after, noon? Does it have to do with the day beginning at 12:00 AM ... More on forum.wordreference.com
Is 12:00 AM considered morning or night?
Technically it’s morning. Not even an argument. My answer was purely based on the clock system. But I think the answer is actually a bit more complex depending on your location and time of year. After reading the definitions of Morning, Night, Day, Midnight, and AM/PM, my answer is that 12 AM can be Morning, Morning and Night, or Morning and Day. I do not believe 12 AM can solely be called Night based on the phrasing of your question. It seems like your uncle is conflating Afternoon (PM) and Night (period of time from sunset to sunrise). By definition 12 AM is the start of the morning hours or Ante Meridian. So by the clock system it’s Morning. The definition of Night is the period of time from sunset to sunrise. In many parts of the world during much of the year the sun has set when the clock strikes 12AM. Thus 12 AM is by definition both Night (no sunlight) and Morning (AM). There are parts of the world (think extreme North or extreme South) where the sun does not set for months. In these parts of the world, during these seasons of seemingly unending daylight, 12 AM is both Morning and Day. As Day is defined by the period of time from sunrise to sunset. If you really wanted to split hairs the final scenario that I can think of, is where 12 AM is simultaneously Midnight, Morning, and Night or Midnight, Morning, and Day. Depending on location, season, and the presence or absence of sunlight and the definition of midnight. Just don’t ask if 12 PM is considered Afternoon or Day. More on reddit.com
CMV: It would make more sense for 12 PM to be midnight and 12 AM to be noon
Should just stop using 12 and change to 00. That would be accurate on both ends. More on reddit.com
Videos
00:29
12 AM vs 12 PM – What’s the Difference? - YouTube
🕛 12 AM vs. 12 PM – What’s the Difference? 🔹 12 AM (Midnight) 🌙 – The very start of a new day! When the clock strikes 12 at night, it’s officially AM. 🔹 12 PM (Noon) ☀️ – Midday, when the sun is at its highest. This is when the clock hits 12 in the afternoon. 📌 Tip to Remember: AM = After Midnight (🌙 Night to Morning) PM = Past Morning (☀️ Afternoon & Beyond) Save this post ✅ and never mix them up again! ⏰
#TimeMatters #12AMvs12PM #NeverConfuse https://www.topupEnglish.com/ https://www.ttischool.com/ #TopUpLearning #Walk #online #onlineenglish #english #studyenglish #learnenglish #learnonline #CamdenTown #London #TtiSchool #kidsenglish #kids #topupspirit #leadingthechange #studyinlondon #talk24 #speakingclub | TikTok
00:33
12:00 PM is NOT at night!!! Let's get it right: - YouTube
01:09
12 am or 12 pm?! Noon or Midnight? - YouTube
00:26
AM vs PM Explained | Difference Between 12:00 AM and 12:00 PM in ...
00:53
12 am or 12pm? Learn the difference! How did you do on the quiz?
EnglishClub
englishclub.com › efl › articles › vocabulary › 12am-12pm-whats-the-difference
12am & 12pm – What’s the Difference?! | EnglishClub
Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Just say NOON or MIDNIGHT!!! Wars are won and lost because of foolishness like this. ... This is like asking whether zero is positive or negative. When the morning is over, the clock strikes 12 and the afternoon begins, so its 12:00 PM.
Royal Museums Greenwich
rmg.co.uk › stories › time › noon-12-am-or-12-pm
Is noon 12 am or 12 pm? | Royal Museums Greenwich
The 12-hour clock divides the 24-hour day into two periods. am stands for the Latin ante meridiem, translating to "before midday". This is the time before noon. pm stands for post meridiem or "after midday" – the time after noon. Noon is therefore neither 'ante' (am) nor 'post' (pm) meridiem. Midnight is also neither am nor pm.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › 12-hour_clock
12-hour clock - Wikipedia
2 weeks ago - The 12-hour time convention is common in several English-speaking nations and former British colonies, as well as a few other countries. In English-speaking countries: "12 p.m." usually indicates noon, while "12 a.m." means midnight, but the reverse convention has also been used (see § Confusion ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/englishlearning › is 12 pm at noon? how is that when 11 am is in the morning and 1 am is in the night. where did the 12 am go?
r/EnglishLearning on Reddit: Is 12 PM at noon? How is that when 11 am is in the morning And 1 am is in the night. Where did the 12 am go?
October 10, 2024 -
I was talking to a native speaker (American woman ) and she corrected me as I was talking to her that 12 PM is the one in the day time not 12 AM. I don’t know if I have had it wrong all my life or what.
The Guardian
theguardian.com › notesandqueries › query › 0,,-1752,00.html
Is midnight 12pm or 12am? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk
Skip to main content · EITHER, since it is both 12 hours before and after noon. The real question is: what is mid-day
Quora
quora.com › Why-do-we-have-12-00-AM-and-12-00-PM-for-midnight-and-noon-and-what-s-the-correct-way-to-write-them
Why do we have 12:00 AM and 12:00 PM for midnight and noon, and what’s the correct way to write them? - Quora
But even an excellent sundial can’t be precise at the sub-minute level - the Sun is too wide. ... Welcome to the Atlassian Community! Get to know the Atlassian Community and RSVP to any event to earn your Community kudos badge. ... Former Children’s Nurse and Lecturer in Nursing · Author has 6.1K answers and 5.6M answer views · Updated Nov 28 · We DON’T have “12:00 AM” and “12:00 PM” for midnight and noon.
Quora
quora.com › What-is-12-am-and-12-pm
What is 12 am and 12 pm.? - Quora
It's either 12 noon or 12 midnight. These times are neither am nor pm. ... To me, it is very clear that 12 am is midnight, and 12 pm is noon. 12 am is the instant the day changes.
WordReference
forum.wordreference.com › english only › english only
12am / 12pm - Which is noon? which is midnight? | WordReference Forums
June 27, 2012 - Strictly speaking, neither 'am' nor 'pm' applies to exact noon, or to exact midnight, but clocks incapable of displaying "noon" or "midnight" had to show something. In writing and printing, it would still be best to use "noon" or "midnight" ...