HOUR

    Date & Time

    Returns the hour component of a time value (0-23).

    Translations
    EnglishHOUR
    FrenchHEURE
    SpanishHORA
    GermanSTUNDE
    ItalianORA
    PortugueseHORA
    DutchUUR
    PolishGODZINA
    RussianЧАС
    TurkishSAAT
    CzechHODINA
    HungarianÓRA
    SwedishTIMME
    DanishTIME
    FinnishTUNNIT
    Syntax
    HOUR(serial_number)

    Arguments

    • serial_numberTime value or cell reference
    Examples
    =HOUR("14:30")
    14

    Hour from time string

    =HOUR(NOW())
    Current hour

    Hour from current time

    =HOUR(A1)
    Hour from cell

    Extracts hour component

    Tips & Best Practices
    • Returns 0-23 (24-hour format)
    • Works with datetime values too
    • Combine with MINUTE and SECOND
    Common Mistakes
    • Applying HOUR to a cell that's actually just a date with no time component, which correctly but unhelpfully returns 0 every time
    • Expecting HOUR to return a 12-hour clock value - it always returns the 24-hour hour number (0-23), regardless of how the cell is formatted for display
    • Using HOUR on a text string that looks like a time instead of an actual time value, which returns a #VALUE! error
    Related Functions
    MINUTEExtracts the minutes component instead of the hour, from the same kind of time value.
    SECONDExtracts the seconds component, completing the hour/minute/second trio.
    TIMEBuilds a time value from separate hour, minute, and second numbers, the reverse operation of HOUR.
    Frequently Asked Questions

    Why does HOUR always return 0 for my dates?

    The cell probably has no actual time component - just a date at midnight, which is stored internally as hour 0.

    Does HOUR return a 12-hour or 24-hour value?

    Always 24-hour, from 0 to 23, no matter how the cell is displayed. 3 PM returns 15, not 3.

    Why does HOUR return a #VALUE! error?

    The source cell is probably text that looks like a time rather than an actual time value - try TIMEVALUE to convert it first.

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