English Café: Is Noon 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.?

Advanced Details: Is Noon 12 a.m. or 12 p.m.?

When most people say 12 p.m., typically they’re talking about the middle of the day: noon. When they say 12 a.m., they normally mean midnight. In other words, 12:00 a.m. is the start of the day, so it is midnight of the day before.

To explain more, if I were to say, “Meet me at Midnight on Friday,” you will know with certainty that 60 seconds after you meet me it will be 12:01 on Saturday morning.

Similarly, if I were to say, “Meet me on July 13 at midnight,” you will know with certainty that 60 seconds after you meet me it will be 12:01 on the morning of the 14th.

No confusion at all.