Date and time notation in Belgium

Date

According to the BIN standard (NBN Z 01-002), there are three ways to write a date in Belgium:[1]

The first day of the week in Belgium is Monday.

Time

In written language, time is expressed exclusively in 24-hour notation using a colon to separate hours and minutes when writing "22:51" in English, writing "22h51" in French, writing "22.51 u." in Dutch, writing "22.51 U." in German. Generally speaking, Belgians are not used to seeing time written in 12-hour notation, and doing so might lead to misunderstandings.

In spoken formal language, people tend to use the 24-hour clock as well, in particular at work or to make appointments. When speaking informally, the 12-hour clock is not uncommon (but not a general rule either, in particular in French). There is no one-to-one equivalent of "am" or "pm" in French or Dutch though. Instead, people use a sentence to make it clear (for instance "om 9 uur 's avonds" in Dutch, or "à 9 heures du soir" in French, meaning literally "at 9 o'clock in the evening").

References

  1. "Datumnotatie" [Date format]. Taaltelefoon (in Dutch). Vlaanderen. 2015-06-07.
  2. VVKSO. BIN-NORMEN. Brussels: LICAP CVBA. ISBN 978-90-6858-651-0. Short version:
  3. http://users.skynet.be/palm-mar/Taal_NED_bin_norm.htm
  4. http://trac2.assembla.com/Team6GPR/export/3/BIN-normen.pdf
  5. Belgian Federal Government – Portal
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