What Does AM and PM Stand For?

We use these abbreviations all the time, but do we actually know what they mean?

AM和PM代表什么？

我们一直使用这些缩写，但实际上我们知道它们的意思吗？

https://www.readersdigest.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2019/07/shutterstock_-1363157039.jpg

What does AM and PM stand for?

Many of the English words and expressings we use daily can trace their origins back to Latin, and this is true for some of the English language’s more perplexing abbreviations. “Lb,” the seemingly out-of-the-blue abbreviation for “pounds,” comes from the Latin phrase “Libra pondo.” “No.” as an abbreviation for the decidedly O-less word “number” comes from the Latin “numero.” And, if you’ve ever wondered, “What does AM and PM stand for?” look no further: These common abbreviations come from Latin too. (These Latin phrases will make you sound smarter, too!)

AM和PM代表什么？

我们每天使用的许多英语单词和短语可以将它们的起源追溯到拉丁语，对于一些英语语言中比较困惑的缩写也是如此。“lb”，“磅”这个看似“蓝色”的缩写，来自拉丁语“Libra pondo”（“天秤座）”。“No”“数字”一词是拉丁文“数字”的缩写。如果你曾经想过，“AM和PM代表什么？” 不用看：这些常见的缩略语也来自拉丁语。(这些拉丁语听起来也会让你更聪明！)

In Canada and several other English-speaking countries, we use these abbreviations all the time. The correct use of them makes our alarm-clock settings. And yet many people can’t correctly answer the question “What does AM and PM stand for?”

在加拿大和其他几个说英语的国家，我们一直使用这些缩写。正确使用它们可以设置闹钟。 然而，许多人无法正确回答“AM和PM代表什么？”的问题。

Well, if you’re one of those people, wonder no more. “AM” stands for “ante meridiem.” The Latin phrase “ante meridiem” means “before noon” or “before midday.” That’s why, in the 12-hour system, all times from midnight onward use this designation. PM stands for “post meridiem,” meaning “after noon” or “after midday,” and as such applies to the times from noon onward. The Latin word “post” has also made its way into our language on its own, synonymous with “after.”

好吧，如果你是其中之一，不用在困惑了。 “AM”代表“ante meridiem。”拉丁短语“ante meridiem”的意思是“在中午之前”或“在正午之前。”这就是为什么在12小时制中，从午夜开始的所有时间都使用这个名称。PM代表“post meridiem”，意思是“中午之后”或“正午之后”，因此适用于从中午以后的时间。拉丁语“post”也以它特有的方式进入了我们的语言，与“after”同义。

What about noon and midnight?

One of the most confusing aspects of the AM-PM system, once you’ve answered the question “What does AM and PM mean,” is how it accounts for midnight and midday. The confusion that can arise from having two of every “o’clock” a day is definitely a solid argument in favor of using military time. So, in the 12-hour system, which 12:00 is which?

中午和午夜怎么样？

AM-PM系统中最令人困惑的一个方面：如果你回答了“AM和PM代表什么”的问题，也就回答了午夜和中午是怎么计时的问题。每天“每个钟点”两次出现的混乱绝对是支持使用军事时间的坚定论据。因此，在12小时制中，哪个12:00是哪个12:00？

Technically, 12:00 at night, which we know as “12 AM,” is exactly 12 hours after the previous noon and before the coming noon, so does it count as “before” noon or “after” it? And, of course, 12:00 PM is noon, so it may seem silly to designate it “before” or “after.” English-speaking countries parse it out by using “12:00 AM” to refer to midnight, since midnight starts the new day, so it can be considered “before noon” of the same day. Not to mention it would probably be even more confusing if time went from 12:00 PM to 12:01 AM. So noon then becomes 12 PM by default.

从技术上讲，晚上12点，也就是我们所知道的“凌晨12点”，正好是在前一个中午之后和下一个中午之前的12个小时，那么它是算在“中午之前”还是“之后”呢？当然，下午12点是中午，所以把它命名为“前”或“后”似乎很愚蠢。英语国家用“12：00 AM”来指午夜，因为午夜开始了新的一天，所以它可以被认为是“中午之前”的一天。更不用说，如果时间从下午12：00转到上午12：01，那可能会更令人困惑。因此，中午在默认情况下成为下午12点。

Though, if you’re deeply linguistically opposed to calling “noon” “after noon,” there’s actually another Latin abbreviation you can use. The AM/PM system actually does have a specific abbreviation for noon—just the letter “M,” short for “meridiem,” which would come after “12” and only refer to noon. Haven’t heard of it? Well, for better or worse, the “12 M” designation for “noon” is quite rare and has been pretty much lost to antiquity. If the answer to the question “What does AM and PM mean” surprised you, find out the hidden meaning of these everyday objects.

不过，如果你在语言上强烈反对将“中午”称为“午后”，“实际上还有另外一个拉丁文缩写可以使用。”AM/PM系统实际上对中午有一个特定的缩写-只是字母“m”，是“正午”的缩写，它将出现在“12”之后，只指中午。没听说过吗？不管是好是坏，“中午”的“12M”名称是非常罕见的，而且已经被古人遗忘了。如果对“AM和PM是什么意思”这个问题的回答让你感到惊讶，那么就能找出这些日常事物的隐藏意义。