I know telling time in English, you can say "It is 3:30
" or "It is half past 3
" and they can be used interchangeably.
When telling the time in Japanese, is this still the case? Can you use "今{いま}は3時{じ}30分{ぷん}です
" and "今{いま}は3時{じ}半{はん}です
" interchangeably? Or are there contexts where it is more appropriate to use one over the other?