Telling time in French is an essential daily skill because it is used for:
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daily routine
appointments
travel
schedules
classes
work
conversations
French time expressions are based mainly on the verb être because French says literally:
it is … hour(s)
Compare:
French Sentence
Meaning
Pronunciation
Il est trois heures.
It is three o’clock
eel eh trwah œr
Il est huit heures.
It is eight o’clock
eel eh weet œr
Important:
French always begins with:
Il est…
except when asking the time.
2. Asking the Time
French uses several common question forms.
Main Question Forms
French Question
Meaning
Pronunciation
Quelle heure est-il ?
What time is it?
kel œr eh-teel
Il est quelle heure ?
What time is it?
eel eh kel œr
The first form is the most standard and formal.
Answers
French Answer
Meaning
Il est deux heures.
It is two o’clock
Il est cinq heures.
It is five o’clock
3. Full Hour Structure
French basic structure for exact hour:
Structure
Meaning
Il est + number + heure / heures
It is … o’clock
Important Rule: Singular and Plural
Time
French Form
1:00
Il est une heure.
2:00 and above
Il est deux heures.
Examples
French Sentence
Meaning
Pronunciation
Il est une heure.
It is one o’clock
eel eh oon œr
Il est quatre heures.
It is four o’clock
eel eh katr œr
Il est dix heures.
It is ten o’clock
eel eh deez œr
Important:
Only une heure stays singular.
4. Exact Hours from 1 to 12
Time
French
Pronunciation
1:00
une heure
oon œr
2:00
deux heures
duh œr
3:00
trois heures
trwah œr
4:00
quatre heures
katr œr
5:00
cinq heures
sank œr
6:00
six heures
sees œr
7:00
sept heures
set œr
8:00
huit heures
weet œr
9:00
neuf heures
nuhf œr
10:00
dix heures
deez œr
11:00
onze heures
onz œr
12:00
douze heures
dooz œr
5. Minutes After the Hour
To add minutes, French simply adds the number after heures.
Structure
Structure
Meaning
Il est + hour + minutes
It is hour + minutes
Examples
French Sentence
Meaning
Pronunciation
Il est trois heures dix.
It is 3:10
eel eh trwah œr dees
Il est cinq heures vingt.
It is 5:20
eel eh sank œr van
Il est huit heures trente.
It is 8:30
eel eh weet œr trahnt
6. Quarter Past, Half Past, Quarter To
French has special expressions for common time points.
Quarter Past
French
Meaning
Pronunciation
et quart
quarter past
ay kar
Example
French Sentence
Meaning
Il est trois heures et quart.
It is 3:15
Half Past
French
Meaning
Pronunciation
et demie
half past
ay duh-mee
Example
French Sentence
Meaning
Il est six heures et demie.
It is 6:30
Important:
demie becomes feminine because heure is feminine.
Quarter To
French
Meaning
Pronunciation
moins le quart
quarter to
mwan luh kar
Example
French Sentence
Meaning
Il est huit heures moins le quart.
It is 7:45
Important:
French counts backward toward the next hour.
7. Minutes Before the Hour
French also uses moins for minutes before the next hour.
Structure
Structure
Meaning
next hour + moins + minutes
minutes to next hour
Examples
French Sentence
Meaning
Pronunciation
Il est neuf heures moins dix.
It is 8:50
eel eh nuhf œr mwan dees
Il est cinq heures moins vingt.
It is 4:40
eel eh sank œr mwan van
Important:
French names the next hour, not the current one.
8. Special Times: Noon and Midnight
French has two very important special words.
French
Meaning
Pronunciation
midi
noon
mee-dee
minuit
midnight
mee-nwee
Examples
French Sentence
Meaning
Il est midi.
It is noon
Il est minuit.
It is midnight
With Minutes
French Sentence
Meaning
Il est midi dix.
It is 12:10
Il est minuit et quart.
It is 12:15 at night
9. Formal 24-Hour Time
French often uses 24-hour time in:
transport
schedules
official contexts
written timetables
Structure
Structure
Meaning
number + heures
24-hour system
Examples
French
Meaning
Pronunciation
13 heures
1:00 PM
trez œr
14 heures trente
2:30 PM
ka-torz œr trahnt
18 heures
6:00 PM
deez-weet œr
Sentence Examples
French Sentence
Meaning
Le train part à 14 heures.
The train leaves at 2:00 PM
Le cours commence à 9 heures.
The class starts at 9:00 AM
10. Using À for Scheduled Time
When saying an event happens at a time, French uses à.
Structure
Structure
Meaning
verb + à + time
at + time
Examples
French Sentence
Meaning
Je travaille à huit heures.
I work at eight o’clock
Nous arrivons à midi.
We arrive at noon
Elle part à dix heures trente.
She leaves at 10:30
11. Time with Parts of the Day
French often adds time context.
Expression
Meaning
Pronunciation
du matin
in the morning
du ma-tan
de l’après-midi
in the afternoon
duh lah-pray mee-dee
du soir
in the evening
du swahr
Examples
French Sentence
Meaning
Il est huit heures du matin.
It is 8 AM
Il est trois heures de l’après-midi.
It is 3 PM
Il est neuf heures du soir.
It is 9 PM
12. Frequent Errors to Avoid
Incorrect
Correct
Reason
Il est un heure
Il est une heure
feminine noun
Il est trois heure
Il est trois heures
plural required
Il est six heures et demi
Il est six heures et demie
feminine agreement
13. Vocabulary
French Word
Gender
Meaning
Pronunciation
l’heure
feminine
hour
lœr
la minute
feminine
minute
lah mee-nut
le matin
masculine
morning
luh ma-tan
l’après-midi
masculine
afternoon
lah-pray mee-dee
le soir
masculine
evening
luh swahr
le train
masculine
train
luh trahn
le cours
masculine
class
luh koor
le rendez-vous
masculine
appointment
luh rohn-day-voo
14. Mini Paragraph
Il est sept heures du matin. Mon cours commence à huit heures trente. Nous avons une pause à dix heures et quart. Le train part à quatorze heures.
Meaning:
It is seven in the morning. My class starts at 8:30. We have a break at 10:15. The train leaves at 2:00 PM.
15. Memory Practice
French Sentence
Meaning
Il est une heure.
It is 1:00
Il est quatre heures vingt.
It is 4:20
Il est six heures et demie.
It is 6:30
Il est neuf heures moins le quart.
It is 8:45
Il est midi.
It is noon
Je pars à dix-sept heures.
I leave at 5:00 PM
Summary Notes
Concept
Key Rule
asking time
Quelle heure est-il ?
exact hour
Il est + heure(s)
one o’clock
une heure
minutes after
direct addition after hour
quarter past
et quart
half past
et demie
minutes before
moins
noon / midnight
midi / minuit
schedules
use à
key learning point
French time combines exact structure with special expressions
The most important lesson today is this: French time becomes easy once the hour structure and special expressions like et quart, et demie, and moins become automatic.