How to Tell the Time in French

Learning to tell time in French is not as hard as you think! Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced, expressing and understanding time will prove useful for understanding emails, having small talk, reading timetables, scheduling appointments, and much more.

To get started, check out this video, in which Alicia walks you through the basics of telling time in French. Watching the video first to help you with pronunciation may be helpful.

Now, let’s explore phrases and expressions that you absolutely must know to tell time in French.

How to Tell Time on the Hour in French

Telling time on the hour in French is quite simple. You use the phrase “Il est” (It is) followed by the hour:

• Il est deux heures. (It is two o’clock.)
• Il est cinq heures. (It is five o’clock.)
• Il est onze heures. (It is eleven o’clock.)

Familiarize yourself with French numbers up to sixty, as you’ll need them to tell the exact time later.

The 24-Hour Clock in French

Like many European countries, France often uses the 24-hour clock, especially in formal situations such as transportation schedules, business hours, and official communications. The 24-hour clock helps avoid confusion between morning and afternoon times.

Here are some examples using the 24-hour format:

• Il est quatorze heures. (It is 2 p.m.)
• Le train part à seize heures. (The train leaves at 4 p.m.)
• Il est vingt heures. (It is 8 p.m.)

In casual conversation, however, the 12-hour format is commonly used with indicators like “du matin” (in the morning), “de l’après-midi” (in the afternoon), or “du soir” (in the evening):

• Il est six heures du matin. (It’s 6 a.m.)
• Il est trois heures de l’après-midi. (It’s 3 p.m.)
• Il est neuf heures du soir. (It’s 9 p.m.)

How to Say Half Past, Quarter Past, and Quarter To in French

French has specific expressions for half and quarter hours, making it easy to talk about the time with more precision.

Half past the hour

To say “half past,” use “et demie” after the hour:

• Il est trois heures et demie. (It’s half past three.)
• Il est sept heures et demie. (It’s half past seven.)

• Il est midi et demi. (It’s 12:30 p.m.)
• Il est minuit et demi. (It’s 12:30 a.m.)

Note: For “heure” (feminine noun), you use “et demie” (with an ‘e’) for times past the hour. For “midi” (noon) and “minuit” (midnight), you use “et demi” (no ‘e’) because both “midi” and “minuit” are masculine.

Quarter past

To express a quarter past the hour, use “et quart”:

• Il est quatre heures et quart. (It’s a quarter past four.)
• Il est dix heures et quart. (It’s a quarter past ten.)

Quarter to

To express a quarter to the next hour, use “moins le quart”:

• Il est cinq heures moins le quart. (It’s a quarter to five.)
• Il est onze heures moins le quart. (It’s a quarter to eleven.)

How to Use “Moins” When Telling Time

To express time in a more natural way, use “moins” (minus) to indicate minutes before the next hour in the 12-hour format (Moins is rarely used with the 24-hour clock). Here are a few examples:

• Il est six heures moins dix. (It’s ten to six. / 5:50)
• Il est huit heures moins vingt. (It’s twenty to eight. / 7:40)
• Il est trois heures moins le quart. (It’s a quarter to three. / 2:45)
• Il est onze heures moins cinq. (It’s five to eleven. / 10:55)

In casual speech, the context (AM or PM) can be clarified by adding “du matin” (morning) or “du soir” (evening) if needed.

How to Ask for the Time in French

When you need to ask someone what time it is, here are two common phrases you can use:

• Quelle heure est-il ? (What time is it?)
• Il est quelle heure ? (What time is it?) – This version is more casual.

Both of these are commonly used and perfectly polite in daily conversation, as long as you add a nice “s’il te plait or s’il vous plait”, of course :)!

Talking About Parts of the Day in French

As mentioned earlier, the French language often includes expressions to indicate different parts of the day, such as:

• du matin (in the morning)
• de l’après-midi (in the afternoon)
• du soir (in the evening)

Examples:

• Il est dix heures du matin. (It’s ten in the morning.)
• Il est quatre heures de l’après-midi. (It’s four in the afternoon.)
• Il est huit heures du soir. (It’s eight in the evening.)

Midi means noon and minuit means midnight.

• Il est midi. (It’s noon.)
• Il est minuit. (It’s midnight.)

Everyday Expressions for Telling Time in French

Beyond the formal ways of telling time, French speakers often use more casual expressions that can help you sound like a native:

“Il est presque”

Used to express that it’s almost a certain time:

• Il est presque midi. (It’s almost noon.)
• Il est presque huit heures. (It’s almost eight o’clock.)

“Il est environ”

This phrase is used to say it’s approximately a certain time:

• Il est environ six heures. (It’s around six o’clock.)
• Il est environ trois heures. (It’s around three o’clock.)

“Il est […] pile”

Used when it’s exactly on the hour:

• Il est midi pile. (It’s exactly noon.)
• Il est sept heures pile. (It’s exactly seven o’clock.)

“Vers”

“Vers” is similar to “environ” but commonly used for saying you’re heading toward a time:

• Je vais partir vers huit heures. (I’ll leave around eight o’clock.)
• Le film commence vers cinq heures. (The movie starts around five o’clock.)

“Autour de”

Like “vers,” “autour de” also indicates an approximate time, but it emphasizes more flexibility:

• Il arrivera autour de dix heures. (He will arrive around ten o’clock.)
• On peut se voir autour de midi. (We can meet around noon.)

Fun Games to Practice Telling Time in French

To make learning time in French more fun and engaging, here are two game ideas:

Memory Game

Create flashcards with different times written on them in French. On matching cards, include pictures of clocks showing the corresponding time. Mix them up and play a memory game where you have to find matching pairs. This is a great way to practice both reading and visual recognition of time.

Pronunciation Practice

Work on your fluency with time-related tongue twisters. For instance, practice saying “trois heures trente-trois” (3:33) or “quatre heures quarante-quatre” (4:44) and gradually increase your speed. These drills will help you improve your pronunciation while reinforcing the time.

Daily Practice: Keep Time in Mind

Make a habit of checking the time throughout the day and saying it out loud in French. Use various formats (12-hour, 24-hour, casual, and formal). The more you practice, the more natural it will feel.

In Conclusion

Learning to tell time in French opens the door to smoother conversations. This skill will make it easier to handle everyday tasks such as making appointments and reading timetables or official emails.

All you have to do now is practice! What time is it now? If you took too long to answer that question, you can go back to Alicia’s video and this article to review the examples. You can also check out our exercises for extra practice at lingoni.com. À bientôt !