Whether you’re catching a train or meeting a friend for apéro (aperitif), telling time in French is an essential part of daily life. What you need to know about time and discussing it is less complicated than many other French grammar rules, and if you know your French numbers already, even better!
Once you’ve learned some of the time words and their grammar rules, practice using them regularly. Rosetta Stone’s TruAccent speech recognition will even give you real-time feedback to help you sound like a native speaker in no time!
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How to express the time in French
Before getting to saying what time it actually is, it is helpful to know how to say the word(s) for “time” in French. There are a few options, based on the context.
Heure (“hour”)
When asking about or telling time, l’heure (pronounced lair) is the most appropriate word. The French word heure literally translates to “hour.” L’heure is most often used to mean “the time,” as in the exact time it is or the time it is to do something.
- Avez-vous l’heure ? = Do you have the time?
- C’est l’heure d’aller à l’école. = It’s time to go to school.
- Est-ce que c’est l’heure d’aller au lit ? = Is it time to go to bed?
Le temps (general “time”)
When speaking more generally, le temps (luh tuhn) is used.
- Il n’y a pas beaucoup de temps. = There isn’t much time.
- Quand auras-tu le temps ? = When will you have time?
Le moment (specific moment in time)
When speaking about a specific moment in time or asking if it’s a good time for something, use le moment (luh momuhn), which literally translates to “the moment.” But, generally speaking, it’s used to mean a specific time.
- Est-ce un bon moment ? = Is this a good time?
- Non, ce n’est pas le bon moment. = No, this isn’t a good time.
How to ask for the time in French
When asking for the specific time of day, there are options, depending on the information you’re inquiring about.
How to ask for the current time
If you are at a train station, in a restaurant, or at any other public place with strangers, you should be as polite as possible if you need to ask for the time. As modeled above, you can use this formal question:
- Avez-vous l’heure ? = Do you have the time?
In less formal situations, like talking with friends, you can use one of the following questions to ask what time it is:
- Quelle heure est-il ? (Kell air ay teel)
- Il est quelle heure ? (Eel ay kell air)
While both of these mean “What time is it?” using the former is a bit more formal, since it uses the French inversion.
How to ask ‘At what time…?’
If you want to know what time something starts or ends, you need to use the question phrase à quelle heure (ah kell air).
In English, it is commonplace to put the word “at” at the end of a sentence or to drop it altogether. In French, however, it is necessary to keep the phrase à quelle heure together, whether it is placed at the beginning or end of the sentence.
- À quelle heure notre cours commence ? = What time does our class start (at)?
- Le concert se termine à quelle heure ? = What time does the concert end (at)?
Important words for telling time in French
Generally speaking, telling time in the French language is not that much different from English. Before learning to tell time in French, however, you need to make sure you’ve mastered your French numbers (at least 0-60).
How to write and say the hour and minutes
The easiest way to say the time in French is by using hours and minutes, along with the phrase il est (“it is”). The word heure(s) in this context means “o’clock” (literally “hour”)—it’s a feminine noun, so “one o’clock” uses the feminine une. Also note that the word heure is pluralized from two o’clock onward.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
| Il est une heure. | Eel ay oon air. | It is one o’clock. |
| Il est deux heures. | Eel ay duh zair. | It is two o’clock. |
| Il est trois heures. | Eel ay twahz air. | It is three o’clock. |
| Il est quatre heures. | Eel ay kaht-rair. | It is four o’clock. |
| Il est cinq heures. | Eel ay sank air. | It is five o’clock. |
| Il est six heures. | Eel ay seez air. | It is six o’clock. |
| Il est sept heures. | Eel ay set air. | It is seven o’clock. |
| Il est huit heures. | Eel ay weet air. | It is eight o’clock. |
| Il est neuf heures. | Eel ay nuh vair. | It is nine o’clock. |
| Il est dix heures. | Eel ay deez air. | It is ten o’clock. |
| Il est onze heures. | Eel ay ohnz air. | It is eleven o’clock. |
| Il est douze heures. | Eel ay dooz air. | It is twelve o’clock. |
When the number preceding the word heures ends in “s” or “x,” the liaison “z” sound is made. When it is nine o’clock (neuf heures), the “f” is pronounced like a “v.”
To add minutes, simply add the number after heures. There is no word for “and” required.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
| Il est cinq heures cinq. | Eel ay sank air sank. | It is five-oh-five. |
| Il est dix heures quarante. | Eel ay deez air car-ahnt. | It is ten forty. |
You can use the phrase douze heures (twelve o’clock) or midi (mee-dee) to say “noon.” If it is midnight, use the word minuit (mee-nuee). Both of these follow the same rules as above with minutes following.
How to say quarter and half hours in French
It’s fairly common in French to divide hours into quarters and halves. Even if you choose not to use these, it’s helpful to know what they mean if someone says them to you.
As in English, when using “quarter to,” you must round up to the next hour.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
| et quart | ay kar | quarter past |
| et demie | ay demee | half past |
| moins le quart | moo-ahn luh kar | quarter to |
Using moins when telling time in French
As with moins le quart (quarter to), you can choose to round up to the next hour for minutes from :31 to :59.
- Il est six heures moins dix. = It is ten to six.
- Il est minuit moins vingt. = It is twenty to midnight.
Just like in English, it is most common to use multiples of five when using moins, but it technically can be used for any time between :31 and :59.
12-hour vs. 24-hour time
Most French-speaking countries use 24-hour time, also known as military time in English. And while Canada is one of the countries that uses 12-hour time, Quebec does use the 24-hour clock.
It’s most common for French speakers to use the 12-hour clock when speaking, so it is still important to know how to use both 12-hour and 24-hour time. There are no direct translations for the words a.m. and p.m. Instead, the following times of day are used:
| French | Pronunciation | English |
| du matin | doo mah-tahn | in the morning |
| de l’après-midi | duh lah-pray-mee-dee | in the afternoon |
| du soir | doo swar | in the evening |
Use the chart below to be able to seamlessly switch between 12- and 24-hour time. Note that before noon, the times are the same. You have the option to use du matin to express “a.m.”
| 12-hour Time in French | 24-hour Time in French | English |
| six heures du matin | six heures | six o’clock (a.m.) |
| une heure de l’après-midi | treize heures | one o’clock (p.m.) |
| huit heures du soir | vingt heures | eight o’clock (p.m.) |
Most French-speaking countries use 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. to switch from afternoon to evening. This is also when they switch from using bonjour to bonsoir as a greeting.
Learn French in no time with Rosetta Stone
Being able to tell time in French is a great tool for a variety of situations from scheduling trips, to remembering birthdays, making reservations, and so much more! As you start to learn basic French words, be sure that numbers and time words are included in your lessons.
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