How to Tell Time in French

Telling time is an everyday activity. That’s why you need to master the vocabulary and expressions relating to time when you’re learning French. Luckily, learning how to tell time in French is fairly easy. Follow our guide to the most useful phrases and words, and you’ll progress towards fluency in record time (pun intended).

 

English vs French: The Differences in Time Logic

There are a few basic differences between telling time in English vs French. Here are the key rules that you need to follow to stay grammatically correct in French:

Time Itself

The French have two different words for time: “l’heure” and “le temps”. “L’heure” describes time on the clock, whereas “le temps” is for time as a length. Be careful which one you use in different situations. You can ask “Quelle heure est-il?” for “What time is it?”, and say “Les temps sont durs” for “Times are hard”.

You Need to Say “Heure”

While saying “o’clock” in English is optional, you always need to say heure after the number if you’re telling time in French. The only two exceptions are “midi” (noon), and “minuit” (midnight)

An “H” Instead of a Colon

When the French are writing the time, they put an “h” (for heure) between the hours and minutes. Whereas in English, the same would call for a colon. 2:30 becomes 2h30 in French when you tell the time.

A.M. or P.M.? Neither!

Generally, the French use the 24-hour clock when they’re telling the time. However, if they want to use the 12-hour clock, they don’t differentiate with a.m. or p.m. Instead, they use the following three expressions after the time:

• du matin: In the morning, until noon.
• de l’après-midi: From noon until 6 p.m.
• du soir: From 6 p.m. until midnight.

The Basics of Telling Time in French

To start off, here are the key words to telling time in French. These time related expressions are used very often, so they’re extremely useful for all language learners:

time	l’heure
noon	midi
midnight	minuit
and a quarter	et quart
quarter to	moins le quart
and a half	et demie
in the morning	du matin
in the afternoon	de l’après-midi
in the evening	du soir

What Time Is It? – Quelle heure est-il? 

The first step of telling time is, of course, learning French numbers. The following high-frequency phrases are a few examples of what you may hear, when you ask a French person for the time. Study these phrases, and notice the sentence structure and grammar associated with them. Remember this skeleton, and telling time in French will become infinitely easier.

Il est _____ heure (_____).

One thing to look out for is what comes after “heure” when you’re telling a specific time within the hour. There may be several different ways to say 3:45 in French. So, make sure you commit all variations to memory.

It’s one o’clock	Il est une heure	1h00
It’s two o’clock	Il est deux heures	2h00
It’s 3:30	Il est trois heures et demie Il est trois heures trente	3h30
It’s 4:15	Il est quatre heures et quart Il est quatre heures quinze	4h15
It’s 4:45	Il est cinq heures moins le quart Il est cinq heures moins quinze Il est quatre heures quarante-cinq	4h45
It’s 5:10	Il est cinq heures dix	5h10
It’s 6:50	Il est sept heures moins dix Il est six heures cinquante	6h50
It’s 6 a.m.	Il est six heures du matin	6h00
It’s 4 p.m.	Il est quatre heures de l’après-midi Il est seize heures	16h00
It’s noon	Il est midi	12h00
It’s midnight	Il est minuit	0h00

How Do You Ask the Time in French?

These are the most common phrases if you’re wondering what time it is in French. Use these to politely ask a stranger, or to strike up a conversation easily. 

What time is it?	Quelle heure est-il ?
Do you have the time, please?	Est-ce que vous avez l’heure, s’il vous plaît ?
What time is the film? The film is at seven o’clock in the evening.	À quelle heure est le film? Le film est à sept heures du soir.

Periods of Time in French

If you’re talking about periods of time, it’s useful to have this French vocabulary. 

a second	une seconde
a minute	une minute
an hour	une heure
a day / a whole day	un jour, une journée
a week	une semaine
a month	un mois
a year / a whole year	un an, une année
a decade	une décennie
a century	un siècle
a millennium	un millénaire

Relative Time Expressions in French

These expressions relating to time are extremely useful in conversation. Everyday French doesn’t require a large vocabulary. 80% of spoken language comes from 20% of our vocabulary, according to the Pareto Principle. So, focus on high-frequency expressions when you’re learning a foreign language. The following words and phrases are especially common, and you’ll reach fluency rapidly if you learn them.

yesterday	hier
today	aujourd’hui
now	maintenant
tomorrow	demain
the day before yesterday	avant-hier
the day after tomorrow	l’après-demain
the day after, the next day	le lendemain
last week	la semaine passée/dernière
next week	la semaine prochaine
days of the week	les jours de la semaine
months of the year	les mois de l’année
the calendar	le​ calendrier
the four seasons	les quatre saisons
a little while ago, in a little while	tout à l’heure
right away	tout de suite
within a week	d’ici une semaine
for, since	depuis
ago (depuis versus il y a)	il y a
on time	à l’heure
in time	à temps
at that time	à l’époque
early	en avance
late	en retard

Describe a Sunset in French

French is a beautiful, and romantic language. There are expressions of time that become especially beautiful in French. Use this vocabulary to delve into the romantic side of French time expressions.

sunrise	le lever de soleil
dawn	l’aube (f)
morning	le matin
afternoon	l’après-midi
noon	midi
evening	le soir
dusk	le crépuscule, entre chien et loup
sunset	le coucher de soleil
night	la nuit
midnight	le minute

French Grammar When Telling Time

Grammar is often boring. It’s a repetitive drill that no language learner enjoy. However, with these high-frequency words, you can master the grammar of telling time in French easily. Here are the most important and common prepositions and adverbs you’ll need to tell time.

Temporal Prepositions

since	depuis
during	pendant
at	à
in	en
in	dans
for	pour

Temporal Adverbs

currently	actuellement
then	alors
after	après
today	aujourd’hui
previously, beforehand	auparavant
before	avant
soon	bientôt
meanwhile	cependant
afterwards, meanwhile	ensuite
for a long time	longtemps
now	maintenant
anytime	n’importe quand
then	puis
recently	récemment
late	tard
all of a sudden, suddenly	tout à coup
in a little while, a little while ago	tout à l’heure

Frequency in French

These phrases and adverbs are extremely useful when you’re speaking French. If you want to reach French fluency fast, make sure you commit these to memory.

once	une fois
once a week	une fois par semaine
daily	quotidien
every day	tous les jours
every other day	tous les deux jours
weekly	hebdomadaire
every week	toutes les semaines
monthly	mensuel
yearly	annuel

 

again	encore
one more time	encore une fois
never, ever	jamais
sometimes	parfois
sometimes	quelquefois
rarely	rarement
often	souvent
always	toujours

Reach French Fluency Fast

You can use this extensive vocabulary to describe everything to do with telling the time in French. But you need much more to reach fluency in French. You need a reliable method, spaced repetition, and high-frequency phrases. And that’s exactly what OptiLingo offers.

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