In France, punctuality and time are very important. Sit back, relax, and let’s learn how to say the time in French today. Before you start with this lesson, will first need to make sure that you actually master numbers already. If not, kindly refer to this article that I wrote, featured on LingoDeer’s website: Numbers in French.
Say the time in French : what you need to know
First of all, you need to know that there are two ways of saying and asking the time in French.
Military time: using the 24 hours system. This has been used since the existence of digital clocks and time.
Classic: the classic way of reading time using the 12 hours system.
Nowadays, we use military time quite a lot, which has become our preferred method, as it’s a more precise way of saying the time in French. There is no concept of “AM”(morning) or “PM”(afternoon and evening).
If you want to use the classic way of saying the time in French, you can use the 12 hours system and add
“du matin” for morning
“de l’après-midi” for afternoon
“du soir” for evening (mostly starting at 6 PM)
Military time : hours
Here are two pictures to help you visualize it:
Le matin (morning)
L'après-midi / le soir (afternoon/evening)
Military time: minutes
You can read the minutes in their full form, exactly how you read them on a digital clock:
10:15 / 10h15* = dix heures quinze
13:20 / 13h20 = treize heures vingt
6:45 / 6h45 = six heures quarante-cinq
17:36 / 17h36 = dix-sept heures trente-six
* “h” stands for “heure” or “heures”
Classic time
How do we read the time the “classic” way?
It is actually very different from the military system.
| Matin | Après-midi / Soir |
1:00 | Une heure du matin | Une heure de l’après-midi |
2:00 | Deux heures du matin | Deux heures de l’après-midi |
3:00 | Trois heures du matin | Trois heures de l’après-midi |
4:00 | Quatre heures du matin | Quatre heures de l’après-midi |
5:00 | Cinq heures du matin | Cinq heures de l’après-midi |
6:00 | Six heures du matin | Six heures du soir |
7:00 | Sept heures du matin | Sept heures du soir |
8:00 | Huit heures du matin | Huit heures du soir |
9:00 | Neuf heures du matin | Neuf heures du soir |
10:00 | Dix heures du matin | Dix heures du soir |
11:00 | Onze heures du matin | Onze heures du soir |
12:00 | Midi (Noon) | Minuit (Midnight) |
Classic time: minutes
| Quarters and halfs | Examples |
H:15 | ___ heure(s) et quart | 5:15 Cinq heures et quart |
H:30 | ___ heure(s) et demie | 8:30 Huit heures et demie |
H:45 | H+1___ heure(s) moins le quart | 4:45 Cinq heures moins le quart (Quarter to five) |
| Other | Examples |
H:35 | H+1___ heure(s) moins vingt-cinq | 3:35 Quatre heures moins vingt-cinq |
H:40 | H+1___ heure(s) moins vingt | 6:40 Sept heures moins vingt |
H:50 | H+1___ heure(s) moins dix | 9:50 Dix heures moins dix |
H:55 | H+1___ heure(s) moins cinq | 1:55 Deux heures moins cinq |
You will also need to specify if it’s “du matin”, “de l’après-midi” or “du soir”.
How to ask for the time in French
There are three ways that you can ask for the time in French:
1. Quelle heure est-il? (Formal)
2. Il est quelle heure? (Informal)
3. Quelle heure il est? (Informal)
Express the time in French
There are some expressions and prepositions to use in order to express time in French.
| Meaning | Examples |
Il est … | Pour dire l’heure. To tell the time. | Il est cinq heures. |
à | Pour indiquer une certaine heure. To indicate a certain time. | Le bus passe à sept heures quinze. |
de … à | Pour donner une fourchette d’heure. To give a time window. | Le magasin est ouvert de neuf heures à dix-sept heures. |
jusqu’à | Pour une limite de temps. For a time limit. | Je travaille jusqu’à seize heures. |
vers | Pour indiquer un moment ou une heure approximative. To indicate an approximate time or moment. | J’arriverai au restaurant vers dix-neuf heures. |
Félicitations! You are now able to read the time in French!
If you liked this lesson, feel free to leave a comment down below, or even join our growing community on Facebook.
