Whether you're traveling to France or learning the French language, being able to tell time is important. From asking what time it is to the key vocabulary you need for speaking in French about hours, minutes, and days, this lesson will guide you through everything you need to know.
French Vocabulary for Telling Time
To begin with, there are a few key French vocabulary words related to time that you should know. These are the basics and will help you throughout the rest of this lesson.
| 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 |
The Rules for Telling Time in French
Telling time in French is just a matter of knowing the French numbers and a few formulas and rules. It's different than we use in English, so here are the basics:
- The French word for "time," as in, "What time is it?" is l'heure, not le temps. The latter means "time" as in "I spent a lot of time there."
- In English, we often leave out "o'clock" and it's perfectly fine to say "It's seven." or "I'm leaving at three-thirty." This is not so in French. You always have to say heure, except when sayingmidi(noon) and minuit(midnight).
- In French, the hour and minute are separated by h (for heure,as in 2h00) where in English we use a colon (: as in 2:00).
- French doesn't have words for "a.m." and "p.m." You can use du matin for a.m., de l'après-midi from noon until about 6 p.m., and du soir from 6 p.m. until midnight. However, time is usually expressed on a 24-hour clock. That means that 3 p.m. is normally expressed as quinze heures (15 hours)or 15h00, but you can also say trois heures de l'après-midi (three hoursafter noon).
What Time Is It? (Quelleheureest-il?)
When you ask what time it is, you will receive an answer similar to this. Keep in mind that there are a few different ways to express different times within the hour, so it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with all of these. You can even practice this throughout your day and speak the time in French whenever you look at a clock.
| 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 7 a.m. | Il est sept heures du matin | 7h00 |
| It's 3 p.m. | Il est trois heures de l'après-midi Il est quinze heures | 15h00 |
| It's noon | Il est midi | 12h00 |
| It's midnight | Il est minuit | 0h00 |
Asking the Time in French
Conversations regarding what time it is will use questions and answers similar to these. If you're traveling in a French-speaking country, you'll find these very useful as you try to maintain your itinerary.
| 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 concert? The concert is at eight o'clock in the evening. | À quelle heure est le concert ? Le concert est à huit heures du soir. |
Periods of Time in French
Now that we have the basics of telling time covered, expand your French vocabulary by studying the words for periods of time. From seconds to millennium, this shortlist of words covers the entire expanse of time.
| 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 |
Points in Time in French
Each day has various points in time that you might need to describe in French. For instance, you might want to talk about a beautiful sunset or let someone know what you're doing at night. Commit these words to memory and you'll have no problem doing just that.
| 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 minuit |
Temporal Prepositions
As you begin to formulate sentences with your new French time vocabulary, you will find it useful to know these temporal prepositions. These short words are used to further define when something is taking place.
| since | depuis |
| during | pendant |
| at | à |
| in | en |
| in | dans |
| for | pour |
Relative Time in French
Time is relative to other points in time. For instance, there is always a yesterday which is followed by today and tomorrow, so you'll find this vocabulary a great addition to your ability to explain relationships in time.
| yesterday | hier |
| today | aujourd'hui |
| now | maintenant |
| tomorrow | demain |
| the day before yesterday | avant-hier |
| the day after tomorrow | l'après-demain |
| the day before, the eve of | la veille de |
| the day after, the next day | le lendemain |
| last week | la semaine passée/dernière |
| the final week | la dernière semaine (Notice how dernier is in a different position in "last week" and "the final week." That subtle change has a significant impact on the meaning.) |
| 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 |
| winter came early / late spring came early / late summer came early / late autumn came early / late | l'hiver fut précoce / tardif le printemps fut précoce / tardif l'ete fut précoce / tardif l'automne fut précoce / tardif |
| last winter last spring last summer last autumn | l'hiver dernier le printemps dernier l'ete dernier l'automne dernier |
| next winter next spring next summer next autumn | l'hiver prochain le printemps prochain l'ete prochain l'automne prochain |
| 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 |
Temporal Adverbs
As you become even more fluent in French, consider adding a few temporal adverbs to your vocabulary. Once again, they can be used to further define when something is taking place.
| 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
There will also be times when you need to speak about the frequency of an event. Whether it only happens once or reoccurs on a weekly or monthly basis, this short vocabulary list will help you achieve that.
| 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 |
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs that relate to frequency are just as important and you'll find yourself using this quite often as your French studies progress.
| again | encore |
| one more time | encore une fois |
| never, ever | jamais |
| sometimes | parfois |
| sometimes | quelquefois |
| rarely | rarement |
| often | souvent |
| always | toujours |
Time Itself: Le Temps
Le tempsrefers broadly either to the weather or a duration of time, indeterminate or specific. Because it is such a basic concept that surrounds us every day, many French idiomatic expressions have evolved using temps. Here are a few common ones that you might need to know.
| a little while ago | il y a peu de temps |
| in a little while | dans un moment, dans quelque temps |
| at the same time | en même temps |
| at the same time as | au même temps que |
| cooking / preparation time | temps de cuisson / préparation cuisine |
| a part-time job | un temps partiel |
| a full-time job | un temps plein ou plein temps |
| to work part-time | être ou travailler à temps partiel |
| to work full-time | être ou travailler à plein temps ou à temps plein |
| to work full-time | travailler à temps complet |
| to work 30 hours per week | faire un trois quarts (de) temps |
| time to think | le temps de la réflexion |
| to reduce working hours | diminuer le temps de travail |
| to have some spare time / free time | avoir du temps libre |
| in one's spare time, in a spare moment | à temps perdu |
| in times past, in the old days | au temps jadis |
| with the passing of time | avec le temps |
| all the time, always | tout le temps |
| in music, a strong beat / figuratively, a high point or a highlight | temps fort |
| in sports, a time-out / figuratively, a lull or a slack period | temps mort |
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Team, ThoughtCo. "Telling Time in French." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/telling-time-in-french-lheure-1371397.Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). Telling Time in French. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/telling-time-in-french-lheure-1371397Team, ThoughtCo. "Telling Time in French." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/telling-time-in-french-lheure-1371397 (accessed June 11, 2024).
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