Moment, instant, durée: a French time-expression cheat sheet

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated 16 October 2026 · About the library

Choose between a moment, a brief instant and a duration. Compare useful time expressions, then complete a short evening-out story.

In short

Un moment names a time, an occasion or a while; un instant often stresses a brief interval or an exact point. Une durée is the length of an event: la durée du spectacle. Neither moment nor instant is a fixed unit like a second.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Friends leave a small French theatre and one makes a phone call on the pavement. — Passer un bon moment describes an enjoyable evening together. Illustration: Atelier

When, a brief wait, or how long?

1 · Un moment · a time or a while

Use it for an occasion, a period or an experience.

en ce moment	at the moment; these days
pour le moment	for now
à ce moment-là	at that moment

C’est le bon moment pour appeler.It’s the right time to call.

Nous avons passé un bon moment.We had a good time.

2 · Un instant · a brief interval

A short pause, a precise point, or something that has just happened.

pour l’instant	for now
à cet instant	at that instant

Un instant, je vérifie.One moment, I’ll check.

Elle vient de partir à l’instant.She’s just left.

3 · Une durée · the length

Use a feminine adjective and de before a stated length.

la durée du trajet	the journey time
une durée de vingt minutes	a duration of twenty minutes

La durée du spectacle est de deux heures.The show lasts two hours.

C’est une pause de courte durée.It’s a short break.

A good time or quite a while?

The verb changes how you read un bon moment

French	English	What it tells you
On a passé un bon moment.	We had a good time.	How the experience felt.
On a attendu un bon moment.	We waited quite a while.	The wait felt fairly long.
En ce moment, je travaille le soir.	At the moment, I work evenings.	A current situation across several days.
La durée de l’attente est de vingt minutes.	The waiting time is twenty minutes.	A measured length.

Pour le moment and pour l’instant both mean “for now”. In attendez un moment and attendez un instant, either noun can ask for a short wait. Choose durée when the sentence names or measures the length itself.

What is the difference between moment, instant and durée?

Une soirée entre amis

En ce (at the moment), Malik travaille le samedi. Pour l’(for now), il est libre le vendredi soir.

« Un (one brief moment), je regarde mon agenda », dit-il. La (duration) du spectacle est d’une heure et demie. C’est le bon (right time) pour réserver.

Après le spectacle, Malik téléphone à sa sœur. « On a passé un bon (a good time) ! Le spectacle vient de finir à l’(just now). »

Read it in English

At the moment, Malik works on Saturdays. For now, he is free on Friday evenings.

“One moment, I’ll look at my diary,” he says. The show lasts an hour and a half. It’s the right time to book.

After the show, Malik phones his sister. “We had a good time! The show has just finished.”