Verb drill
Telling the time in French: from the clock to everyday speech
Turn clock times into spoken French: et quart, et demie, moins le quart, midi and minuit. Type each answer and check it instantly.
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In short
Say Il est + hour + heure(s): Il est trois heures. Add minutes after the hour, et quart (quarter past), et demie (half past) or moins le quart (quarter to). Noon is midi, midnight minuit. Timetables use the 24-hour clock: dix-huit heures trente.
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| Clock | Everyday French | 24-hour French |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | trois heures | quinze heures |
| 3:15 | trois heures et quart | quinze heures quinze |
| 3:30 | trois heures et demie | quinze heures trente |
| 3:45 | quatre heures moins le quart | quinze heures quarante-cinq |
| 12:00 | midi / minuit | douze heures / zéro heure |
1 · Everyday spoken French (12-hour)
- 7:00
- 8:15
- 9:30
- 10:45
- 1:10
- 4:50
- 12:30 (day)
- 6:20
2 · In a sentence
- Le film commence à (20:00). (8 pm, 24-hour)
- Le train part à (17:15). (24-hour)
- On mange à (12:00). (noon)
- Je me lève à (6:30). (everyday)
- Le magasin ferme à (19:00). (24-hour)
- Rendez-vous à (2:45). (everyday)
How do you tell the time in French?
- Une heure is feminine, so 1:00 is une heure, not un heure.
- After midi and minuit, no heures: midi dix. Many people say midi et demi; midi et demie is also accepted.
- Official times (trains, cinemas, TV) never use et quart or moins: they say quinze heures quarante-cinq.
- To ask: Quelle heure est-il ? or, more casually, Il est quelle heure ?
- Amie
On se retrouve à quelle heure ?
What time shall we meet?
- Toi
Vers sept heures et demie, ça te va ?
Around half past seven, does that suit you?
- Amie
Un peu plus tard ? Je finis à sept heures et quart.
A bit later? I finish at quarter past seven.
- Toi
D'accord, alors huit heures moins le quart devant le cinéma.
OK, then quarter to eight outside the cinema.
Between friends, everyday times are normal; on a ticket or an invitation you will read the 24-hour clock, often written 19h45. Read 19h45 aloud as dix-neuf heures quarante-cinq. Vers means "around" and pile means "on the dot": à huit heures pile.