What time is it in French? From one o’clock to midnight

What time is it in French? You ask Quelle heure est-il ? and the answer starts with Il est [3]. This page covers the spoken forms, noon and midnight, the 24-hour clock and how Québec’s language office writes the time. For the numbers behind it, see French numbers. To name the day as well, see the days of the week.

What time is it in French?

Ask Quelle heure est-il ? The answer is Il est plus the number plus heures: Il est neuf heures is “It is nine o’clock” [3]. To ask when something happens, use À quelle heure … ? instead [3].

How does telling time in French work for minutes and quarter hours?

Up to the half hour, say the minutes after the hour: neuf heures dix is 9:10 [3]. The half hour is et demie, and the quarter is et quart [3]. After the half hour, count back from the next hour with moins: dix heures moins dix is 9:50 [3]. A quarter before is moins le quart [3].

The same source notes that English counts the minutes “until” the next hour, while French counts back from it [3]. So 7:50 is huit heures moins dix, “eight minus ten”.

Only the word for one o’clock is singular. The OQLF says heure takes the plural mark, except for une heure [1].

How do you say midi and minuit?

For 12:00 P.M. you say midi. For 12:00 A.M. you say minuit [3]. The same source gives midi et demi for 12:30 [3]. The OQLF also writes minuit et demi for half past midnight [1].

How does the 24-hour clock work in French?

The 24-hour clock, called l’heure officielle on that page, is often used in France and is written like this: Il est 22h45, said vingt-deux heures quarante-cinq [3]. It is commonly used for formal schedules such as transport, work and entertainment [3]. With it you avoid demie, et quart and moins le quart and use numbers instead [3]. On the 12-hour clock, you add du matin, de l’après-midi or du soir to tell A.M. from P.M. [3].

How do you write the time in French: 14 h 30?

Write 2:30 P.M. as 14 h 30. The OQLF notes the time in digits from 0 to 23, with 0 as midnight, and puts the symbol h between hours and minutes. That symbol is always preceded and followed by a space [1].

• Whole hours take no zeros: 9 h, not 9:00 h [2].
• Minutes under ten take a zero: 8 h 05 is preferred to 8 h 5 [2].
• Letters and ordinary texts use h, not the colon. The colon form (15:30) is for screens, timetables and the like [1].
• Quarter, half, noon and midnight can be written out: à onze heures et quart, à minuit et demi [1].

How do you ask “à quelle heure” something happens?

Use À quelle heure est … ? or À quelle heure commence … ? and answer with à plus the hour [3]. The OER page pairs Quelle heure est-il ? with Il est dix heures and À quelle heure commence la soirée ? with La soirée commence à dix heures [3]. Add presque (“almost”) for Il est presque huit heures [3].

How do you say “until next time” in French?

Larousse gives à bientôt and à la prochaine for “goodbye for now”, and marks À la prochaine ! as informal (“See you!”) [4]. For more ways to say it, see goodbye in French, and for the night-time version, good morning and good night in French.

Common mistakes

• Counting “until” like in English. For 9:50, French says dix heures moins dix [3].
• Using demie and quart with the 24-hour clock. Use numbers instead: quinze heures trente [3].
• Writing 9h or 9:00 h. The OQLF lists both as forms to avoid [2].
• Dropping the zero in 8 h 05. The OQLF now prefers the zero [2].
• Trusting a page, including this one. Check the official page’s date against ours.

Sources