How to Tell the Time in French with Easy Examples

Telling the time in French is one of those skills that feels confusing at first and then suddenly becomes simple once you know the main patterns. You do not need to memorize dozens of rules. You mainly need a few useful structures and some practice.

How to ask for the time in French

The most common question is:

Quelle heure est-il ? = What time is it?

You may also hear:

Il est quelle heure ? = What time is it?
A quelle heure… ? = At what time… ?

The basic structure

To tell the time in French, use:

Il est + time

Examples:

Il est une heure. = It is one o’clock.
Il est deux heures. = It is two o’clock.
Il est cinq heures. = It is five o’clock.

Half past, quarter past, and quarter to

Il est trois heures et quart. = It is 3:15.
Il est quatre heures et demie. = It is 4:30.
Il est cinq heures moins le quart. = It is 4:45.

Examples with minutes

Il est six heures dix. = It is 6:10.
Il est huit heures vingt. = It is 8:20.
Il est neuf heures quarante. = It is 9:40.

How to talk about morning, afternoon, and evening

French often uses the 24-hour clock in schedules, schools, transport, and formal contexts. In everyday conversation, people also use 12-hour time with context.

Il est huit heures du matin. = It is 8 in the morning.
Il est deux heures de l’apres-midi. = It is 2 in the afternoon.
Il est huit heures du soir. = It is 8 in the evening.

The 24-hour clock in French

You will often see and hear:

14 heures = 2:00 p.m.
18 heures 30 = 6:30 p.m.
21 heures = 9:00 p.m.

This is very common for trains, flights, appointments, and written schedules.

Useful real-life questions

Le cours commence a quelle heure ? = What time does the class start?
Le train part a quelle heure ? = What time does the train leave?
Tu arrives a quelle heure ? = What time are you arriving?

Common beginner mistakes

Forgetting il est before the time
Mixing up heure and heures
Translating directly from English instead of using French word order
Ignoring the 24-hour format in formal contexts

Mini practice

Try reading these aloud:

7:00 = Il est sept heures.
10:15 = Il est dix heures et quart.
12:30 = Il est midi et demi.
16:45 = Il est quatre heures moins le quart.

Final tip

Practice time in French together with your daily routine. If you connect time to real moments in your day, it becomes much easier to remember.

For related beginner topics, see French days and months and seasons of the year in French.