L’Heure — telling the time in French | Vocabulary
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Exactly how to tell time in French — quelle heure est-il ?, et quart, et demie — with audio. Telling the time in French. This French telling time vocabulary list gives you 14 essential words — from Il est une heure. (It’s 1 o’clock.) to la nuit (at night) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about telling time, then test yourself with the games below.
L’Heure
Telling the time in French
L’heure pile · on the hour
Les minutes
Les moments de la journée
🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « L’Heure » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 The rules of telling time
- Always il est + hour — never “c’est” : il est trois heures.
- heure(s) is never dropped : il est deux heures dix (English drops “o’clock”, French doesn’t).
- et quart / et demie / moins le quart work with the 12-hour clock; the 24-hour clock uses plain numbers : quatorze heures quarante-cinq.
- Official times (trains, TV, appointments) use the 24-hour clock; conversation uses 12-hour + du matin / de l’après-midi / du soir.
- à + time = at : on se voit à midi.
🔊 Useful phrases
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
3:30 → il est trois heures ___ (half past)
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et demie
2:45 → il est trois heures ___ (quarter to)
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moins le quart
« At 8 o’clock » → ___ huit heures (preposition)
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à
🎬 Video lesson
How to tell the time in French — in-depth explanation🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « It’s 1 o’clock. »? (recall)
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Il est une heure.
What does « Il est deux heures. » mean? (recall)
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It’s 2 o’clock.
How do you say « It’s noon. »? (recall)
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Il est midi.
What does « Il est minuit. » mean? (recall)
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It’s midnight.
How do you say « 2:05 »? (recall)
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deux heures cinq
What does « deux heures et quart » mean? (recall)
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quarter past 2
How do you say « half past 2 »? (recall)
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deux heures et demie
What does « trois heures moins dix » mean? (recall)
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ten to 3
Go further: this chart is one small piece — get the full picture in our guide 25 survival phrases for your trip to France.
How to tell time in French — FAQ
How do you say common telling time words in French?
For example: It’s 1 o’clock. is « Il est une heure. », It’s 2 o’clock. is « Il est deux heures. », It’s noon. is « Il est midi. ». The full list above has 14 French telling time words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French telling time words to learn first?
Start with the basics: Il est une heure. (It’s 1 o’clock.), Il est deux heures. (It’s 2 o’clock.), Il est midi. (It’s noon.), Il est minuit. (It’s midnight.), deux heures cinq (2:05), deux heures et quart (quarter past 2). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French telling time vocabulary?
Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.
🎮 Practise this lesson
Games built from this exact page — turn what you just read into play: