Telling Time in French: Hours, Minutes and Examples
Published October 22, 2026 · 10 min read
Learning to read the clock in French opens every door : catching a metro in Paris, booking a brunch in Dubai, or whispering je t’aime at midnight.
Good news : there are two systems in France, the 12 hour spoken form and the 24 hour official clock, but the sentence always stays the same : Il est… heures, it is… o’clock.
What to remember
- The base sentence is always Il est… heures. One structure for everything.
- France uses the 24 hour clock for anything official : trains, work, TV, appointments.
- Et quart, et demie and moins le quart only work with the 12 hour form, for friendly spoken French.
- Heure is feminine : une heure, deux heures. We always say une heure, never un heure.
How to ask the time in French
How do you ask the time in French ? You have three natural ways, from the most common to the most relaxed.
« Quelle heure est-il ? » and other ways to ask
1. Quelle heure est-il ? [kell eur eh-teel]
What time is it ? The classic, always with quelle.
2. Vous avez l’heure ? / Tu as l’heure ?
Do you have the time ? Very common in spoken French, in France and in Dubai.
3. Il est quelle heure ?
Informal, very common between friends.
To answer, you always use Il est… : Il est deux heures. Il est midi. Il est 15 h.
Pronunciation tip : heure sounds like « eur », close to the « ur » of « fur » with rounded lips. Heures sounds exactly the same : the final s is silent. Est is short : [eh]. More tips in our guide to mastering French pronunciation and on our page about French vowel sounds.
Asking politely : « Vous avez l’heure, s’il vous plaît ? »
With a stranger, start with Excusez-moi and use vous :
Dubai dialogue
- « Excusez-moi, vous avez l’heure, s’il vous plaît ? »
- « Oui, il est neuf heures et quart. » (Yes, it’s quarter past nine.)
How to say the hours in French
Every hour in French needs heures, except une heure (singular). Heure is feminine, so remember : une heure, never un heure. If you need a refresher on the numbers themselves, start with our page on numbers in French. Telling the time is part of the A1 level, the very first step on the CEFR scale.
From « il est une heure » to « il est onze heures »
Here is your complete 12 hour table, from midnight to eleven o’clock. Press play to hear Murielle say every hour, then repeat after her.
| Written | How we say it | Pronunciation help | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 h | Il est minuit | mee-nwee | midnight |
| 1 h | Il est une heure | ee-leh-tu-neur | one o’clock |
| 2 h | Il est deux heures | deu-zeur | two o’clock |
| 3 h | Il est trois heures | trwa-zeur | three o’clock |
| 4 h | Il est quatre heures | ka-treur | four o’clock |
| 5 h | Il est cinq heures | san-keur | five o’clock |
| 6 h | Il est six heures | see-zeur | six o’clock |
| 7 h | Il est sept heures | seh-teur | seven o’clock |
| 8 h | Il est huit heures | wee-teur | eight o’clock |
| 9 h | Il est neuf heures | neu-veur | nine o’clock |
| 10 h | Il est dix heures | dee-zeur | ten o’clock |
| 11 h | Il est onze heures | on-zeur | eleven o’clock |
| 12 h | Il est midi | mee-dee | midday, noon |
Listen to the links : the number always runs into heures. Six and dix take a z sound (six heures = see-zeur), and neuf takes a v sound (neuf heures = neu-veur).
Examples to say out loud :
- Mon cours de français est à une heure. (My French class is at one o’clock.)
- Il est dix heures à Dubaï, je t’appelle ? (It’s ten o’clock in Dubai, shall I call you?)
Midi, minuit and why there is no « twelve o’clock »
Midi and minuit never take heures. In daily speech, we never say douze heures for noon : we say midi. You will only hear douze heures in the official 24 hour clock, on a timetable or at the station.
How to say the minutes in French
This is where French becomes musical. You have two ways to say the minutes.
Adding minutes : « il est trois heures dix »
The simple way : Il est + hour + minutes. Just add the number. This works with both the 12 hour and the 24 hour clock.
- Il est trois heures dix. = 3:10
- Il est cinq heures vingt-cinq. = 5:25
- Il est dix heures cinq. = 10:05
- Il est midi dix. = 12:10
Et quart, et demie, moins le quart, moins dix
The traditional way, for the 12 hour spoken form. Very French, and lovely :
- et quart [eh kar] = quarter past
- et demie [eh duh-mee] = half past
- moins le quart [mwan luh kar] = quarter to
- moins dix, moins cinq = ten to, five to
Examples
- Il est deux heures et quart. = 2:15 (quarter past two)
- Il est deux heures et demie. = 2:30 (half past two)
- Il est trois heures moins le quart. = 2:45 (quarter to three)
- Il est trois heures moins dix. = 2:50 (ten to three)
Important rule : we write et demie after heure(s), which is feminine, but et demi after midi and minuit, which are masculine : Il est midi et demi.
So, how do you say half past and quarter past in French ? Et demie for half, et quart for quarter, with the 12 hour clock only.
Still counting on your fingers for moins le quart ?
Book a free trial class with Murielle and practise the clock with your own Dubai schedule.
Book my free trial class →The 24 hour clock in French
Why the French say « quinze heures » for 3 p.m.
In France, the 24 hour clock is the official system. You use it for train timetables, work meetings, TV guides, opening hours and any appointment. In the UAE you are used to 3:00 PM. In France, that is 15 h.
This is essential for expats : if your boss in Paris says Rendez-vous à 15 h, she means 3 PM.
24 hour to 12 hour conversion table
Your French time converter :
| 12 h (AM / PM) | 24 h (official French) | How to say it | Example in real life |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 AM | 1 h | une heure | Il est une heure du matin. |
| 7 AM | 7 h | sept heures | Ouverture : 7 h–22 h |
| 12 PM | 12 h | midi / douze heures | Déjeuner à midi |
| 1 PM | 13 h | treize heures | Il est treize heures. |
| 3 PM | 15 h | quinze heures | Cours à 15 h |
| 5 PM | 17 h | dix-sept heures | Train à 17 h 30 |
| 8 PM | 20 h | vingt heures | Film à 20 h |
| 10:30 PM | 22 h 30 | vingt-deux heures trente | Dîner à 22 h 30 |
| 12 AM | 0 h | minuit / zéro heure | Il est minuit. |
Key sentence patterns :
- Il est 13 h 10. = It is 1:10 PM
- Il est 18 h 45. = It is 6:45 PM. With the 24 hour clock you don’t say moins le quart : you say dix-huit heures quarante-cinq. In the 12 hour form, it would be sept heures moins le quart.
With friends in Dubai, spoken and relaxed : On se voit à trois heures ? For anything official : Votre vol est à 15 h 40.
How to write the time in French
The French written convention is different from English. This matters for emails and invitations.
- The French write 15 h 30, not 3:30 PM.
- The h is the official separator. No colon.
- No AM / PM : use the 24 hour clock, or add du matin / du soir.
- 15h30 is accepted, but 15 h 30 with spaces is more correct.
- 15 h alone means 15:00 exactly.
- Wrong : 3:30 PM, 3h30 PM
- Right : 15 h 30, or 3 h 30 de l’après-midi
A boutique in Paris : Horaires : 10 h–19 h, du lundi au samedi.
Your Dubai class : Mardi et jeudi, 18 h 30–20 h. (Days of the week are all on our page French days of the week.)
Vocabulary to know : une heure (an hour), une minute (a minute), une seconde (a second).
Morning, afternoon and evening : du matin, de l’après-midi, du soir
Because huit heures can be morning or evening, French adds a precision when you use the 12 hour clock.
Using « du matin » and « du soir » correctly
- du matin [du ma-tan] = in the morning (1 h to 11 h 59)
- de l’après-midi [duh la-preh-mee-dee] = in the afternoon (12 h to 17 h 59)
- du soir [du swar] = in the evening (18 h to 23 h 59)
- Il est huit heures du matin. = 8 AM
- Il est huit heures du soir. = 8 PM
- Il est trois heures de l’après-midi. = 3 PM
Perfect for clarity when you don’t want to use the 24 hour clock : Mon cours est à neuf heures du matin, à Dubaï. On dîne à neuf heures du soir, en France ?
Common confusions between « soir » and « nuit »
After midnight, French uses du matin, even if it is still dark : Il est trois heures du matin (3 AM). Du soir stops at midnight, and de la nuit is only heard in casual speech. To wish someone a good evening, say bonsoir ; bonne nuit is only for going to bed.
A romantic example between Dubai and Paris :
- « Je t’appelle à minuit ? »
- « Minuit à Dubaï, c’est seulement vingt et une heures à Paris en hiver. Appelle-moi plutôt à huit heures du soir, heure de Paris, c’est plus romantique ! »
Want to practise with a real schedule ?
Our private French lessons in Dubai, also available online, use your own calendar, flights and appointments to make the clock automatic.
See our course options →Useful phrases to talk about time in French
Ready-to-use sentence patterns for real life in the UAE and in France.
Asking and giving an appointment time :
- À quelle heure est le rendez-vous ? (What time is the appointment?)
- Le rendez-vous est à 15 h. / À quinze heures.
- À quelle heure on se voit ? (What time shall we meet?)
- On se voit vers 18 h ? (Shall we meet around 6 PM? vers = around)
- C’est à quelle heure, ton vol ? (What time is your flight?)
For transport and opening hours :
- Le train part à 10 h 05, quai 2. (The train leaves at 10:05, platform 2.)
- Le musée ouvre à 10 h et ferme à 18 h. (The museum opens at 10 and closes at 6 PM.)
- Dernier métro à minuit cinq. (Last metro at 12:05 AM.)
Very useful time vocabulary :
- en retard = late, behind schedule : Je suis en retard, désolé !
- à l’heure = on time : Le train est à l’heure.
- tôt = early : Tu te lèves tôt.
- tard = late in the day : Tu rentres tard.
- Il est l’heure de… = It’s time to… : Il est l’heure de partir.
Full dialogue in Dubai
- « Chéri, quelle heure est-il ? On va être en retard ! »
- « Il est sept heures et quart, on a le temps. »
- « Non, il est déjà sept heures vingt ! Le film est à 19 h 30 ! »
- « On y va ! »
For more everyday phrases like these, see our list of useful expressions in French.
FAQ about telling time in French
Quick answers to the questions learners in Dubai and the UAE ask most often. Tap a question to open it.
How do you ask the time in French ?
The most common is Quelle heure est-il ? [kell eur eh-teel]. In everyday spoken French, you will hear Vous avez l’heure ? or, informally, Il est quelle heure ?
Always answer with Il est… : Quelle heure est-il ? Il est trois heures et demie.
How do you say half past and quarter past in French ?
Half past is et demie after heures, and et demi after midi or minuit : Il est deux heures et demie = half past two. Quarter past is et quart : Il est quatre heures et quart = quarter past four.
These forms only work with the 12 hour clock. With the official 24 hour clock, say 14 h 15 (quatorze heures quinze) and 14 h 30 (quatorze heures trente).
Why do French people say « quinze heures » instead of « three o’clock » ?
Because France officially uses the 24 hour clock for timetables, work, media and formal appointments. 15 h (quinze heures) is clearer than 3 h, which could be morning or afternoon. So quinze heures = 3 PM, vingt heures = 8 PM.
With friends, French people still say trois heures de l’après-midi in a relaxed way.
How do you write 3:30 PM in French ?
You write 15 h 30. The French never use a colon with AM or PM : the h replaces the colon. With the 12 hour clock, you can also write 3 h 30 de l’après-midi.
Opening hours : 9 h–17 h 30. Train : Départ 18 h 05.
Make every hour count in French
Telling the time is not just grammar, it’s confidence : confidence to catch your flight, to say Je suis à l’heure, to plan a romantic dinner at 20 h.
At French Tuitions, Dubai’s French school for expats, we practise the clock with real life : your calendar, your metro, your life between Paris and the Burj Khalifa. Ready to be on time in French ?
Explore our personalised services : private lessons in Dubai Marina and online, small groups for absolute beginners and beginners, pronunciation coaching with phonetics, and conversation workshops focused on everyday French. Just starting out ? Read our tips for learning French as a beginner.
Il est l’heure de commencer !
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Book my free level check →Continue learning French
- Numbers in French: counting and key patterns
- Days of the week in French: spelling and audio
- How to master the French pronunciation
- French negation: ne, pas, jamais, rien and every negative form
About Murielle Larrière
Native French teacher based in Dubai, DELF examiner, and founder of Dubai French Tuitions. Murielle has taught French to hundreds of expatriates across the UAE, from absolute beginners to executives preparing for the DELF exam. Read her full story →
