Telling Time in French: The Formula, and Why Trains Say 14h
How to tell time in French: the il est + hour formula, et quart/et demie/moins le quart, and why French trains use 14h, not 2pm.
To tell time in French, use il est + the hour: il est trois heures (it’s 3 o’clock). Add et quart for quarter past, et demie for half past, and moins le quart for quarter to. Official contexts like train schedules use the 24-hour clock: 14h, not 2pm.
Quick answer
To tell time in French, use il est + the hour: il est trois heures (it’s 3 o’clock). Add et quart for quarter past, et demie for half past, and moins le quart for quarter to. Official contexts like train schedules use the 24-hour clock: 14h, not 2pm.
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The core formula: il est + hour
Il est trois heures (it’s 3 o’clock) - note heure/heures agreement. One exception: il est une heure takes no S, since it’s just one hour.
Quarters and halves
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| et quart | quarter past | trois heures et quart (3:15) |
| et demie | half past | trois heures et demie (3:30) |
| moins le quart | quarter to | quatre heures moins le quart (3:45) |
Minutes past and to
Dix heures dix (10:10) simply adds the minutes; dix heures moins dix (9:50) subtracts them from the next hour - the “moins” pattern.
The 24-hour clock: why French trains say 14h
Official and written French - transport schedules, TV listings, appointments - defaults to the 24-hour clock. Casual speech still uses the 12-hour system plus a time-of-day marker: du matin (AM), de l’après-midi (afternoon), du soir (evening).
Asking and answering
Quelle heure est-il ? (what time is it?) / Il est… (it’s…). For appointments: à quelle heure… ? (at what time…?). For the number system underneath all of this, see French numbers 1 to 100.
Time expressions, fully mastered
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Questions about this note
How do you ask what time it is in French?
Quelle heure est-il ?
How do you say half past in French?
et demie - trois heures et demie.
How do you say quarter to in French?
moins le quart - quatre heures moins le quart.
Why do French trains use 14h instead of 2pm?
Official and written French defaults to the 24-hour clock; casual speech still uses 12-hour time.
How do you say "at what time"?
à quelle heure ?