Q&A for How to Tell Time in French

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I've heard people say "20 minutes less than 7" instead of saying the number of minutes after the current hour, like "6 hours and 40 minutes." Is this correct?

Lorenzo Garriga
Native French Speaker
Lorenzo is a native French speaker and French language connoisseur. He has many years of experience as a translator, writer and reviewer. He is also a composer, pianist, and globe-trotter, who has been travelling the world on a shoestring for almost 30 years with a backpack.

Lorenzo Garriga

Native French Speaker

Expert Answer

Though in formal French, it's technically more correct to say the number of minutes after the hour, in spoken French or in less formal situations, most people default to using the "moins" method.

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How is time typically told in French?

Lorenzo Garriga
Native French Speaker
Lorenzo is a native French speaker and French language connoisseur. He has many years of experience as a translator, writer and reviewer. He is also a composer, pianist, and globe-trotter, who has been travelling the world on a shoestring for almost 30 years with a backpack.

Lorenzo Garriga

Native French Speaker

Expert Answer

Time is almost always told using a 24-hour clock, which is also known as military time. So, for example, 8 p.m. would be 20 hours. The other thing to remember is that instead of saying, for example, "It's 4:15," you would say "Il y a quatres heures et quart," which literally means "it's four and a quarter." In French, you use quarter, half (demi), and three-quarters (trois-quarts) rather than the actual amount of minutes.

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How would you translate 00h15?

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Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

As a full sentence in French, you would write "Il est minuit quinze." Your time is already expressed as the French would. If you translated that time into English and the 12-hour clock, it would be 12:15 a.m., or 15 minutes after midnight.

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How do you say 19:54 in French?

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You would say "Il est dix-neuf heures cinquante-quatre." Since it's so close to 20h, you could also say "Il est vingt heures moins six" or "il est environ vingt heures."

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How do I say 2:10 AM in French?

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2:10 a.m. would be written 2h10. You would say "Il est deux heures dix." There's a liaison between the words "deux" and "heures," so it would be pronounced "eel eht duhz-uhr dees."

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How do I say 6:55 p.m. in French?

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6:55 p.m. would be 18h55 in French. You would say "Il est dix-huit heures cinquante-cinq." You could also say "Il est dix-neuf heures moins cinq."

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How do I say 7h55 in French?

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You would say "Il est sept heures cinquante-cinq." This is pronounced roughly "eel eht seht euhr sank-ahnt-sank."

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How would I say "It's 10:05" in French?

Community Answer

"Il est dix heures cinq."

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Question

What is 0020 in French?

Community Answer

If you mean 20 past midnight, that's "minuit vingt" (not "minuit et vingt").

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Question

How do I write "8:15 pm" in French?

Community Answer

You could say 8:15 two ways: "Il est vingt heures quinze" or "Il est vingt heures quart".

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Question

How do I read army time?

Community Answer

Midnight is 00:00. Go all the way until 12:00, then keep going until 23:59 (or 11:59 pm). Start over at 00:00.

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How do I say 00:00 in French?

Dodo47

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You say "minuit," pronounced /minɥi/.

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How do I write "12:15" in French?

Dodo47

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You write "Midi et quart".

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How do I say "12:45" in French?

Community Answer

For AM, you would say: "Il est minuit quart." For PM: "Il est midi quart."

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Question

How would I say 20 minutes past midnight in French?

Community Answer

00:00 is midnight, so in French, it's "minuit." 20 minutes past the hour is "vingt." Therefore, twenty minutes past midnight is "minuit et vingt."

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How do I write 13:50 in French?

Community Answer

That is 1:50, so you can write it as; il est une heures cinquante, or as; il est deux heures moins dix.

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Question

How do I say that it is 10 minutes to 12?

masood zareei

Community Answer

It is "Il est douze heure moins dix."

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Question

Can I write 12 hours as "il est douze heures"?

Community Answer

Yes, that is the correct way, although "est" may not always be necessary.

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How do I say "16:00" in French?

Community Answer

If you mean 16 hours, it is; "il est seize heures" or "il est quatre heures (de l'apres midi)."

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How would I say 1:00 in French?

Community Answer

It would be "il est une heurs."

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Question

How do I say AM in French?

Community Answer

Du matin means "in the morning." The French do not have AM and PM. For example: Il est sept heures du matin means, "It is 7 AM,"

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How do l write 4:45 in french?

Community Answer

Il est cinq heures moins quinze. Also written as, il est cinq heures moins le quart.

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Question

Do I use military time when using conversational time?

Community Answer

You may know it as military time, but over there, it's just time. While the French do use the 12-hour clock, you'll see the 24-hour clock used on the digital clocks in France (as well as the rest of Europe).

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Question

How do l say 1:30 in French?

Community Answer

You say "Il est une heure et demie", or "il est une heure trente". Also depends whether it's AM or PM.

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Question

How would you say '6:35' in French?

Community Answer

For the morning, you would say "Il est six heures trente-cinq du matin." For the afternoon/night (you decide whether 6:35 is afternoon or night):.Afternoon: instead of "du matin" (which means "in the morning"), use "de l'après-midi". Evening: instead of "du matin", use "du soir", for example, 6:35 pm would be "Il best six heures trent-cinq du soir."

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How do I write 1:50 pm in French?

Community Answer

You would write 1:50 as "deux heurs moins dix," which means "ten before two."

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Question

How do I write 9:13 am in French?

ths 130028

Community Answer

9:13 AM would be neuf heures et treize. It is pronounced as "nuff uhr et treze".

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Question

23:30 what time and English?

ths 130028

Community Answer

23:30 is 11:30 PM using twelve o'clock time. In French, you would write it as: Vingt-trois heures et demie.

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How to say 12:15 in French?

ths 130028

Community Answer

You can say: Il est midi-quinze. Here, 12 is written as midi rather than douze.

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How to say 3:45 in French?

ths 130028

Community Answer

Seize heures moins le quart. Also, you can write quatre heures moins le quart, trois heures et quarante-cinq, or cinquante et quarante-cinq.

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