{"id":3715,"date":"2023-07-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.educa.pro\/la-hora-en-frances"},"modified":"2026-06-10T12:39:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:39:51","slug":"the-time-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/articulos\/la-hora-en-frances\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn how to tell and understand the time correctly in French."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you thought that by mastering the <a href=\"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/articles\/business-english\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">English <\/a>It used to be enough to grow professionally and focus on what you love most, but we\u2019re sorry to say that\u2019s no longer the case. The world has become so globalised that the more languages we know, the better \u2013 whilst always bearing in mind which are the most widely spoken and most commonly used in our chosen sector. For example, in the world of business and commerce, there is undoubtedly a need for <a href=\"\/en\/articles\/english-language-skills\/\">to speak English fluently<\/a>, French and <a href=\"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/articles\/german-courses-for-businesses-levels-and-how-to-get-started\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">German<\/a>, which are associated with the major European economic powers.<\/p><p>If we\u2019re setting our sights on the international stage, then it would also be a good idea to start learning Chinese, as China is already the world\u2019s leading technological power.  Anyway, as you can see, learning languages is starting to shift from being an option to being a necessity.<\/p><p>But, <strong>Let\u2019s focus on French<\/strong>, Haven\u2019t you started learning basic French yet so you can get by in everyday conversation? Get started right now with this post!<\/p><h2>Can you tell the time in French? Learn this and lots of other everyday French phrases<\/h2><p>To learn French properly, just like any other language, you need to start by building up your basic knowledge, and your main aim should be to train your ear to recognise the most basic everyday conversations. For example, if you were travelling to Paris, would you know how to ask what time it is in French, ask for directions or ask for a menu?<\/p><p>Make a note of the ten most useful phrases in French!<\/p><ul><li>Where is\u2026? \u2013 O\u00f9 est\u2026? (For example, Where is the main street? \u2013 O\u00f9 est la rue principale?)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>How much does this cost? \u2013 Combien \u00e7a co\u00fbte? (For example, How much does this book cost? \u2013 Combien co\u00fbte ce livre?)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>I don\u2019t understand \u2013 Je ne comprends pas<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Could you repeat that, please? \u2013 Pouvez-vous r\u00e9p\u00e9ter, s\u2019il vous pla\u00eet?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Where\u2019s the loo? \u2013 O\u00f9 sont les toilettes?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>I'd like to book a table \u2013 Je voudrais r\u00e9server une table<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>What do you recommend? \u2013 Qu\u2019est-ce que vous recommandez?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The bill, please \u2013 L\u2019addition, s\u2019il vous pla\u00eet<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Can you help me? \u2013 Pouvez-vous m\u2019aider?<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>What time is it? \u2013 Quelle heure est-il?<\/li><\/ul><h2>How do you write the time in French? Learn how to say hours, minutes and fractions of an hour in French<\/h2><ul><li>On the hour: \u00abheure pile\u00bb or \u00abheure exacte\u00bb (for example, \u00abIt\u2019s 3 o\u2019clock on the hour\u00bb \u2013 \u00abIl est trois heures pile\u00bb).<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>And a quarter: \u00abet quart\u00bb (for example, \u00abIt\u2019s a quarter past four\u00bb \u2013 \u00abIl est quatre heures et quart\u00bb).<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Half past: \u00abet demie\u00bb (for example, \u00abIt\u2019s half past five\u00bb \u2013 \u00abIl est cinq heures et demie\u00bb).<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>A quarter to: \u00abmoins le quart\u00bb (for example, \u00abIt\u2019s a quarter to six\u00bb \u2013 \u00abIl est six heures moins le quart\u00bb).<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Half past: \u00abmoins la demie\u00bb (for example, \u00abIt\u2019s half past seven\u00bb \u2013 \u00abIl est sept heures moins la demie\u00bb).<\/li><\/ul><p>As well as these expressions, you can also use the decimal fraction format to give the exact time. For example, \u00abIt\u2019s 3.45\u00bb can be said as \u00abIl est trois heures quarante-cinq\u00bb or simply \u00abIl est trois heures quarante-cinq minutes\u00bb.<\/p><h2>How do you ask for and tell the time in French?<\/h2><p>Now that you know how to tell the time in French, learn how to ask for the time as follows: Quelle heure est-il?<\/p><p>And say it like this: Il est. (whatever the time)<\/p><h2>How do you say the date in French?<\/h2><p>To say the date in French, the following pattern is generally used: \u00abjour (day) + mois (month) + ann\u00e9e (year)\u00bb. Below, I\u2019ll show you some examples of how to say the date in French:<\/p><ul><li>6 July 2023: \u00able 6 juillet 2023\u00bb (pronounced: \u00able sis juillet deux mille vingt-trois\u00bb).<\/li><li>21 March 2024: \u00able 21 mars 2024\u00bb (pronounced: \u00able vingt et un mars deux mille vingt-quatre\u00bb).<\/li><li>9 December 2025: \u00able 9 d\u00e9cembre 2025\u00bb (pronounced: \u00able neuf d\u00e9cembre deux mille vingt-cinq\u00bb).<\/li><\/ul><p>It is important to remember that in French the format \u00abday + month + year\u00bb is used, with each element separated by spaces. Furthermore, the day is written as a cardinal number (1, 2, 3\u2026) and the year is read in groups of two digits.<\/p><p>We hope this post has helped you brush up on the basics of French that you\u2019ve had tucked away since secondary school; now it\u2019s up to you to keep making progress in the world of languages to broaden your opportunities for growth on the international stage or to secure the top roles in your sector.<\/p><p>Subscribe to Educa.Pro and find out where the job market is heading!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p id=\"\">Start learning French and broaden your range of career opportunities by mastering the languages of business.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3715"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3717,"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3715\/revisions\/3717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educa.pro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}