Time of day, parts of the day, and telling the time in French
le matin · l'après-midi · le soir · la nuit · Il est huit heures. · Il est midi et demi. · On se retrouve à quelle heure ?
French uses Il est + [heure] to tell the time, and le matin / l'après-midi / le soir / la nuit for parts of the day.
| Time | French | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | Il est une heure. | Singular: une heure |
| 2:00 | Il est deux heures. | Plural: heures |
| 2:15 | Il est deux heures et quart. | +15 min |
| 2:30 | Il est deux heures et demie. | +30 min |
| 2:45 | Il est trois heures moins le quart. | next hour − 15 |
| 12:00 (noon) | Il est midi. | Special word |
| 00:00 (midnight) | Il est minuit. | Special word |
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| le matin | in the morning | Je fais du sport le matin. |
| l'après-midi | in the afternoon | Je lis l'après-midi. |
| le soir | in the evening | Je regarde la télé le soir. |
| la nuit | at night | Je dors la nuit. |
| ce matin | this morning | Ce matin, je vais au parc. |
| cet après-midi | this afternoon | Cet après-midi, je lis. |
| ce soir | this evening | Ce soir, on va au cinéma. |
| cette nuit | tonight / last night | Cette nuit, je reste à la maison. |
💡 Two uses of quand
The word quand has two distinct jobs in French. Mixing them up is a common source of confusion:
| Use | Function | Example | Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interrogative | Asks a question about time | Quand est-ce que tu arrives ? | Can replace with À quelle heure ? |
| Conjunction | Links two events in time | Quand je rentre, je mange. | Can replace with au moment où |
This lesson focuses on the interrogative use. The conjunction use is covered in a later unit.
Study the time vocabulary, then practise with the exercises.
French.WithDrChan · Dr Daniel Chan · mars 2026
| French | Meaning | Category |
|---|---|---|
| le matin | in the morning | Part of day |
| l'après-midi | in the afternoon | Part of day |
| le soir | in the evening | Part of day |
| la nuit | at night | Part of day |
| maintenant | now | Adverb |
| bientôt | soon | Adverb |
| tout à l'heure | in a little while / just now | Adverb |
| à quelle heure ? | at what time? | Question |
| Il est quelle heure ? | What time is it? | Question |
| Il est… heure(s). | It is… o'clock. | Telling time |
| … et quart | quarter past | Time modifier |
| … et demie | half past | Time modifier |
| … moins le quart | quarter to | Time modifier |
| midi | noon | Special |
| minuit | midnight | Special |
Given a time shown on the clock, identify the part of the day or write the time in French.
Given a digital time, write the full French sentence: Il est…
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