Quelle heure est-il ?
What time is it?
Usage
Most common way to ask the time
Grammar Note
"Il est" inverted to "est-il" in formal question
Quel jour de la semaine est-on ? Lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche.
What day of the week is it? Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun.
Usage
Asking for the day of the week
Grammar Note
Days of the week are lowercase in French
Aujourd'hui / Demain / Hier.
Today / Tomorrow / Yesterday.
Usage
Basic time references
Grammar Note
"aujourd'hui" is historically redundant from "au jour d'hui"
Cette semaine / La semaine prochaine / La semaine dernière.
This week / Next week / Last week.
Usage
Referring to relative weeks
Grammar Note
"semaine" is feminine, so adjectives take feminine form
Le matin / L'après-midi / Le soir / La nuit.
In the morning / afternoon / evening / at night.
Usage
Time of day expressions
Grammar Note
"nuit" refers specifically to nighttime/late night
Quelle est la date d'aujourd'hui ?
What is today's date?
Usage
Asking for today's date
Grammar Note
French dates follow the format "le 17 mai"
À quelle heure ouvre / ferme-t-il ?
At what time does it open / close?
Usage
Asking about opening/closing times
Grammar Note
"-t-" is inserted for phonetic liaison
Combien de temps faut-il pour y aller ?
How long will it take to get there?
Usage
Checking travel duration
Grammar Note
"faut-il" inverts impersonal "il faut"
Retrouvons-nous à 15 heures.
Let's meet at 3 pm.
Usage
Arranging a meeting time
Grammar Note
France commonly uses 24-hour clock
Il est deux heures et demie / cinq heures moins le quart.
It's half past two / quarter to five.
Usage
Expressing time with fractions
Grammar Note
"moins le quart" = quarter to (the hour)
Est-ce ouvert le week-end ?
Is it open on weekends?
Usage
Checking weekend availability
Grammar Note
"week-end" is an anglicism widely used in French
Dans quel fuseau horaire sommes-nous ?
What time zone are we in?
Usage
Confirming the local time zone
Grammar Note
"fuseau" comes from "spindle" (shape of the zone)
C'est trop tôt / trop tard.
It's too early / too late.
Usage
Expressing inconvenient timing
Grammar Note
"trop + adverb" expresses excess
À quelle heure ça commence / se termine ?
When does it start / end?
Usage
Checking event times
Grammar Note
"se terminer" is a reflexive verb meaning to end
Du lundi au vendredi.
From Monday to Friday.
Usage
Specifying weekday range
Grammar Note
Days of the week are not capitalized in French
Je voudrais prendre rendez-vous pour le [date/heure].
I'd like to make an appointment for [date/time].
Usage
Making an appointment
Grammar Note
"prendre rendez-vous" is the set phrase for making an appointment
Un jour
One day
Usage
Used to indicate a duration of exactly one day, e.g. rentals or stays
Une demi-journée
Half a day
Usage
Used for half-day tours or half-day rates
Une semaine
One week
Usage
Used to indicate a one-week stay or rental period
Un mois
One month
Usage
Used for long stays or monthly contracts
Un an
One year
Usage
Used for visa validity or contract length in years
lundi
Monday
Usage
A standalone day name to point to when discussing schedules or closures
mardi
Tuesday
Usage
A standalone day name to point to when discussing schedules or closures
mercredi
Wednesday
Usage
A standalone day name to point to when discussing schedules or closures
jeudi
Thursday
Usage
A standalone day name to point to when discussing schedules or closures
vendredi
Friday
Usage
A standalone day name to point to when discussing schedules or closures
samedi
Saturday
Usage
A standalone day name to point to when discussing schedules or closures
dimanche
Sunday
Usage
A standalone day name to point to when discussing schedules or closures
Aujourd'hui
Today
Usage
The basic word to point to for "today"
Demain
Tomorrow
Usage
Used when moving a plan or reservation to tomorrow
Hier
Yesterday
Usage
Used to refer to something that happened yesterday
Après-demain
The day after tomorrow
Usage
Used to indicate a plan two days from now
Avant-hier
The day before yesterday
Usage
Used to refer to something that happened two days ago
Maintenant
Now
Usage
Points to "right now" when timing matters
Plus tard
Later
Usage
Used to indicate something should happen at a later time
Une heure
One hour
Usage
Used to indicate a duration or wait time of one hour
Deux heures
Two hours
Usage
Used to indicate a duration or wait time of two hours
Trente minutes
Thirty minutes
Usage
Used to indicate a short duration or wait of thirty minutes
Le matin
Morning
Usage
Points to the morning time of day
Midi
Midday
Usage
Points to midday, around noon
Le soir
Evening
Usage
Points to the evening / dusk time of day
La nuit
Night
Usage
Points to nighttime
Tard dans la nuit
Late night
Usage
Points to late night, useful for last trains or closing times
Tous les jours
Every day
Usage
Used to indicate something happens daily
Chaque semaine
Every week
Usage
Used to indicate something happens weekly
Chaque mois
Every month
Usage
Used to indicate something happens monthly
Cette semaine
This week
Usage
Used to refer to the current week
La semaine prochaine
Next week
Usage
Used to refer to the coming week
La semaine dernière
Last week
Usage
Used to refer to the previous week
Le week-end
Weekend
Usage
Used to refer to the weekend, e.g. opening hours
janvier
January
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
Grammar Note
French month names stay lowercase even mid-sentence, and dates run day-then-month, e.g. "le 3 mars"
février
February
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
mars
March
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
avril
April
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
mai
May
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
juin
June
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
juillet
July
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
août
August
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
septembre
September
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
octobre
October
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
novembre
November
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
décembre
December
Usage
A single word for naming the month of a date or booking
More French phrases
- Basic Words
- Basic Nouns
- Basic Verbs
- Adjectives
- Question Words
- Greetings
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