How do you say the time in French?

Start with Il est, then the hour and heure(s), then the minutes: Il est deux heures dix. For quarters and halves, use et quart, et demie and moins le quart.

Do French speakers use the 24-hour clock?

Yes, for anything official: schedules, appointments, transport and announcements (dix-huit heures trente). In conversation, most people use the 12-hour style, adding du matin, de l’après-midi or du soir when needed.

Is it midi et demi or midi et demie?

Midi et demi: midi and minuit are masculine, so demi stays masculine. After heure(s) it’s et demie: une heure et demie.

Telling time in French: the clock game

Quelle heure est-il ?

Read the clock and pick the French time, drag the hands to a time written in words, or hear a time and pick it in digits. Practise both ways French speakers say it: the everyday 12-hour way and the 24-hour way used in schedules and announcements.

3 min a round
Free, no sign-up
Listening
Speaking

Turn your sound on: this game speaks French.

How to play

1Read: look at the clock and pick the right French time.
2Set: read the time in words and drag the hands to it.
3Listen: hear the time and pick it in digits.
4Play both ways: everyday « trois heures moins le quart » and 24-hour « quatorze heures quarante-cinq ».

What it trains

Both systems: everyday time (trois heures moins le quart, midi et demi) and official 24-hour time (quatorze heures quarante-cinq), plus the written Canadian style, 14 h 45.

Why it matters for TCF and TEF Canada

Appointments, opening hours, timetables and announcements are classic listening material, and each recording is played only once. Recognising times instantly means you don’t miss the answer while you convert.

Practise listening in the real format: TCF Canada listening practice · TEF Canada listening practice

Learn while you play

Rules and tips to remember

Always say heure(s)
Il est trois heures, even where English drops “o’clock”. Heure is feminine: une heure, vingt et une heures.
et quart, et demie, moins le quart
trois heures et quart (3:15), trois heures et demie (3:30), quatre heures moins le quart (3:45). With midi and minuit: midi et demi.
Past the half hour, count down
3:40 pm is quatre heures moins vingt in everyday French, and quinze heures quarante in 24-hour style.
The 24-hour style never counts down
It uses 0 to 23 and plain minutes, never quart, demie or moins: seize heures trente, zéro heure quinze.
Write it the Canadian way
9 h 05, 16 h, with a space on each side of the h.

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