French telling time words & phrases translated into English, with phonetic pronunciation, notes, and able to be downloaded as PDF, CSV or Excel.
| English | French | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| What time is it? | quel heure est-il ? | Kay luhr ay teel? | the "h" of "heure" is silent, in "tihl" we linked the "t" of "est" with the "i" of "il" |
| It is one o'clock. | c'est une heure | say toon uh[r] | the "u" in "une" is as if you pronounce "use" but without pronouncing the "y" and the "eu" in "heure" is close to the interjection "eww" when you see something disgusting) |
| It is five o'clock | c'est cinq heure | say sa[n] kuh[r] | |
| am | avant-midi | ah-VAH[n] mee-dee | In "midi" the "i" in not pronounced as in "side" but as in "feed" or "breed" only it is not as long. [n] is nasal in "avant" |
| pm | après-midi | ap-REH mee-dee | In "midi" the "i" in not pronounced as in "side" but as in "feed" or "breed" only it is not as long. The "è" is pronounced as "e" in "set". |
| (It's) a quarter past (ten) | (il est) (dix) heure et quart | EE leh (dee-z)uh[r] ay kah[rt] | |
| (It's) half-past (five) | (il est) (cinq) heure et demie | EE leh sa[n]k uh[r] ay DUH-mee | in "demie" we pronounce the "do" as the verb "to do" and the "i" is pronounced as in the example above |
| (It's) a quarter until (ten) | (il est) (dix) heure moins (le) quart | EE leh (dee-z)uh[r] mwa[n] kah[rt] | "le" is optional, [n] is nasal |
| morning | matin | MEH-tah[n] | [n] is nasal |
| noon | midi | mee-dee | pronouciation is the same as in 5 and 6 |
| afternoon | après-midi | ap-REH midi | |
| evening | soir | swa[r] | "r" is guttural; kind of like coughing up a hairball |
| midnight | minuit | MEEN-wee | "wee" as in "week" but shorter and with the tongue forward |
| At what time ...? | à quel heure ? | ah kehl uh[r] | |
| At ... | à | ah | "a" as in "father" |
| yesterday | hier | EE-ayr | "i" as in "internet" and ay as in "hay" or "day, "r" guttural; kind of like coughing up a hairball |
| tomorrow | demain | DOOH-mah[n] | [n] is nasal |
| today | aujourd'hui | OH-zhoor-dwee | "ou" as in "you", "wee" as in "wee" but shorter and with tongue forward |
| one | un | un[n] | |
| two | deux | dooh | short clip |
| three | trois | trwa | |
| four | quatre | kah-trh | |
| five | cinq | sa[n]k | |
| six | six | sees | "i" as in "sit" |
| seven | sept | set | exactly as in the verb "set", the "p" is silent |
| eight | huit | weet | "wee" as in "week" but shorter and with the tongue forward. |
| nine | neuf | nuhf | |
| ten | dix | dees | "i" as in "sit" |
| eleven | onze | o[n]z | "on" as in "long" |
| twelve | douze | dooz | "oo" as in "food" |
| thirteen | treize | trez | |
| fourteen | quatorze | kah-torz | |
| fifteen | quinze | kunz | |
| sixteen | seize | sehz | |
| seventeen | dix-sept | dee-set | |
| eighteen | dix-huit | dee-zweet | |
| nineteen | dix-neuf | deez-nuhf | |
| twenty | vingt | vuh[ng] | |
| twenty-one | vingt et un | vuh[ng] tay uh[n] | |
| twenty-two | vingt-deux | vuh[ng] dooh | |
| twenty-three | vingt-trois | vuh[ng] trwa | |
| second {of time} | seconde | sew-ko[n]dh | |
| minute | minute | MEE-noot | "u" as if you pronounce "use" but without pronouncing the "y" |
| hour | heure | uh[r] | |
| English | French | Pronunciation | Notes |
