Language/French/Vocabulary/Time-and-Dates

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French Vocabulary → Numbers and Time → Time and Dates

Time and dates are an essential part of any language. In this lesson, you will learn how to express time and dates in French, including days of the week, months, seasons, and times of day.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: 20 Vingts or Vingt & How to say Good Bye?.

The Days of the Week[edit | edit source]

In French, the days of the week are as follows:

French	English Translation
lundi	Monday
mardi	Tuesday
mercredi	Wednesday
jeudi	Thursday
vendredi	Friday
samedi	Saturday
dimanche	Sunday

Note that in French, days of the week are not capitalized.

Months and Seasons[edit | edit source]

In French, the months and seasons are as follows:

French	English Translation
janvier	January
février	February
mars	March
avril	April
mai	May
juin	June
juillet	July
août	August
septembre	September
octobre	October
novembre	November
décembre	December

The seasons in French are as follows:

l'hiver (winter)
le printemps (spring)
l'été (summer)
l'automne (fall)

Telling Time[edit | edit source]

Telling time in French is quite simple. Usually, you use the 24-hour clock.

To tell a specific time of day, we use the following structure:

Hour + Minutes

To say 7:30 am or pm, we say “sept heures et demie” as we would say “seven thirty” in English.

To say multiples of five minutes, we use the word "et" between the hour and the minute. For example,

7:05 a.m. is "sept heures cinq"
7:10 a.m. is "sept heures dix"
7:15 a.m. is "sept heures et quart"
7:20 a.m. is "sept heures vingt"
7:25 a.m. is "sept heures vingt-cinq"
7:30 a.m. is "sept heures et demie"
7:35 a.m. is "huit heures moins vingt-cinq"
7:40 a.m. is "huit heures moins vingt"
7:45 a.m. is "huit heures moins le quart"
7:50 a.m. is "huit heures moins dix"
7:55 a.m. is "huit heures moins cinq"

Note that when telling time in French, we use the 24-hour clock. Also, note that we use "moins" (minus) to indicate the minutes before the next hour when it is less than 30 minutes past.

The Date[edit | edit source]

In French, we write the date using the structure: Day + Month + Year.

For example, October 2, 2021, is written as “le 2 octobre 2021” or “2/10/2021”.

Here are some useful words and expressions for talking about dates:

Aujourd'hui (today)
Demain (tomorrow)
Hier (yesterday)
Quel jour sommes-nous? (What day is it?)

Holidays and Celebrations[edit | edit source]

French people celebrate many holidays throughout the year.

Le jour de l'an (New Year's Day)
La Saint-Valentin (Valentine's Day)
Pâques (Easter)
La Fête du Travail (May Day)
La Fête Nationale (Bastille Day)
Noël (Christmas)

Note that French people often say “Bonne fêtes” during the holiday season to wish others a good time during the various celebrations.

Exercise[edit | edit source]

Now that you have learned how to express time and dates in French, test your knowledge with this exercise:

Translate the following times and dates into French:

   * August 1st, 2022
   * 8:15 p.m.
   * April 25th, 2023
   * 12:00 p.m.

Sources[edit | edit source]

Table of Contents - French Course - 0 to A1[edit source]

Course Presentation

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Nouns and Articles

Verbs and Tenses

Adjectives and Adverbs

Negation and Interrogation

Numbers and Time

Family and Relationships

Food and Drink

Hobbies and Interests

Geography and Travel

French Culture and Arts

French History and Society

Videos[edit | edit source]

French time expressions Part 1 (basic French vocabulary from Learn ...[edit | edit source]

Other Lessons[edit | edit source]

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