What time is it in French – 10 ways to ask for the time

Do you know how to say What time is it in French? A major hurdle to being on time is simply not knowing what time it is. Time differences and the experience of jetlag can wreak havoc with your inner clock when you’re traveling and you might find yourself in a situation in which you have to ask for the time.

In this post we’ll teach you how to say “What time is it?” and other useful expressions to ask for the time. As a bonus, we’ll also share how to tell the time in French as well.

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What Time is it in French at a Glance

All the Ways to Say What Time is it in French

What time is it? in French – Standard

What time is it? in French – Informal and Casual

Il est quelle heure?

Il est quelle heure? translates directly to “It is what time?” You may notice that Quelle heure est-il? is just the inverted form of Il est quelle heure? This expression is one of the most frequently used ways of asking for the time in French. You see that the sentence structure is the same as in an affirmative sentence. Your intonation (your voice going up at the end of the sentence) makes this a question.

Tu as l’heure?

Tu as l’heure means “do you have the time”. Since tu (informal you) is used instead of vous (formal you), this expression can be used with people you have an informal relationship with such as friends and family.

T’as l’heure?

The most informal expression in this list is T’as l’heure? It comes from tu as l’heure and also means “Do you have the time?”. Younger generations tend to shorten tu as to t’as, but it’s a colloquial way of speaking that should be reserved to close family and good friends.

C’est quelle heure?

C’est quelle heure? is another informal, colloquial way of asking for the time. Although it isn’t fully grammatically correct (it translates to “it’s what time?”, this way of saying “what time is it?” is commonly used in and around the east-central French city of Lyon.

What time is it in French – Formal

Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-il s’il vous plaît?

Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-il s’il vous plaît? is the longest and one of the more formal ways of asking for the time in French. It translates to “Excuse me, what time is it please?”

You’ll notice that all formal expressions have vous in them, vous is the formal “you”, used to address strangers, the elderly, superiors at work or anyone who you have a formal relationship with. You can for example say Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-il s’il vous plaît? at the train station when you want to ask a stranger for the time.

Auriez-vous l’heure?

Auriez-vous l’heure? is an even more formal way of asking for the time in French. It means “would you have the time?”. It is a stuffy, rather old-fashioned expression and unless you have a very formal relationship with the person there’s no need to use it. A very fancy restaurant might be the ideal place to use Auriez-vous l’heure?

Avez-vous l’heure?

In Avez-vous l’heure? we notice the inversion of the verb avez “have” and the personal pronoun vous “you”, which indicates it’s a formal expression. The phrase avez-vous l’heure translates directly to “Do you have the time?”.

Est-ce que vous avez l’heure? 

The easiest way of making a question in French is adding est-ce que to a regular sentence. The phrase Vous avez l’heure is an affirmation, “you have the time”. By adding est-ce que in front of the sentence we make a question Est-ce que vous avez l’heure? “Do you have the time?”

This form of making questions is well suited for beginning learners and speakers of French. Use it if you want to ask a fellow French learner for the time.

How to ask the time of a specific event

À quelle heure..

To ask for the specific time of an event you can ask À quelle heure. . “at what time..?”. Notice that heure “hour” is feminine in French, which is why we use the feminine determinant quelle instead of the masculine quel. Check out the examples below: 

Useful expression about time in French

French	English
Je suis en retard.	I’m running late.
Je suis à l'heure.	I’m on time.
Je suis désolé(e) , je n’ai pas l’heure	I’m sorry, I don’t have the time.
Il est tard.	It’s late.
Je suis en avance.	I’m early.
Le temps vole.	Time flies.
Vaut mieux tard que jamais.	Better late than never.

Telling the time in French

To tell the time in French you always start out by saying Il est “It is”. Note that in France the 24 hour format of telling time is used. 

French	English
Il est 11 heures.	It is 11 o’clock (am)
Il est 9 heures.	It is 9 o’clock (am)
Il est 13 heures.	It is 1 o’clock (pm)
Il est 16 heures 30.	It is 4:30 (pm)
Il est 19 heures 10.	It is 7:10 (pm)

Conclusion

The beauty of the French language lies in the many nuances with which a speaker can be addressed. We understand that these nuances are sometimes difficult to understand for French learners. Remember, using vous is always more formal than using tu. Using inversion (changing the position of the verb and the personal pronoun) always adds formality. Try not to be en retard “late”, the French value la ponctualité “punctuality”!