À + [heure] = At + [time] in French

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2024-02-19
10 questions

There are different ways to express time in French. Here's the way of telling the time "on the hour".

How to tell the time on the hour in French

Look at these examples:

Je mange à deux heures de l'après-midi. I eat at 2pm.

Je vais manger à huit heures.I will eat at eight o'clock.

Nous allons partir à midi.We're going to leave at midday.
 

Notice that you use à + heure to say at what time something happens.

 
See also En vs Dans with time (French Prepositions of Time)
and After/before versus in front of/behind (French Prepositions of Time and Place)

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Examples and resources

La soirée commence à sept heures et demie.The party starts at seven thirty.
Je mange à deux heures de l'après-midi. I eat at 2pm.
Nous allons partir à midi.We're going to leave at midday.
Je vais manger à huit heures.I will eat at eight o'clock.
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