Updated: April 8, 2021 by Mylene in How to Pronounce ▪
Heure is a feminine noun in French that means hour, time in English.The singular is “une heure”. The word “heure” begins with a silent h, so there is an elision : l’heure. The plural is : les heures. You must do the liaison and pronounce the letter -s orally.
Example:
- Quelle heure est-il?: What time it is?
- Il y a 24 heures dans une journée: There are twenty-four hours in a day.
- C’est l’heure de manger: it’s time to eat.
- Il est 9 heures: it’s 9 o’clock.
How To Pronounce Heure In French?
In French, the word heure is pronounced /œʀ/. In details:
- the h is mute
- the last letter e is not pronounced
- /œ/ sound: the mouth is opened, the tongue touches the lower teeth
- /r/ sound: the tip of the tongue must touch the front lower teeth
Watch this video on Instagram to learn the right pronunciation of “heure” in French. Click on the link to listen to this video or directly play the video shown below.
The French language contains a large number of words that are difficult to pronounce. To learn the right pronunciation of French words check our article on the pronunciation of French words.
Related Words in French
There are 4 important things to know if you want to tell the time correctly:
- The plural is “les heures”. If you use a number you need to add an S at the end. For example, it’s five o’clock: il est cinq heures.
- Heure is a feminine noun, but you need to say “il est” you can’t say
elle est une heure. “Il est” is impersonal. - Its abbreviation h is used where a colon is used in English.
It’s one o’clock: il est une heure (1h00) - In French, time is usually based on the 24-hour clock, like military time. You have two options:
- you can talk about time with the 24-hour clock or
- you can use the phrases “du matin” to mean a.m., and then “de l’après-midi” from noon until around 6 p.m., followed by “du soir” until midnight.
The word heure is found in many French expressions such as tout à l’heure. For example: Les invités vont venir tout à l’heure: The guests will come later today.
Telling time in French
Did you know that there is no words for “a.m.” and “p.m.” in French. Here are some examples of how to tell time in French:
- It’s two o’clock: il est deux heures (2h00)
- it’s 2:10: il est deux heures dix (2h:10)
- it’s 2:15: il est deux heures et quart, il est deux heures quinze (2h15)
- it’s 2:30: il est deux heures et demie, il est deux heures trente (2h30)
- it’s 2:45: il est trois heures moins le quart, il est deux heures quarante-cinq (2h45)
- it’s 2:50: il est trois heures moins dix (2h50)
- it’s 8 a.m: il est huit heures du matin (8h00)
- it’s 8 p.m: il est huit heures du soir, il est vingt heures (20h00)
- it’s noon: il est midi (12H00)
- it’s midnight: il est minuit (0h00)
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