huit heures
The French phrase for eight o'clock is huit heures.
huit heures is used to indicate the time of day when the hour hand is on eight. To be specific about the time of day, you can add du matin to specify 8:00 AM or du soir to specify 8:00 PM.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase huit heures literally translates to eight hours.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because heures is plural, the number huit does not take an s at the end, as numbers in French are generally invariable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
In French, you must include the word heures to say eight o'clock. Do not simply say il est huit to mean the time.
Did you know?
- The letter 'h' in huit was added during the Middle French period to prevent it from being confused with vit, as the letters 'u' and 'v' looked the same at the time.
- In France, people often use a 24-hour clock for official schedules. To say 8:00 PM, you will frequently see vingt heures instead of huit heures du soir.
- The 'h' in huit is actually silent and does not trigger a liaison, which is a common rule for many numerals in French.
Examples in context
- Il est huit heures.It's eight o'clock.This sentence shows how to state the current time using huit heures.Tatoeba #2808086 by Julien_PDC, translation #2714675 by sundown
- Il est huit heures du soir.It's eight o'clock at night.This sentence shows how to specify that it is 8:00 PM using huit heures.Tatoeba #135442 by nimfeo, translation #324002 by CK
- Il va au lit à huit heures.He goes to bed at eight o'clock.This sentence shows how to use huit heures to indicate a specific time when an action occurs.Tatoeba #1372214 by sysko, translation #47532 by CK
- La réunion commence à huit heures du matin.The meeting starts at eight in the morning.
- Le spectacle commencera à huit heures du soir.The show will start at eight in the evening.
- Rendez-vous chez moi à huit heures.Meet me at my place at eight.
- Passerai te chercher à huit heures pour aller au cinéma.I'll pick you up at eight to go to the movies.
- 28 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Gabriel are deciding when to meet for dinner.
- ChloéOn se retrouve à huit heures ?Shall we meet at eight o'clock?
- GabrielC'est un peu tôt pour moi.That is a bit early for me.
- ChloéD'accord, on peut dire huit heures et demie.Alright, we can say eight-thirty.
- GabrielParfait, à tout à l'heure !Perfect, see you later!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries huit, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
