How to Say "Eight Thirty" in French

huit heures et demie

The English phrase eight thirty is translated into French as huit heures et demie.

The phrase is used to denote the time of day that is thirty minutes past eight o'clock.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is literally composed of huit (eight), heures (hours), et (and) and demie (half).

While huit heures et demie is common in conversation, huit heures trente is preferred when reading time from a digital clock or a formal timetable.

The word demie is feminine because it agrees with the feminine noun heure.

In France, the 24-hour clock is the standard for official schedules and public transport, so you will often see '20:30' written instead of '8:30'.
The 'h' in huit was added during Middle French to prevent confusion with the word 'vit' when the letters 'u' and 'v' were written interchangeably.
In some regions, it is common to say huit heures et quart for eight fifteen, using the same 'and a…' structure as huit heures et demie.

On soupe vers huit heures et demie en France.
People have supper around eight-thirty in France.
This sentence shows when people in France typically have supper using huit heures et demie.
Tatoeba #3260225 by nimfeo, translation #3260226 by shekitten
Il a pour règle d'arriver au bureau le matin vers huit heures et demie.
As a rule, he arrives at the office about eight-thirty in morning.
This sentence uses huit heures et demie to describe a morning routine of arriving at the office.
Tatoeba #1838793 by sacredceltic, translation #294762 by CM
L'école commence à huit heures et demie.
School begins at eight-thirty.
This sentence shows the start time of school using huit heures et demie.
Tatoeba #9428 by Petro1, translation #21549 by CK
Nous avons rendez-vous à huit heures trente demain matin .
We have an appointment at eight thirty tomorrow morning.
Tu veux que je te rejoigne à huit heures et demie ?
Do you want me to meet you at eight thirty?
1 more sentence on Tatoeba

Léa and Nathan are discussing their morning schedule.

Sources

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