heures
/œʁ/
The English word "hours" is translated into French as heures.
heures is the plural form of the unit of time used to measure duration or a specific point in the day.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form is heure, and the plural form is heures. When expressing a specific time or a duration of one, use the singular heure instead of the plural heures.
How do you pronounce it?
/œʁ/
Did you know?
- In French, the phrase heureuse (the feminine form of 'happy') shares the same root as heure. This stems from the Latin 'hora', which meant both 'hour' and 'season' or 'time'.
- French has a specific term heure bleue (blue hour) to describe the period of twilight when the sky has a deep blue hue and the sun is below the horizon.
- In France, if you are checking the time on a digital clock or a train schedule, you will see the 24-hour format. Instead of saying 'two hours' in the afternoon, you would say quatorze heures.
Examples in context
- Ça prendra des heures.It'll take hours.This sentence is useful for expressing that an action will take a long time using heures.Tatoeba #10108840 by Micsmithel, translation #2248990 by CK
- J'ai dormi neuf heures.I slept nine hours.This sentence is useful for stating a specific duration of sleep using heures.Tatoeba #584707 by qdii, translation #252634 by CK
- Le film a duré 2 heures.The film lasted 2 hours.This sentence is useful for stating the duration of an event using heures.Tatoeba #4322 by TRANG, translation #2440 by brauliobezerra
- neuf heures trente du matin9:30 AM
- quatorze heures quinze2:15 PM
- vingt-trois heures quarante-cinq11:45 PM
- Il est vingt et une heures9:00 PM
- Il est cinq heures et quart.It's a quarter past five.
- Il est six heures et demie.It's half past six.
- Il est deux heures.It's two o'clock.
- 610 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Hugo are discussing their work schedules.
- ChloéTu travailles combien d'heures par semaine ?How many hours a week do you work?
- HugoJe travaille trente-cinq heures, et toi ?I work thirty-five hours, and you?
- ChloéMoi, je fais quarante heures.Me, I do forty hours.
- HugoC'est beaucoup d'heures !That is a lot of hours!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry heures, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
