après-midi et matin
The phrase après-midi et matin is how you say "pm and am" in French.
This phrase refers to the abbreviations used to distinguish whether a time occurs in the morning or in the afternoon and evening.
Did you know?
- The word midi in après-midi literally means 'midday' or 'noon' and is also the common French word for the south of France.
- While après-midi et matin exists, most French speakers use the 24-hour clock to avoid ambiguity. A time like '2 p.m.' is typically written and spoken as 14 heures.
- The word matin descends from the name of Matuta, the ancient Roman goddess of the morning.
Examples in context
- huit heures du matin8 AM
- trois heures de l'après-midi3 PM
Example conversation
Emma and Hugo are discussing how to write times in French.
- EmmaDois-je écrire après-midi et matin ici ?Should I write pm and am here?
- HugoNon, utilise plutôt le format vingt-quatre heures.No, use the twenty-four hour format instead.
- EmmaD'accord, donc pas d'après-midi et matin.Okay, so no pm and am.
- HugoC'est exact, Hugo approuve cette méthode.That's correct, Hugo approves of this method.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries après-midi, et, matin, CC BY-SA 4.0.
