quelle heure
The English phrase "what time" is translated into French as quelle heure.
This phrase is used to ask for the current time of day. When expressing the time, French speakers commonly use the 24-hour clock, such as saying 21 heures for 9:00 PM. To express fractions of an hour, you can use et quart for quarter past (e.g., 14 heures et quart for 2:15 PM), et demie for half past and moins le quart for quarter to (e.g., 20 heures moins le quart for 8:45 PM).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "which hour".
How does it change in a sentence?
The word quelle is the feminine singular form of "which" to agree with the feminine noun heure. Additionally, adding the preposition À before quelle heure changes the meaning from asking for the current time to asking for a specific point in time when an event occurs.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using Quel temps to ask for the time. Quel temps actually means "What weather".
Did you know?
Examples in context
- À quelle heure ?At what time?This is useful for asking at what specific time an event occurs.Tatoeba #2703133 by Rovo, translation #9353220 by musaAzuna
- Vers quelle heure ?About what time?This is useful for asking about an approximate time.Tatoeba #9645 by Archibald, translation #24599 by CM
- À quelle heure pars-tu ?What time will you leave?This is useful for asking what time someone will be leaving.Tatoeba #465195 by sacredceltic, translation #18072 by CK
- Excusez-moi, quelle heure est-il ?Excuse me, what time is it?
- Il est quelle heure, s'il te plaît ?What time is it, please?
- Pourriez-vous me dire l'heure ?Could you please tell me the time?
- Tu peux me dire l'heure, stp ?Can you tell me the time, please?
- 463 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are waiting at a bus stop.
- GabrielExcuse-moi, quelle heure est-il ?Excuse me, what time is it?
- EmmaIl est dix heures et quart.It is ten fifteen.
- GabrielAh, le bus est en retard.Ah, the bus is late.
- EmmaOui, c'est très inhabituel.Yes, it's very unusual.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries heure, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
