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How to Say ‘It is eight in the morning.’ in French

Il est huit heures du matin.

eel eh weet uhr dyoo mah-TAN

[eel eh weet uhr dyoo mah-TAN]

💬 Usage Tip: French always gives the time with Il est. You can't drop heures the way English drops "o'clock": Il est trois heures "It's three".

Phrase Breakdown

Il est huit heures

eel eh weet uhr

It is eight o'clock

Link 'huit heures' as 'wee-teur'.

Example

Il est huit heures pile.

It is eight o'clock sharp.

Words in this phrase

[eel]

Part of the expression Il y a, meaning 'there is/there are'.

Example

Il y a souvent des bouchons le matin.

There are often traffic jams in the morning.

est

[eh]

Third person singular present of be.

Example

C'est important.

It is important.

huit

[weet]

eight

The number “eight,” used as part of the time expression.

Example

Je pars à huit heures.

I’m leaving at eight o’clock.

heures

[uhr]

o'clock / hours

Used after a number to tell the time in French.

Example

Dans « Pour 20 heures. », « heures » indique qu'on parle de l'heure.

In “Pour 20 heures.”, “heures” shows that we are talking about time.

du matin.

dyoo mah-TAN

in the morning (a.m.)

Specifies a.m. Say it as 'dü ma-tan'.

Example

Je travaille à sept heures du matin.

I work at seven in the morning.

Words in this phrase

[dyoo]

of the

Contraction of de and le, used before masculine singular nouns.

Example

Du pain est sur la table.

Some bread is on the table.

matin

[mah-TAN]

morning

The part of the day from early hours until noon.

Example

Le matin, il fait frais.

In the morning, it is cool.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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