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How to Say ‘It is quarter past three.’ in French

Il est trois heures et quart.

eel eh trwah uhr eh kar

[eel eh trwah uhr eh kar]

🇫🇷 In France: Timetables, shop signs and appointments use the 24-hour clock, so you will see this written as 15h15 "3:15 pm". In casual talk people still say it this way.

Phrase Breakdown

Il est

eel eh

It is

Opens a time statement. Say it as 'ee-lay'.

Example

Il est l'heure.

It's time.

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.

trois heures et quart.

trwah uhr eh kar

quarter past three

Link 's' as 'z': 'trwa-zeur'. Never link 'et': say 'ay kar'.

Example

Rendez-vous à trois heures et quart.

Meeting at quarter past three.

Words in this phrase

trois

[trwah]

three

The number three, often used in time expressions.

Example

Trois ans dans la même entreprise m'ont beaucoup appris.

Three years in the same company taught me a lot.

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.

[eh]

and

Joins two thoughts or questions together.

Example

Et vous êtes venu aussi?

And did you come too?

quart

[kar]

quarter

A fourth part; with 'd'heure' it means fifteen minutes.

Example

Il est trois heures et quart.

It's a quarter past three.

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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