81 - How to Translate the Word "Time" in French

 
 

Listen to this episode to learn 5 ways to translate the word "time" in French. ⏳

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Links & Cheat Sheet

Transcript

Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!

Hello everyone! Bonjour à tous! Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 81, numéro 81. Happy New Year! Bonne année 2022 à tous. I'm so happy to be back with you on the podcast! Having a break was great to recharge and refresh, but I definitely missed talking to all of you!

If you're new here, make sure you download your lesson's cheat sheet so you can see the words while listening to the lesson. The link is in the episode notes, on the podcast platform you're listening to. After the lesson, head over to the French Made Easy library to download your lesson's exercises. It's free.

Ok, let's get straight into it. Today we're learning some vocabulary.

You'll learn how to translate the word "time" in French. More specifically you'll learn 5 different ways. There are more ways to translate it, but we'll focus on the main ones today. The ones that I really want you to know.

So here are 5 ways to translate the word time in French

  1. l'heure

  2. la fois

  3. le temps

  4. le moment

  5. l'époque

Now let's see which one to choose. And they aren't interchangeable by the way, so you can't use one instead of the other.

1. Use "l'heure" to express a time related to the clock.

For example: "Quelle heure est-il ?" (What time is it?)

2. Use "la fois" to express the number of times something happens or happened. Or will happen.

For example: "Je fais du sport trois fois par semaine." (I exercise three times a week.)

3. Use "le temps" to express a length of time.

For example: "Il n'a pas le temps de faire ses devoirs." (He doesn't have time to do his homework.)

4. Use "le moment" to express a particular moment in time.

For example: "Ce n'est pas le bon moment." (It's not the right time.)

5. Use "l'époque" to express a particular period of time (often in the past, but not always). An era.

For example: "À l'époque, il n'y avait pas Internet." (At the time, there was no Internet.)

So let's recap everything.

5 ways to translate the word time:

  1. l'heure: "Quelle heure est-il ?" (What time is it?)

  2. la fois: "Je fais du sport trois fois par semaine." (I exercise three times a week.)

  3. le temps: "Il n'a pas le temps de faire ses devoirs." (He doesn't have time to do his homework.)

  4. le moment: "Ce n'est pas le bon moment." (It's not the right time.)

  5. l'époque: "À l'époque, il n'y avait pas Internet." (At the time, there was no Internet.)

That's it! Now you know how to translate the "time" in French correctly. I hope you enjoyed today's episode, and if you did, I'd really appreciate a review on Apple Podcasts!

Thank you so much for listening, merci beaucoup et à bientôt.

 
Mathilde Kien6 Comments