How to Ask When a Bus or Train Arrives in French
Learn to ask what time a bus or train arrives in French, use the verb arriver, and talk about journey duration alongside departure times.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
When you travel in France or a French-speaking country, knowing when your bus or train leaves is only half the story. You also need to ask when it arrives, so you can plan connections, meet someone, or judge whether a day trip is realistic. This lesson teaches you the core question 'Il arrive à quelle heure ?' and the verb arriver, then shows how to combine arrival times with duration. You will practise polite forms, understand the 24-hour clock used for transport, and avoid a common mix-up between arriver and partir.
By the end, you can…
- ask what time a bus or train arrives in French
- understand and give a simple journey duration using prendre and durer
- use the 24-hour clock to talk about arrival times in transport contexts
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Il arrive à quelle heure ?
What time does it arrive?
eel a-REEV ah kel UHR
The standard informal question about a bus, train or plane already mentioned. Il refers to the vehicle.
Le train arrive à quelle heure ?
What time does the train arrive?
luh tran a-REEV ah kel UHR
Use the full noun when the vehicle has not been mentioned yet, or to be extra clear.
Le bus arrive à huit heures et demie.
The bus arrives at half past eight.
luh booss a-REEV ah wee-tUHR ay duh-MEE
A simple statement of arrival time. In transport schedules, French normally uses the 24-hour clock: à 20 h 30.
Le trajet prend deux heures.
The journey takes two hours.
luh tra-ZHAY pran duh-ZUHR
Use prendre for duration: the journey 'takes' time. Trajet means journey or ride.
Il part à sept heures et il arrive à neuf heures.
It leaves at seven and arrives at nine.
eel par ah set-UHR ay eel a-REEV ah nuhf-UHR
Combines departure and arrival in one sentence. Partir is the opposite of arriver.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The key pattern is: subject + arriver + à + time. 'Le train arrive à neuf heures' means 'The train arrives at nine'. To ask a question, add 'à quelle heure' at the end: 'Le train arrive à quelle heure ?' This word order is very common in everyday spoken French. You can also ask 'À quelle heure est-ce que le train arrive ?' or, more formally, 'À quelle heure le train arrive-t-il ?' For duration, use prendre: 'Le trajet prend trois heures' (the journey takes three hours). Note that French transport schedules usually use the 24-hour clock, so 9 p.m. is 'vingt et une heures' or '21 h'.
When to use it
Use 'Il arrive à quelle heure ?' when you and the other person both know which vehicle you mean, for example after 'Le bus de midi' (the noon bus). Use the full noun 'Le train arrive à quelle heure ?' when you are introducing the topic or when several vehicles are possible. For a return trip, say 'Le train de retour arrive à quelle heure ?' (What time does the return train arrive?). When you want to know how long the trip lasts, ask 'Le trajet prend combien de temps ?' or 'Ça dure combien de temps ?' Both are natural; prendre is slightly more common for transport, durer for events.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Bonjour, le bus pour Lyon part à quelle heure ?
Hello, what time does the bus to Lyon leave?bon-ZHOOR, luh booss poor lee-ON par ah kel UHRIl part à quatorze heures. Il arrive à dix-sept heures trente.
It leaves at 2 p.m. It arrives at 5:30 p.m.eel par ah ka-TORZ UHR. eel a-REEV ah dee-set UHR TRANTD'accord. Le trajet prend combien de temps ?
OK. How long does the journey take?da-KOR. luh tra-ZHAY pran kom-BYAN duh TANIl prend trois heures et demie environ.
It takes about three and a half hours.eel pran trwa-ZUHR ay duh-MEE on-vee-RONA little context goes a long way
In France and many francophone countries, public transport timetables use the 24-hour clock, so 'quinze heures' means 3 p.m. In casual conversation, people often switch to the 12-hour style with 'du matin', 'de l'après-midi' or 'du soir' to avoid confusion. In Belgium and Switzerland, septante (70), huitante (80, mainly Switzerland) and nonante (90) appear in times and prices, so 'septante-cinq' can replace 'soixante-quinze'.
One thing to watch for
Using partir to ask about arrival, as in 'Il part à quelle heure ?' when you mean 'What time does it arrive?'
Try this instead: Partir means to leave, not to arrive. For arrival, use arriver: 'Il arrive à quelle heure ?' If you want departure, say 'Il part à quelle heure ?' Keeping the two verbs separate prevents missed connections.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask 'What time does the train arrive?' using the full noun?
Show a sample answer
Le train arrive à quelle heure ?
This uses the subject le train, the verb arrive, and the question phrase à quelle heure at the end. 'À quelle heure est-ce que le train arrive ?' is also correct and slightly more formal.
2Translate: 'The journey takes two hours.'
Show a sample answer
Le trajet prend deux heures.
Prendre is the usual verb for duration in transport. 'Le trajet dure deux heures' is also acceptable, but prendre is more idiomatic for a bus or train ride.
3A timetable says 'arrivée : 18 h 45'. How would you say this in everyday French?
Show a sample answer
Il arrive à dix-huit heures quarante-cinq.
French transport schedules use the 24-hour clock, so 18 h 45 is 'dix-huit heures quarante-cinq'. In casual speech you could also say 'à sept heures moins le quart du soir', but the 24-hour form is clearer for timetables.
Ask 'Il arrive à quelle heure ?' for arrival, keep arriver and partir separate, and use prendre for how long the journey takes.
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