How to Ask for a Wake-Up Call in French (and Confirm It)
Learn to request a hotel wake-up call in French, say 'I'd like a wake-up call at 7 AM,' and confirm the time — a service request, not a phone alarm.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
A hotel wake-up call is a service the front desk arranges for you — it is not the same as setting an alarm on your phone. In French, you ask for it with a polite request built on the verb appeler ('to call'). This lesson gives you the exact phrases for asking, naming the time, and confirming what the receptionist repeats back to you, so you leave the desk sure the call is booked for the right hour.
By the end, you can…
- ask the front desk for a wake-up call in French.
- state the exact time I want to be called, using a 24-hour or 12-hour clock.
- confirm or correct the time the receptionist repeats back to me.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Je voudrais un réveil à sept heures, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like a wake-up call at 7 o'clock, please.
zhuh voo-DREH un ray-VAY ah set UHR, seel voo PLAY
The core request. Je voudrais is the polite form of 'I would like' and works in any hotel or guesthouse. Use it at the front desk, on the phone, or in writing.
Pouvez-vous me réveiller à sept heures ?
Can you wake me at 7 o'clock?
poo-vay VOO muh ray-vay-YAY ah set UHR
A direct but still polite alternative using the verb réveiller ('to wake someone'). The me goes before the verb: me réveiller.
Un réveil à sept heures, s'il vous plaît.
A wake-up call at 7 o'clock, please.
un ray-VAY ah set UHR, seel voo PLAY
Short and natural once the context is clear. In French, un réveil means both the wake-up call service and a bedside alarm clock, so context decides.
C'est bien noté pour sept heures ?
Is that correctly noted for 7 o'clock?
say byan noh-TAY poor set UHR
Use this to double-check that the request was recorded. C'est bien noté is a common way to ask 'is that properly written down?'
Très bien, merci. Bonne nuit !
Very good, thank you. Good night!
tray byan, mair-SEE. bun NWEE
A natural closing after confirming. Bonne nuit is said when parting for the night, not as a general greeting.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The polite request frame is Je voudrais + [thing] + [time] + s'il vous plaît: Je voudrais un réveil à six heures et demie, s'il vous plaît ('I'd like a wake-up call at 6:30, please'). To change the time, swap only the number: à cinq heures ('at 5'), à huit heures ('at 8'). For half hours, add et demie: à sept heures et demie ('at 7:30'). For quarter hours, use et quart ('quarter past') or moins le quart ('quarter to'): à sept heures et quart, à huit heures moins le quart.
When to use it
Use these phrases at a hotel front desk, a guesthouse, or a hostel reception — anywhere a staff member can telephone your room. They are not for setting your phone alarm, which in French is also called un réveil or une alarme, but which you set yourself: Je mets mon réveil à sept heures ('I set my alarm for 7'). If you are speaking to reception, add s'il vous plaît and keep a rising intonation for questions. In France and much of Europe, staff often use the 24-hour clock, so 7 PM is dix-neuf heures; in Canada, the 12-hour clock with sept heures du soir is common.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Bonjour, je voudrais un réveil à sept heures, s'il vous plaît.
Hello, I'd like a wake-up call at 7 o'clock, please.bon-ZHOOR, zhuh voo-DREH un ray-VAY ah set UHR, seel voo PLAYBien sûr. Un réveil à sept heures. C'est pour demain matin ?
Of course. A wake-up call at 7 o'clock. Is that for tomorrow morning?byan SOOR. un ray-VAY ah set UHR. say poor duh-MAN ma-TANOui, demain matin. C'est bien noté pour sept heures ?
Yes, tomorrow morning. Is that correctly noted for 7 o'clock?wee, duh-MAN ma-TAN. say byan noh-TAY poor set UHROui, c'est noté. Chambre 214, à sept heures. Bonne nuit !
Yes, it's noted. Room 214, at 7 o'clock. Good night!wee, say noh-TAY. SHAN-bruh duh sahn katorz, ah set UHR. bun NWEEA little context goes a long way
In French-speaking hotels, a wake-up call is a normal, free service — just ask at reception the evening before. Politeness matters: open with Bonjour before your request, and close with Merci. In France, Belgium and Switzerland, reception staff usually say and write times on the 24-hour clock, so 7 PM is dix-neuf heures; in Quebec, both systems are heard, and sept heures du soir is perfectly clear. If you need the call earlier than reception opens, ask the night staff directly.
One thing to watch for
Saying J'ai un réveil à sept heures to mean 'I'd like a wake-up call at 7.'
Try this instead: J'ai un réveil à sept heures means 'I have an alarm at 7' — a statement about your own clock, not a request. To ask the hotel, use Je voudrais un réveil à sept heures, s'il vous plaît, or Pouvez-vous me réveiller à sept heures ?
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely ask the front desk for a wake-up call at 6:30 AM?
Show a sample answer
Je voudrais un réveil à six heures et demie, s'il vous plaît.
Je voudrais is the polite request form, and et demie expresses 'half past.' Pouvez-vous me réveiller à six heures et demie ? is also correct and equally polite.
2The receptionist says 'Un réveil à dix-neuf heures.' What time is that on a 12-hour clock?
Show a sample answer
7 PM (seven in the evening).
Dix-neuf heures is the 24-hour form of 7 PM. In Quebec you may also hear sept heures du soir, which means the same thing.
3How do you check that the time was recorded correctly?
Show a sample answer
C'est bien noté pour sept heures ?
C'est bien noté asks whether the request was properly written down. Vous avez bien noté sept heures ? is a valid alternative with the same meaning.
Ask with Je voudrais un réveil à [time], s'il vous plaît, then repeat the time back with C'est bien noté pour [time] ? to be sure the front desk has it right.
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