How to distinguish “à cette heure” from “à sept heures”?

Question

How do I distinguish _à cette heure_ from _à sept heures_, when pronounced?It occurred to me when once I wanted to say "at this time", and then I realized I had just said "at 7". I guess I probably should have used "en ce moment", right?

Answer 1

You are correct in that the pronunciation is identical.

If you wanted to translate "at this time", I think it will depend on the context.

For example, let's say you want to translate the following sentence: "At this time, I prefer not to buy a house" . You might use "pour le moment": je préfère ne pas acheter de maison pour le moment.

Hope this helps.

Sylvie

Answer 2

Hi Steve P.

They are pronounced exactly the same but just used in different contexts. You would say, for example, "je vais me coucher a sept heures" (I'm going to bed at 7:00) whereas you would say "je vais me coucher a cette heure" or "a cette heure-ci" (I'm going to bed at this hour). It wouldn't mean the same thing if you used "en ce moment" in either contexts because "en ce moment" literally means "at this moment." If you said "je vais me coucher en ce moment," it would mean "I'm going to bed at this moment or at this time." At this moment" wouldn't mean the same as "at this hour."

They are both correct and pronounced exactly the same way, just used in different contexts

I hope this helps!