French Phrase
Non, c'est l'après-midi.
Meaning
The speaker is correcting someone, saying ‘No, it’s the afternoon.’ It is used to clarify the time of day when someone has guessed incorrectly.
When to use
Use this sentence after a question like ‘Est‑ce le matin?’ or ‘Quelle heure est‑il?’ when you need to state that the current period is the afternoon, not the morning.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Non,c'estl'après-midi.
Negation with Non
‘Non’ is used alone to answer a yes/no question negatively, without needing ‘pas’.
c'est + noun
‘c’est’ (it is) is used to identify or describe something, followed by a noun with its article.
Article l' before vowel
When a masculine noun begins with a vowel or mute h, the definite article ‘le’ contracts to ‘l’.
Gender of après‑midi
‘après‑midi’ is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine article ‘le’ (contracted to l’).
🗨In Conversation
Est‑ce le matin?
Is it morning?
Non, c'est l'après-midi.
No, it's the afternoon.
✕Common Mistakes
Non, c'est le après-midi.
‘Après‑midi’ is masculine, but before a vowel the article contracts to ‘l’ – never ‘le’.
Non, c'est l'apres midi.
Missing accent and hyphen changes the word; it must be written ‘après‑midi’.
Non, c’est le après‑midi ?
Using a question mark changes the meaning; the sentence is a statement, not a question.
↔Alternatives
Non, c'est l'après‑midi.
No, it's the afternoon.
Non, c'est l'après‑midi maintenant.
No, it's the afternoon now.
Non, c'est l'après‑midi déjà.
No, it's already the afternoon.
Cultural Tip
In French, ‘après‑midi’ is masculine despite ending in ‑i, so you say ‘l’après‑midi’. The word is often used as a time block rather than a precise hour, similar to saying ‘in the afternoon’ in English. When speaking, the liaison between ‘c’est’ and ‘l’ is smooth: /sɛ‿l‿a.pʁe.mi.di/.