# Time is of the essence



## cariola

Hello, I wonder if someone could help me finding the exact translation of the English expression "Time is of the essence" (meaning both: "time is important" and "the matter is urgent") into French? thanx in advance

Moderator's note: several threads have been merged to create this thread.


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## Kelly B

My big fat dictionary suggests "la vitesse s'impose." Perhaps others will have better ideas.


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## Agnès E.

Bonjour Cariola,
Welcome to the forum!

My suggestion (given by another big fat dictionary  ):

Le temps est essentiel.


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## Gil

Mon gros dico, c'est le plus beau:

 Philosophy, Religion etc essence f; (of question) fond m; (of speech)
 essentiel m
the very essence of authority/bravery/stupidity
 l'autorité/le courage/la stupidité même
in essence 
essentiellement
 speed/time is of the essence la vitesse/
 le temps est le facteur prioritaire
diplomacy is of the essence 
la diplomatie s'impose ou est de rigueur
the essence of the matter is that … 
le fond de l'affaire, c'est que … 

Copyright © 2000, Harrap's Multimedia, © 2000, Havas Interactive


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## Agnès E.

Oui, Gil.
Actually, my first idea was: "le facteur temps est essentiel" 
But as I did not know if the context was technical or not, I decided to stay "neutral".
Héhéhé.


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## cariola

Thank you for your quick answers, I'm impressed! 

Actually this is for a statement in an official declaration, and not at all technical - I did think of "Le temps est essentiel" myself, but I'm not sure if the connotation of urgency is expressed in that sentence - maybe the other one, "Le facteur temps.." is better - but then I'm afraid that it looses the solemn tone of an official declaration - even though it's better than "On est vachement pressés"...

But thanks a lot for your help!


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## Gil

s'il faut du solennel:

L'impératif temps doit prévaloir.


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## megzers-88

I am talking about the struggling of young homeless people and I want to say "time is of the essence".  But which is the best way of saying it;

"L'impératif temps doit prévaloir/ la vitesse s'impose/ le temps est le facteur prioritaire"


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## Sickduck

Je préfère le troisième exemple: le temps est le facteur prioritaire.


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## gliamo

Ou: le temps est un _facteur primordial_.


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## sylvainremy

"Chaque moment compte"


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## jgleason

Greetings:

In a real estate contract, what is a translation in French of the phrase "Time is of the Essence"?

thanks.


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## Papymaj

Hi, jgleason, and welcome,

Time is of the essence = "*le temps est le facteur prioritaire*"


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## UbuRoi

Hello,

I would also suggest "Le temps presse".


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## Keith Bradford

All the suggestions above are valid in everyday speech, but nobody seems to have mentioned that this is in origin a legal term: "Time is of the essence of the contract" meaning: If you're late, the contract is invalidated.

If that's your context here, Cariola, you must say so; it makes all the difference in law.


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## Gil

Keith Bradford said:


> All the suggestions above are valid in everyday speech, but nobody seems to have mentioned that this is in origin a legal term: "Time is of the essence of the contract" meaning: If you're late, the contract is invalidated.
> 
> If that's your context here, Cariola, you must say so; it makes all the difference in law.



Selon GDT:


> time is the essence of contract
> le temps est une condition essentielle du présent contrat loc.
> Sous-entrée(s) :
> synonyme(s)
> time is of the essence
> Note(s) :
> When this phrase is in a contract, it means that a failure to do what is required by the time specified is a breach of the contract.


Last posting by Cariola: 2005


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## David1405

Does anyone know of a French idiom for "Time is of the essence", phrase used when there is a danger of something taking so long to be delivered that it is of no use when it does arrive (if it ever does ...) ?


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## xiancee

"C'est une course contre la montre"?


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## Dr. Baha'i

In "a race against the clock", time is of the essence to an extreme degree, but the expressions aren't quite equivalent.


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## xiancee

_Importance du facteur temps_!


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## David1405

Maybe French doesn’t (or the French don’t) have the same concept. In English, it’s a common, almost semi-legal, phrase, to be used in anything from when you are getting a builder to do something to … well, let me give you my concrete example … 

  We are migrating some software from x to y, over a 2 year period. If, 1 year in, the documentation (in English) is still not ready and progress appears to be blocked, … So, 6 months ago, it would have been very useful; now it would still be fairly useful; in another year it will be useless and any effort already expended will have to be written off.   

  But thanks for the suggestion of _le facteur temps_

  Having written all that, I’ve just found it in my dictionary (under ‘essence’):speed/time is of the essence *la vitesse/le temps est le facteur prioritaire*
  also
  diplomacy is of the essence *la diplomatie s'impose ou est de rigueur*
  ( Copyright © 2000, Harrap's Multimedia, © 2000, Havas Interactive )​The first means, speed/time is very important. 
The second means, diplomacy is essential.  

But I think I'll rephrase the whole idea in a different way.


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## The Prof

La vitesse s'impose!


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## David1405

Oh, thanks.


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## Keith Bradford

The point about the English phrase is the end (which is almost never stated!) _Time is of the essence *of the contract*_. = _*Si le délai n'est pas respecté, le contrat est annulé d'office.*_

Though often people used the phrase loosely to mean simply _Time is important_.


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## edwingill

"Il est essentiel de faire  vite"


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## bh7

The phrase, in a legal context, means exactly what Keith Bradford said.  Timing is made an essential condition of the contract, such that non-observance of contractual deadlines is fatal to the contract.

The casual use of the phrase is also common here.


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## The Prof

> The casual use of the phrase is also common here.


 
It's common enough to be in TheFreeDictionary:

*of the essence* Of the greatest importance; crucial: _Time is of the essence._


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## Quantz

Le respect des délais prévaut.
Le respect des délais s'impose.
Il est vital de respecter les délais.
Il est essentiel de respecter les délais.


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## JAM-JAM

Bonjour,

Comment traduire ça: "Time is of the essence".

Merci!


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## bloomiegirl

Many possibilities, depending on the context. Perhaps, "_Le temps presse_"?


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## hersko1

Or maybe "le temps est un élément important" but it needs to be put in a context.


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## JAM-JAM

Oui.  J'ai fini par trouver la formule suivante toute simple: "Il faut faire vite".

Merci!


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## edwingill

"la vitesse s'impose"


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## fsd

bonjour

quelq'un pourrait il me donner la traduction exacte de cette expression qu'on trouve parfois dans les contrats : *time will be of the essence in the performance of this agreement?*

merci


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## hampton.mc

Depends on context but I would say: Le facteur temps est primordial...


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## lilouuu

Je dirai le temps constitue un élément crucial quant à l’exécution du présent accord ou alors l'exécution de ce contrat est soumise à des délais stricts


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## Professional-Translator

Hi, everybody!

I know there are so many ways to say the same thing in French but what's the best solution for that expression that I'm familiar with, among these ones? 

"Il n'y a pas de temps à perdre", " Le temps presse", "Le facteur essentiel est le temps", Le temps est un facteur clé", "Le facteur temps joue un rôle crucial","Il est essentiel s'agir rapidement". I'd opte for the first one. How about you? 

Thank you, anyways...


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## The Broken Rib Inn

"Chaque seconde/minute compte", je dirais


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## Professional-Translator

That's a good one...
I can't thank you enough...


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