French days of the week and Months of the Year
Welcome to Lesson 3! In this lesson, we’ll learn about the days of the week and the months of the year in French. Knowing these is essential for planning, scheduling, and discussing dates. Let’s dive in!
Understand basic usage in conversation.
1. Here are the days:
Note : The French week starts with Monday, not Sunday.
| days in french | Prononciation (english) | IPA | days in english |
|---|---|---|---|
| lundi | lun-dee | / lœ̃di / | Monday |
| mardi | mar-dee | / maʁdi / | Tuesday |
| mercredi | mare-cruh-dee | / mɛʁkʁədi / | Wednesday |
| jeudi | juh-dee | / ʒødi / | Thursday |
| vendredi | vahn-druh-dee | / vɑ̃dʁədi / | Friday |
| samedi | sam-dee | / samdi / | Saturday |
| dimanche | dee-monsh | / dimɑ̃ʃ / | Sunday |
📌 Pronunciation Tip:
The final ‘i’ in “lundi”, “mardi”, “mercredi”, etc., is pronounced like the ‘ee’ in ‘see’.
🍀 check your pronunciation 🍀
Exercice : Pronounce the days of the week.
2. Months of the Year in French
Now let’s learn the months of the year:
| French Month | Phonetic Spelling (English) | IPA | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| janvier | zhan-vee-ay | ʒɑ̃vje | January |
| février | fay-vree-ay | fevʁije | February |
| mars | mars | maʁs | March |
| avril | ah-vreel | avʁil | April |
| mai | may | me | May |
| juin | zhwan | ʒɥɛ̃ | June |
| juillet | zhwee-ay | ʒɥijɛ | July |
| août | oot | ut | August |
| septembre | sep-tahm-bruh | sɛptɑ̃bʁ | September |
| octobre | ok-toh-bruh | ɔktɔbʁ | October |
| novembre | no-vahm-bruh | nɔvɑ̃bʁ | November |
| décembre | day-sahm-bruh | desɑ̃bʁ | December |
How to say the date in French:
The date in French is said in the following way: le + day of the week + day of the month (number) + month + year
Example : Le lundi 21 septembre 2035. Monday, September 21, 2035.
To ask about the date, we say in the following way:
- Quelle est la date d’aujourd’hui ? What is today’s date?
The answer is:
- Nous sommes le lundi 21 septembre 2035. Today is Monday, September 21, 2035.
- On est le lundi 21 septembre 2035. Today is Monday, September 21, 2035.
Here are some questions. Try to answer them in French.
- Quelle est la date d’aujourd’hui ? What’s today’s date?
- C’est quand votre anniversaire ? When’s your birthday?
- Quelle sera la date de demain ? What day is tomorrow?
- Pouvez-vous me donner la date de la prochaine réunion ? Can you give me the date for the next meeting?
- Quelle était la date d’hier ? What was yesterday’s date?
- Quelle était la date de notre dernière réunion ? When was the last time we met?
- Comment dit-on … How do you say “March 15th” in French?
- Est-ce que le 21 avril est un jour férié ? Is April 21st a public holiday in France?
- Quel est le premier jour de l’hiver ? When is the first day of winter?