Le Calendrier — French days & months | Reference
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All the days of the week in French — lundi to dimanche — plus the months and how to say dates, each with audio. French days & months. This French days months vocabulary list gives you 19 essential words — from lundi (Monday) to décembre (December) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about days months, then test yourself with the games below.
The 7 days of the week in French
Here are all the days of the week in French, with pronunciation and the Latin origin behind each name — most come from Roman gods and planets:
| French | English | Pronunciation | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| lundi | Monday | luhn-dee | the Moon (lunae dies) |
| mardi | Tuesday | mar-dee | Mars |
| mercredi | Wednesday | mair-kruh-dee | Mercury |
| jeudi | Thursday | zhuh-dee | Jupiter |
| vendredi | Friday | von-druh-dee | Venus |
| samedi | Saturday | sam-dee | the Sabbath (sambati dies) |
| dimanche | Sunday | dee-monsh | the Lord’s day (dies dominica) |
Rules for the days of the week in French
- No capital letters: unlike English, days are lowercase in French — « lundi », never « Lundi » (except at the start of a sentence).
- All masculine: every day is a masculine noun — le lundi, le mardi.
- The French week starts on Monday, not Sunday — you’ll see it on every French calendar.
- « Le » + day = every week: « je travaille le samedi » (I work on Saturdays) vs « je travaille samedi » (I’m working this Saturday).
- Plural: add -s — « tous les lundis » (every Monday).
To learn the days fast, say them in order out loud each morning, and hear the pronunciation on the audio chart above. The 12 months and dates are just below.
Le Calendrier
French days & months
Les jours · the days
Les mois · the months
🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « Le Calendrier » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 How to use days & months
- Days and months take no capital letter in French: lundi, janvier (not Lundi, Janvier).
- le + day = every: le lundi = on Mondays; without le = this one: lundi, je pars = this Monday I leave.
- Dates: le 3 mai, le 21 juin — but the 1st is le premier mai.
- In + month: en janvier or au mois de janvier.
- The French week starts on lundi — calendars show Monday first.
- Years: en 2026; decades: les années quatre-vingt.
🇬🇧 The calendar rules English speakers miss
The twelve months — janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, août, septembre, octobre, novembre, décembre — hide three rules English speakers break on day one. First: no capital letters — months and days are common nouns in French (« en janvier », never *Janvier* mid-sentence), the reverse of English’s habit. Second, the preposition: en + month or year (« en mai », « en 2026 »), but au + season for spring (« au printemps ») against en été, en automne, en hiver — the seasons splitting on vowel sounds. Third, dates run cardinal, not ordinal: « le 3 mai » (the three May), with one exception — the first: « le premier janvier ». Say a full date and all three rules stack: « on est le mardi 3 juin » — no capitals, no “of”, no ordinals.
The month names themselves are near-cognates (August’s août, pronounced « oot », being the one that ambushes listeners), which makes this chart less about memory than about pronunciation and the calendar phrases around it: « quel jour on est ? » (what’s the date?), « au mois de juillet » (in the month of July — the long form), « début/mi/fin janvier » (early/mid/late January — the scheduling trio French professionals live by), and « le mois prochain / dernier ». Drill with your own life: say today’s full date aloud each morning and birthdays as they come up — « mon anniversaire est le 12 mars » — and the calendrier conjugates itself into place within a month. Fittingly.
Months in French — FAQ
Are French months capitalized?
No — janvier, février and the rest are lowercase, as are days of the week. Only sentence position capitalizes them, exactly opposite to English instinct.
How do you say the date in French?
« Le + number + month »: le 3 mai, le 21 juin — cardinal numbers except the first of the month: le premier avril. Year attaches directly: le 3 mai 2026.
How do you pronounce août?
« Oot » — one syllable, silent a, silent t optional (both « oo » and « oot » are accepted). The strangest-looking month is the simplest-sounding.
🔊 Useful phrases
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Le jour après lundi ? (day)
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mardi
December en français ? (month)
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décembre
Le premier mois de l’année ? (month)
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janvier
« On travaille ___ lundi » (= every Monday) (article)
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le
Le 1er mai = le ___ mai (ordinal)
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premier
🎬 Video lesson
The French Days of the Week (French Essentials Lesson 4)🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « Monday »? (recall)
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lundi
What does « mercredi » mean? (recall)
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Wednesday
How do you say « Friday »? (recall)
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vendredi
What does « dimanche » mean? (recall)
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Sunday
How do you say « February »? (recall)
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février
What does « avril » mean? (recall)
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April
How do you say « June »? (recall)
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juin
What does « août » mean? (recall)
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August
Go further: this chart is one small piece — get the full picture in our guide French for absolute beginners — your first 40 words.
Days of the week in French — FAQ
How do you say common days months words in French?
For example: Monday is « lundi », Tuesday is « mardi », Wednesday is « mercredi ». The full list above has 19 French days months words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French days months words to learn first?
Start with the basics: lundi (Monday), mardi (Tuesday), mercredi (Wednesday), jeudi (Thursday), vendredi (Friday), samedi (Saturday). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French days months vocabulary?
Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.
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