All about Dates: Days of the Week

in French and More!

Months of the Year in French

English French Pronunciation

January janvier zhahN-vyey
February février fey-vryey
March mars mahrs
April avril ah-vreel
May mai meh
June juin zhwaN
July juillet zhwee-yeh
August août ooht
September septembre sehp-tahN-bruh
October octobre ohk-toh-bruh
November novembre noh-vahN-bruh
December décembre dey-sahN-bruh

French Numbers
When traveling in a French-speaking country, you need to know numbers for
shopping, dining, transportation, and exchanging money. With this list, you can
start practicing numbers in French.

0 zéro (zey-roh) 17 dix-sept (dee-seht)

1 un (uhN) 18 dix-huit (deez-weet)

2 deux (duh) 19 dix-neuf (deez-nuhf)

3 trois (trwah) 20 vingt (vaN)

 21 vingt et un
4 quatre (kah-truh)
(vaN-tey-uhN)

5 cinq (saNk) 22 vingt-deux (vahNt-duh)

6 six(sees) 30 trente (trahNt)

7 sept (seht) 40 quarante (kah-rahNt)

8 huit (weet) 50 cinquante (saN-kahNt)

9 neuf (nuhf) 60 soixante (swah-sahNt)

10 dix (dees) 70 soixante-dix (swah-sahNt-dees)

11 onze (ohNz) 80 quatre-vingts (kah-truh-vaN)

12 douze (doohz) 90 quatre-vingt-dix (kah-truh-vaN-dees)

13 treize (trehz) 100 cent (sahN)

14 quatorze (kah-tohrz) 200 deux cents (duh sahN)

15 quinze (kaNz) 1000 mille (meel)

16 seize (sehz)

Once you know the words for the days and months, telling the date in French is
nothing complicated. Especially for those starting from American English,
there’s just a few differences when it comes to dates in French language. Here
are the most significant rules for writing dates in French to keep in mind:

1- Dates in French Format: Day, Month, Year

How are dates written in French?

Unlike the Month, Day, Year trinity of American dates, French starts with the
day, then the month, and then the year. We write all three in a row, without
commas or any other separator.

For example, here are some examples of how to write dates in French:

 14 juillet 1789 [French Revolution’s Bastille Day]

 27 décembre 1975 [Queen releases Bohemian Rhapsody]
For now, don’t worry about the translation of the months or how to pronounce
the years. We’ll cover all that in a moment!

2- To Le or not to Le

How to say dates in French depends on the formality of the occasion. In formal
situations, giving dates in French can be done one of the following two ways:

1. Nous sommes + day of the week + le + day’s number (#) + month + year.
2. Nous sommes + le + # + month + year.

For instance, saying dates in French may look like this:

1. Nous sommes Lundi le 25 mai 1977.

“It’s Monday, May 25, 1977.”
2. Nous sommes le 25 mai 1977.
“It’s May 25, 1977.”

[Star Wars - A New Hope hits the theaters.]

In informal situations, expressing dates in French will look like this:

1. C’est + day of the week + le + # + month + year.

2. On est + day of the week + le + # + month + year.

For instance:

1. C’est mardi le 21 décembre 2012.

“We are Tuesday, December 21, 2012.”
2. On est mardi le 21 décembre 2012.
“We are Tuesday, December 21, 2012.”

3- How to Abstract from the Date

There are many ways to go about talking about dates in French. Some involve
the whole set of information, as we’ve seen above, including the name of the
day, number, month, and year. Others involve only one or two components, and
knowing those structures will literally save the day.

Here’s how to talk about the day:

 On est lundi.
“It is Monday.”
 Je vais à la piscine le mardi.
“I’m going to the pool on Tuesdays.”
 Il va au marché tous les samedi.
“He’s going to the market every Saturday.”
  Nous sommes le 12.
“It is the 12th.”

Now, about the month:

 On est en janvier.
“It is January.”
 Le mois de juillet.
“The month of July.”

And finally, the year:

 On est en 2019.
“It is 2019.”
 En l’an 2012
“In the year 2012.”

Or why not some combinations, using dates and years in French?

 Nous sommes en mars 2015.

“It is March 2015.”
 J’ai un rendez-vous le 23 octobre.
“I have an appointment on the 23rd of October.”

4- How to Write the Date

To write dates in French on formal documents or letters, we use the following

structure:

 Day of the week + le + # + month + year.

Example:

 Lundi le 15 mai 2030.

“Monday, May 15, 2030.”

You can also write the date in a condensed format. It’s very similar to English,
but with a twist: Once again, the order is day / month / year.

It looks like this : DD/MM/YY

For instance:

 05/07/96 (July 5, 1996) [Dolly the sheep is cloned.]

 23/04/05 (April 23, 2005) [YouTube is officially launched.]
Un calendrier (a calendar)
2. How to Say the Days of the Week
When reading dates in French, you’ll have to know the names of the days of the
week. Just like the months, French days don’t start with a capital letter.

lundi Monday

mardi Tuesday

mercredi Wednesday

jeudi Thursday

vendredi Friday

samedi Saturday

dimanche Sunday

All these names come from Latin, and many from Roman mythology, and it’s
not only good to know about it to impress your friends at a dinner party; it will
also help you remember them!

 Lundi (Monday) is the day of the Moon.

Luna is the Latin word for “moon,” becoming lune in French, becoming
lundi.

In English, “Monday” is the Moon Day, but it’s a bit more complicated
than that. It derives from Old English “Mōnandæg” and Middle English
“Monenday,” based on Latin dies lunae which translates to “day of the
Moon.”

 Mardi (Tuesday) is the day of the God of War.

While the Greek God of War, Ares, was being torn apart by a vengeful
Kratos, his Roman counterpart, Martius (or Mars in French) was
becoming mardi.

In English, they use the Norse God of War, Tyr (or Tiw), later becoming
Tiwesdaeg, and finally: “Tuesday.”

 Mercredi (Wednesday) is the day of the Messenger God.

From the Roman messenger God, Mercury (Mercure in French), it

becomes mercredi.
 In English, it comes from the Norse God, Odin the chief God of Asgard
(also called Woden or Wotan), later becoming Wodnesdaeg, and then
“Wednesday.”

 Jeudi (Thursday) is the day of the God of Thunder.

From the Roman God-in-chief Jupiter (equivalent of the Greek Zeus), it

became Jeudi.

In English, the Norse God of Thunder was Thor (long before he joined
the Avengers). It became Thorsdaeg and “Thursday.”

 Vendredi (Friday) is the day of Beauty.

From the Roman Goddess of Beauty, Venus, it became vendredi.

In English, the Norse Goddess of Marriage and the Hearth, Frigga (wife
of Odin), later became Frigedaeg and then “Friday.”

 Samedi (Saturday) is the day of Time.

Both French and English words come from the Roman God of Time and
Harvest, Saturn. While the English “Saturday” didn’t stray too far from
its godly origins, the French version went a bit wild and evolved into
samedi.

 Dimanche (Sunday) is the day of the Lord.

Not as sunny as the English word, but wrapped in a shroud of mystical

mystery, the French dimanche comes from the Latin Dies Dominicus,
which means the “Day of the Lord.”
3. How to Say the Months

Unlike in English, French months don’t start with a capital letter. You’ll also
certainly be happy to know that they’re way easier to handle than our
exceptions-riddled years. Let’s jump right in:

janvier January

février February

mars March

avril April

mai May

juin June
juillet July

août August

septembre September

octobre October

novembre November

décembre December

Here are a few sentences using the names of the months:

 On est en juillet.
“It’s July.”
 L’année prochaine, il va neiger en janvier.
“Next year, it will snow in January.”
 L’été commence fin juin et se termine fin septembre.
“Summer starts at the end of June and ends at the end of September.”
 On habite ensemble depuis mai 2012.
“We’ve been living together since May 2012.”

4. How to Say the Years

If you want to talk about the years and historical dates of all kinds, you’ll have
to learn the numbers. There’s no way around it

Sure, you could just learn some key dates, such as the current one or the year of
your birthday, but they’ll be much easier to remember once you know how the
numbers work.

1- How to Pronounce the Years

Years are usually pronounced like any other big number, as follows:

2019 Deux-mille-dix-neuf

But then, there’s a special case for all the years from 1100 to 1999.

These dates can be pronounced in two ways, depending on whether you’re

counting the thousands or the hundreds.

Here’s an example with the year 1910:

  The “thousands” way: Mille-neuf-cent-dix.
This literally means “one-thousand” (mille) “nine-hundred” (neuf-cent)
“ten” (dix).
 The “hundreds” way: Dix-neuf-cent-dix.
This one literally means “nineteen hundred ten.” Instead of counting one-
thousand and then nine-hundred, you’re counting “nineteen-hundred.”

Both forms are correct and equally accepted, but you should use the “hundreds”
way only in oral communication. You always write years the “thousands” way.
If you want to be safe, I recommend to always use the “thousands way,” but it’s
good to know that some weird people count differently.

More examples of these two ways:

Date Thousands way Hundreds way

1408 Mille-quatre-cent-huit Quatorze-cent-huit

1760 Mille-sept-cent-soixante Dix-sept-cent-soixante

1911 Mille-neuf-cent-onze Dix-neuf-cent-onze

N’oublie pas la date de ton rencard. (Don’t forget the date of your date.)
2- Année or An?

There are two ways to say “year” in French: Un an and Une année.

There’s no strict rule about whether you should use one or the other, but in most
cases:

1. An is used with a specific number of years.

Examples:

o J’ai vingt-deux ans.

“I am 22 years old.”
o Il y a trois ans.
“Three years ago.”
o Dans dix ans.
“In ten years.”
2. Année is used without numbers in many different expressions.

Examples:

o L’année prochaine
“Next year”
o Toute l’année
“All year”
o Cela fait des années.
“It has been years.”
o Les années 60
“The sixties”

5. Must-Know Phrases to Talk about Dates

We’ve seen how to assemble a French date from the day, the month, and the
year. Now, it’s time to get more practical with some of the most important
phrases and expressions about dates, as well as the common questions and
answers.

1- Le Premier

In English, all days are said using ordinal numbers, from 1st to 31st. This isn’t
always the case, but for both Americans and the British, it’s the most common
way to tell the date.
In French, all days use regular numbers, except for the first day of the month.
  Le premier mai
“The first of May”
 Le deux mai
“The second of May”
 Le trente-et-un mai
“The thirty-first of May”

2- What Day is it Today?

If you’re a time traveler or you just got out of a Game of Thrones marathon and
lost track of the days, this is likely to be your first question.

Just keep in mind that asking for the date in a foreign language is as tricky as
asking for directions. You’ll find it easy to ask, but not to understand the
answer. So, carefully learn your months, get fluent with French numbers, and
you’ll do just fine!

[Formal]

1. Quelle est la date aujourd’hui ?

“What is the date today?”
2. Quel jour sommes-nous (aujourd’hui) ?
“What day is it today?”

[Casual]

1. C’est quoi la date aujourd’hui ?

“What is the date today?”
2. On est quel jour (aujourd’hui) ?
“What day is it today?”

Note that in form 1, the word aujourd’hui (today) is important. In most

situations, the other person will get from the context that you’re asking about
today, but there are some cases where you could be asking for Nicolas Cage’s
birthday or about the next Hanson live concert.

In form 2, the word aujourd’hui is implied and could be omitted without

creating any confusion. This is because the literal translation of this form really
is: “What day are we?”

Common answers are:

[Formal]

 Nous sommes le 15 septembre.

“Today is the 15th of September.”
[Casual]

 On est le 15 septembre.
“Today is the 15th of September.”

You can also ask for more specific information, such as the day’s number or the
year. Here’s how to do so:

[Formal]

 Le combien sommes-nous aujourd’hui ?

“What day is it today?”
 En quelle année sommes-nous ?
“What year is it now?”

[Casual]

 On est le combien aujourd’hui ?

“What is the date today?”
 On est en quelle année ?
“What year is it now?”
Be careful with question two. Don’t use it until you’re ready to tell your friends
about your years of hardcore gaming in a bunker or your decade of solitary
confinement in a Siberian prison.

3- Le Prochain

To talk about the next whatever, you can use the word prochain (next). It could
be the next week, month, weekend, year, decade, or century. Here’s how:

 La semaine prochaine
“Next week”
 Le mois prochain
“Next month”
 L’année prochaine / L’an prochain
“Next year”

To talk about the next days, you’ll more likely use demain (tomorrow) or après-
demain (the day after tomorrow, or literally: “after-tomorrow” when translated).


A good way to practice using the dates is to go step-by-step. Start with
the days:

 On est le 18.
“Today is the 18th.”
 On est mercredi 18.
“Today is Wednesday, the 18th.”

Most of the time, this is the expected answer when someone asks you about the
date.

Then, when you’re feeling comfortable with the days, try adding the month, and
finally, the year:

 On est le 18 décembre.
“Today is the 18th of December.”
 On est le 18 décembre 2019.
“Today is the 18th of December, 2019.”

It’s all about taking it easy and going at your own pace until you become fluent
with dates.
Writing Dates in French

When you fill out a form or 'formulaire' in French, you will often have to
include dates, such as your birthdate or today's date. This is an important lesson
to prevent you from making mistakes when you write dates in numerical and
word form.
Writing Dates in French

Quelle est la date? What is the date? C'est quand ton anniversaire? When is
your birthday? Quand est-ce que vous partez pour Abuja? When are you
leaving for Abuja?

All of these questions require you to answer with a specific date. In order to
respond, you need to know the names of the months and the numbers up to 31.
Dates in French use the cardinal number (five) instead of the ordinal number
(fifth). The only exception is the first of the month, le premier (luh pre-mee-ay).
Note that dates require three elements: le + date + month. For example:

January 1 = le premier janvier

January 6 = le six janvier

In response to the question, C'est quand ton anniversaire?, you would say, C'est
le 2 septembre. (Say luh duh sep-tahm-br)

Joyeux anniversaire!
The months of the year or les mois de l'année (lay mwa duh la-nay) in French
are:

mois Pronunciation Month in English Number

janvier (zhan-vee-ay) January 1

février (feh-vree-ay) February 2

mars (mahrs) March 3

avril (ah-vreel) April 4

mai (may) May 5

juin (zhuahn ) June 6

juillet (zhui-ay) July 7

août (oot) August 8

septembre (sep-tahm-br) September 9

octobre (ok-toh-br) October 10

novembre (noh-vahm-br) November 11

décembre (day-sem-br) December 12

 Note that months are generally not capitalized in French.

As you see, months are also assigned a number to be used when writing dates
numerically. It is important to note that when you write dates in numerical form,
the date always precedes the month. While this format is not used in the United
States, this is how many other countries, including France, Belgium and
Switzerland, write the date:

date / month / year = jour / mois / an = (jj/mm/aaaa)

This is logical considering the way dates are expressed in French: le 2

septembre 2016 = 2 / 9 / 2016.
Le 14 juillet en France.

Prepositions and Days of the Week

If you want to express a range of dates, as in English 'from March 27 to April 3,'
you will need to incorporate the prepositions from (de) and to (à). When de is
followed by the masculine article for 'the,' le, they become du (due), meaning
'from (the).' Something similar happens when the preposition à is followed by
the masculine article le. They become au (o), which means 'to (the).'

Accents

There are five main accents in French that accompany certain letters:

1.L'accent aigu (é): This is found only on the letter E and makes it sound more
like 'eh.'

2. L'accent grave (`): This accent can be found on the letters A, E, and U. It
doesn't change pronunciation, but is used to distinguish certain words from their
homonyms.

3. L'accent circonflex (^): This accent is a funny remnant of history and

indicates that there used to be an S following the vowel. For instance, the word
hôpital (hospital) used to contain an S and therefore looks like its English
equivalent if you imagine the S is still there!

 NOTE: This is a nice trick for recognizing certain cognates with English!

4.L'accent tréma (¨): This accent is placed on an E, I, or U and indicates that

there are two vowels next to each other that both need to be pronounced, as in
the word Noël (Christmas). No-el

5.Cédille (ç): This accent is the little squiggle under the C. It can only be used
with the letter C, and indicates that it's to be pronounced as an S instead of the
hard K sound. A cédille is only necessary when the C is followed by A, O, or U
but still needs a soft pronunciation. For example, the first person plural
conjugation of the verb commencer (to begin) is commençons. The cédille here
indicates that, even though the C is followed by an O, it should be pronounced
S, as in all the other conjugations.