By the end of this lesson you'll be able to name the days and months, say what the date is, and tell someone when your birthday is.
The days of the week
The French week starts on Monday, and that's how calendars are printed in France.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| lundi | luhn-DEE | Monday |
| mardi | mar-DEE | Tuesday |
| mercredi | mehr-kruh-DEE | Wednesday |
| jeudi | zhuh-DEE | Thursday |
| vendredi | vahn-druh-DEE | Friday |
| samedi | sahm-DEE | Saturday |
| dimanche | dee-MAHNSH | Sunday |
All the days are masculine, and all of them take a small letter, unless they start a sentence. You can use them with no article at all to mean one particular day, as English does. Add le and the day becomes a habit:
- Lundi means this coming or most recent Monday.
- Le lundi means on Mondays, every Monday.
Le marché, c'est le mercredi.
The market is on Wednesdays.
Aujourd'hui, c'est vendredi.
Today is Friday.
The months
Months take small letters as well, and many of them look a lot like the English words, so spelling is the main thing to watch. Février and décembre have an acute accent, and août has a circumflex.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| janvier | zhahn-VYAY | January |
| février | fay-vree-AY | February |
| mars | marss | March |
| avril | ah-VREEL | April |
| mai | meh | May |
| juin | zhwan | June |
| juillet | zhwee-YEH | July |
| août | oot | August |
| septembre | sep-TAHM-bruh | September |
| octobre | ok-TOH-bruh | October |
| novembre | noh-VAHM-bruh | November |
| décembre | day-SAHM-bruh | December |
To say "in" a month, use en: en janvier, en juin, en octobre. You don't need an article.
Noël, c'est en décembre.
Christmas is in December.
Giving the date
A French date is built in a fixed order: le, then the number, then the month. You're already able to say all the numbers, thanks to the lesson on numbers 21 to 100.
The words below will help. French gives you a few fixed phrases for this, and you can learn them as they stand.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le jour | luh ZHOOR | the day |
| la semaine | lah suh-MEN | the week |
| le mois | luh MWAH | the month |
| aujourd'hui | oh-zhoor-DWEE | today |
| On est le… / Nous sommes le… | oh-neh luh / noo somm luh | It's the… (giving the date)Fixed phrases. On est le… is the everyday one. |
| C'est le… | seh luh | It's the… |
| le premier | luh pruh-MYAY | the first (of the month) |
- le 14 juillet (the 14th of July)
- le 25 décembre (the 25th of December)
- le 31 octobre (the 31st of October)
English uses "first", "second", "third" and so on. French uses plain numbers, with one exception: the first of the month is le premier, often written le 1er.
On est le premier avril.
It's the first of April.
Nous sommes le 22 septembre.
It's the 22nd of September.
If you include the day of the week, it goes first: lundi 3 mai. On notices and invitations you'll also see le lundi 3 mai, where le points to one specific date. That's different from le lundi (every Monday) above.
Le 14 juillet is one date every French learner meets early, because it's the French national holiday. People simply call it le 14 juillet, much as Americans say "the Fourth of July".
Birthdays
Birthdays use these four phrases. Learn the whole sentences as fixed phrases for now. Quand (when) gets its proper lesson in the lesson on question words.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| l'anniversaire | lah-nee-vehr-SEHR | the birthday |
| Bon anniversaire ! | boh-nah-nee-vehr-SEHR | Happy birthday! |
| C'est quand, ton anniversaire ? | seh kahn, toh-nah-nee-vehr-SEHR | When's your birthday?Fixed phrase for now. |
| Mon anniversaire, c'est le… | moh-nah-nee-vehr-SEHR, seh luh | My birthday is the…Fixed phrase for now. |
C'est quand, ton anniversaire ? — C'est le 8 novembre.
When's your birthday? — It's the 8th of November.
Putting it together
Here's how the words work in a short exchange at the start of a class:
- On est quel jour, aujourd'hui ? (What day is it today? A fixed phrase for now.)
- On est jeudi. (It's Thursday.)
- Et la date ? (And the date?)
- On est le 30 janvier. (It's the 30th of January.)
- Ah ! C'est mon anniversaire ! (Oh! It's my birthday!)
- Bon anniversaire ! (Happy birthday!)
What's next
Next, the lesson on telling the time uses your numbers for the clock. Later on, the lesson on weather and seasons adds the four seasons to the months you know now, and the lesson on the near future lets you use dates to make plans.