Days of the Week in French

From LoveToKnow French

Learning how to say the days of the week in French is actually quite easy. Once you learn how to say each day of the week, you'll be better able to communicate about your schedule and activities.

days of the week

Days of the Week in French

Here is a chart with pronunciation for each day of the week.

Days of the Week in French
FrenchPronunciationEnglish
lundiluhn deeMonday
mardimahr deeTuesday
mercredimair cruh deeWednesday
jeudizhuh deeThursday
vendredivon druh deeFriday
samedisahm deeSaturday
dimanchedee monshSunday
  • Notes:Days of the week are not capitalized in French.

Talking About Your Schedule

Talking about what you're doing when can be very valuable if you're trying to live and study in France. Use this chart to learn useful expressions to help you communicate what you're doing when!

Expressions of Time
FrenchPronunciationEnglish
mon horairemohn o rairmy schedule
hieree airyesterday
demainduh mehn tomorrow
aujourd'huioh joohr dweetoday
une semaineoon seh mena week
dernierdair nee aylast in a series
passépah saypast (last)
prochainpro shehnnext
premierpruh mee ayfirst
un jouruhn joorone day, a day
avant hierah vont eeairthe day before yesterday
maintenantmeht nontnow
la veille delah vay duhthe day before
le lendemainluh lond mehnthe day after
après demainah pray deh mahnthe day after tomorrow

Talking About Your Days

Now that you have the days of the week, you're ready to talk more about your schedule by adding adjectives of time to your sentences.

Parts of the Day
FrenchPronunciationEnglish
l'après-midilahpray mee deeafternoon
l'aubelowbdawn
le coucher de soleilluh coo shay duh solaysunset
le crépusculeluh cray puh scooldusk
le lever de soleil luh layvay duh solaysunrise
le matinluh mah tahnmorning
midimee deenoon
minuitmee nweemidnight
la nuitlah nweenight
le soirluh swarevening

Un jour vs. Une journée

Although both un jour and une journée mean a day, they have different connotations of time. In general, un jour is a simple division in time and indicates the amount of time for something whereas une journée refers to the duration of something. For example:

  • Je suis chez ma cousine depuis deux jours. I have been at my cousin's house for two days.
  • Nous avons passé la journée à la plage. We were at the beach all day.

There are many, many exceptions but generally they follow these rules. If you're still in doubt, use journée:

  • with possessive adjectives as in ma journée
  • with indefinite adjectives as in certaines journées

Use jour:

  • demonstrative adjectives: ce jour
  • when talking about the date: Quel jour est-il?
  • with numbers: Cinq jours de maladie.

Tout, Prochain, and Dernier

These four adjectives are unique in that they can be placed either before or after the noun depending on what it is you want to convey. For example:

  • When you want to say that you are working all day on Monday,

Je travaille toute la journée, lundi.

  • But if you want to say that you work every Monday,

Je travaille tous les lundis.

  • If you want to talk about next Tuesday,

Nous allons au ciné mardi prochain.

  • If you want to talk about last Sunday,

Le dimanche dernier nous sommes allés à l'èglise.

  • But if you want to talk about the final Sunday,

Le dernier dimanche du mois, nous allons toujours à l'église.

Learning to communicate about what will be happening when, is especially crucial for helping to keep schedules strait while visiting a Francophone country. Whether you are a there for business, a tourist, or a student, learning these simple phrases will serve you well.



 


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