French Days and Months: A Beginner’s Essential Guide

Learning a new language starts with the basics — and in French, knowing the days of the week and the months of the year is one of the first steps you’ll take. These simple words appear in everyday conversations, written messages, and even on signs and calendars. Once you know them, you can start talking about your plans, schedules, and daily life in French!

Simple Examples to Get You Started

Here are a few sentences you might hear or say in French:

• Aujourd’hui, c’est lundi. — Today is Monday.
• Mon anniversaire est en juillet. — My birthday is in July.
• Le rendez-vous est vendredi. — The appointment is on Friday.

Les Éléments des Jours et des Mois en Français

Let’s break this topic into two main parts: the days of the week and the months of the year.

The Days of the Week — Les Jours de la Semaine

In French, the days of the week are les jours de la semaine. One important rule: they are NOT capitalized in French, unlike in English.

French	English
lundi	Monday
mardi	Tuesday
mercredi	Wednesday
jeudi	Thursday
vendredi	Friday
samedi	Saturday
dimanche	Sunday

Notice that the French week starts on lundi (Monday), not Sunday. This is common in many European countries.

• Je travaille lundi. — I work on Monday.
• Le cours est mercredi. — The class is on Wednesday.

The Months of the Year — Les Mois de l’Année

The months are called les mois de l’année. Just like the days, the months in French are NOT capitalized.

French	English
janvier	January
février	February
mars	March
avril	April
mai	May
juin	June
juillet	July
août	August
septembre	September
octobre	October
novembre	November
décembre	December

• Noël est en décembre. — Christmas is in December.
• Les vacances commencent en août. — The holidays start in August.

How to Use Days and Months in a Sentence

In French, you use en before months and no preposition (or just the article) before days.

• En janvier, il fait froid. — In January, it is cold.
• Le lundi, je vais à la gym. — On Mondays, I go to the gym. (habitual)
• Lundi, je vais au cinéma. — On Monday, I’m going to the cinema. (this specific Monday)

Why Knowing Days and Months Matters

Think about how often you use days and months in real life. You check your calendar, make plans with friends, book appointments, and talk about birthdays. In French, it is exactly the same! As soon as you know these words, you can have real, useful conversations.

For example, if someone asks Quand est ton anniversaire ? (When is your birthday?), you can answer: Mon anniversaire est le 5 mars. (My birthday is on March 5th.) Simple and practical!

Comparaison avec d’Autres Langues

It is helpful to compare French with other languages you might know. Many of the month names are similar across French, Spanish, and English because they all come from Latin.

English	French	Spanish
January	janvier	enero
February	février	febrero
March	mars	marzo
Monday	lundi	lunes
Tuesday	mardi	martes
Wednesday	mercredi	miércoles

You can see that Spanish and French day names are very close — both come from Latin names of planets and Roman gods. English day names are different because they come from Germanic and Norse traditions. This is a great advantage if you already speak Spanish!

One key difference: in English and Spanish, months and days are often capitalized. In French, they are always written in lowercase.

Exemple Complet

Let’s put everything together with a short, realistic example. Imagine you are writing a message to a French friend:

Bonjour Marie ! Le rendez-vous est jeudi, le 14 novembre. On se retrouve à 10h. À bientôt !

Translation: Hello Marie! The appointment is Thursday, November 14th. We meet at 10am. See you soon!

This small message uses a day (jeudi) and a month (novembre) naturally. This is exactly the kind of French you will use every day.

Points à Retenir

• Days and months in French are never capitalized.
• The French week starts on lundi (Monday).
• Use en before months: en janvier, en mars, en octobre.
• Use le + day for a recurring event: le lundi = every Monday.
• Use the day alone for a specific event: lundi = this Monday.
• Many month names look similar to English and Spanish — use that to your advantage!

Sources

• Bescherelle, La Grammaire pour tous, Hatier, 2019.
• Conseil de l’Europe, Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECRL), 2001. Disponible sur : coe.int
• TV5Monde, ressources pédagogiques pour l’apprentissage du français. Disponible sur : apprendre.tv5monde.com