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 in French
Here is a chart with pronunciation for each day of the week.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
| lundi | luhn dee | Monday |
| mardi | mahr dee | Tuesday |
| mercredi | mair cruh dee | Wednesday |
| jeudi | zhuh dee | Thursday |
| vendredi | von druh dee | Friday |
| samedi | sahm dee | Saturday |
| dimanche | dee monsh | Sunday |
- 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!
| French | Pronunciation | English |
| mon horaire | mohn o rair | my schedule |
| hier | ee air | yesterday |
| demain | duh mehn | tomorrow |
| aujourd'hui | oh joohr dwee | today |
| une semaine | oon seh men | a week |
| dernier | dair nee ay | last in a series |
| passé | pah say | past (last) |
| prochain | pro shehn | next |
| premier | pruh mee ay | first |
| un jour | uhn joor | one day, a day |
| avant hier | ah vont eeair | the day before yesterday |
| maintenant | meht nont | now |
| la veille de | lah vay duh | the day before |
| le lendemain | luh lond mehn | the day after |
| après demain | ah pray deh mahn | the 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.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
| l'après-midi | lahpray mee dee | afternoon |
| l'aube | lowb | dawn |
| le coucher de soleil | luh coo shay duh solay | sunset |
| le crépuscule | luh cray puh scool | dusk |
| le lever de soleil | luh layvay duh solay | sunrise |
| le matin | luh mah tahn | morning |
| midi | mee dee | noon |
| minuit | mee nwee | midnight |
| la nuit | lah nwee | night |
| le soir | luh swar | evening |
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.
