Days of the week in French: list, pronunciation and classroom use

The seven days

In the pronunciation column, (n) marks a nasal vowel: air goes through the nose and the n itself is not pronounced. “zh” is the s in “measure”, and “uh” is the short vowel in “the”. French stresses the last syllable of a word only lightly, so keep every syllable even.

The r is the throaty French r, and the -di ending is a clean “dee”, never “dye”. Samedi is usually said in two syllables, with the middle e dropped. Jeudi starts with the vowel of British “fur”, lips rounded.

The days are the same in every French-speaking country; only the weekend differs, as le week-end in Europe and usually la fin de semaine in Quebec.

A regional note on lundi: in most of France today, its nasal vowel sounds the same as the one in vin. In Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec and parts of southern France, many speakers keep a slightly different, rounder vowel. Both are correct.

Where the names come from

The -di ending comes from the Latin word for “day”. Five days are named after the Moon and the planets or their gods: lundi (la Lune), mardi (Mars), mercredi (Mercury), jeudi (Jupiter), vendredi (Venus). Samedi goes back to the Sabbath, and dimanche to the Latin for “the Lord’s day”.

English used Germanic gods instead (Tiw, Woden, Thor, Frigg), but Monday and lundi both come from the Moon. Pupils who also learn Spanish will spot the family likeness with lunes, martes, miércoles.

The article: lundi, le lundi

1. There is no word for “on”. “On Monday” is simply lundi: Lundi, je vais au cinéma. Pupils who translate word for word write “sur lundi”, which is wrong.
2. Le plus the day means “every”. Le samedi, je joue au foot. means “On Saturdays I play football”. French uses the singular here, where Spanish uses the plural. You can also say tous les samedis, with an s.
3. The plural takes an s. les lundis, tous les dimanches.
4. No article after “nous sommes” or “c’est”. Nous sommes mardi. On est mardi. Aujourd’hui, c’est mardi.
5. With a date, the article comes back. le mardi 6 octobre. Here le belongs to the date, not to a habit.
6. Lower case. Days take no capital, except at the start of a sentence.

Useful words around the days

• aujourd’hui: today
• hier: yesterday
• demain: tomorrow
• avant-hier: the day before yesterday
• après-demain: the day after tomorrow
• lundi prochain, lundi dernier: next Monday, last Monday
• du lundi au vendredi: from Monday to Friday
• en semaine: on weekdays
• le week-end: the weekend (France); la fin de semaine (Quebec)
• À lundi !: See you on Monday!

Two expressions surprise English speakers: dans huit jours means “in a week’s time”, and quinze jours means “a fortnight”. French counts both ends of the week.

On French calendars the days are usually abbreviated L, M, M, J, V, S, D, or lun., mar., mer., jeu., ven., sam., dim.

Quel jour sommes-nous ? Nous sommes vendredi.What day is it today? It’s Friday.

Samedi, je vais chez ma grand-mère.On Saturday (this Saturday) I’m going to my gran’s.

Le mercredi après-midi, je n’ai pas cours.On Wednesday afternoons I have no lessons.

Je vais à la piscine tous les jeudis.I go to the swimming pool every Thursday.

More ways to talk about the week

• chaque lundi: each Monday
• un lundi: on a Monday (Je suis né un lundi.)
• à partir de lundi: from Monday onwards
• d’ici lundi: by Monday
• le lundi suivant: the following Monday (in a story, not from today)

As in English, the day of superstitions is Friday the 13th, vendredi 13. In the Spanish-speaking world it is Tuesday the 13th instead: a nice comparison for classes who learn both languages.

The last example has a cultural side: in France, Wednesday afternoon has long been free for many younger pupils, and clubs and activities often take place then.

Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners

• Capitals: “Lundi” mid-sentence, copied from English.
• Translating “on”: “sur lundi” or “le lundi” for one particular Monday.
• Missing the habit meaning: le lundi means every Monday; pupils often use it for “this Monday”.
• Plural: “tous les lundi” without the s.
• Pronunciation: “mar-dye”, “sam-uh-dee” in three heavy syllables, or an English r in mercredi and vendredi.
• Jeudi and je dis confused in listening: they sound alike.

In class: a daily routine

The days of the week are the natural companion of the date: a class that says the date at the start of every lesson uses a day of the week every time.

1. Show the date in figures and ask Quel jour sommes-nous ?
2. The class answers with the day: Nous sommes mardi. Then with the full date.
3. Reveal the written answer so everyone can check spelling and lower case.
4. Add a quick follow-up: Et demain ?, Et hier ?
5. Pass the role of questioner to a different pupil each day.

Short activities work well alongside the routine: a day chain round the room, forwards then backwards; “If today is…” questions (Si aujourd’hui c’est jeudi, quel jour sommes-nous après-demain ?); and, from KS3, the school timetable (Le lundi, j’ai anglais et maths.).

Adapting to your class

• A1Name the day: Nous sommes lundi.
• A2Add the full date, and habits with le: Le lundi, j’ai musique.
• B1Yesterday and tomorrow: Hier, c’était dimanche ; demain, ce sera mardi.
• B2Plans and past events: Samedi dernier, je suis allé…, Jeudi prochain, je dois…

Frequently asked questions