{"id":51,"date":"2026-09-30T14:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/days-of-the-week-in-french\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T14:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:29:11","slug":"days-of-the-week-in-french","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/days-of-the-week-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Days of the week in French: list, pronunciation and classroom use"},"content":{"rendered":"

The seven days<\/h2>\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n

French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
lundi<\/td>Monday<\/td>luh(n)-DEE<\/td><\/tr>
mardi<\/td>Tuesday<\/td>mar-DEE<\/td><\/tr>
mercredi<\/td>Wednesday<\/td>mair-kruh-DEE<\/td><\/tr>
jeudi<\/td>Thursday<\/td>zhuh-DEE<\/td><\/tr>
vendredi<\/td>Friday<\/td>vah(n)-druh-DEE<\/td><\/tr>
samedi<\/td>Saturday<\/td>sam-DEE<\/td><\/tr>
dimanche<\/td>Sunday<\/td>dee-MAH(N)SH<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

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

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

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

Where the names come from<\/h2>\n\n

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

English used Germanic gods instead (Tiw, Woden, Thor, Frigg), but Monday and lundi<\/span> both come from the Moon. Pupils who also learn Spanish will spot the family likeness with lunes, martes, mi\u00e9rcoles<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

The article: lundi, le lundi<\/h2>\n\n
  1. There is no word for “on”.<\/strong> “On Monday” is simply lundi<\/span>: Lundi, je vais au cin\u00e9ma.<\/span> Pupils who translate word for word write “sur lundi”, which is wrong.<\/li>
  2. Le<\/span> plus the day means “every”.<\/strong> Le samedi, je joue au foot.<\/span> means “On Saturdays I play football”. French uses the singular here, where Spanish uses the plural. You can also say tous les samedis<\/span>, with an s.<\/li>
  3. The plural takes an s.<\/strong> les lundis<\/span>, tous les dimanches<\/span>.<\/li>
  4. No article after “nous sommes” or “c’est”.<\/strong> Nous sommes mardi.<\/span> On est mardi.<\/span> Aujourd’hui, c’est mardi.<\/span><\/li>
  5. With a date, the article comes back.<\/strong> le mardi 6 octobre<\/span>. Here le<\/span> belongs to the date, not to a habit.<\/li>
  6. Lower case.<\/strong> Days take no capital, except at the start of a sentence.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Useful words around the days<\/h2>\n\n
    • aujourd’hui<\/span>: today<\/li>
    • hier<\/span>: yesterday<\/li>
    • demain<\/span>: tomorrow<\/li>
    • avant-hier<\/span>: the day before yesterday<\/li>
    • apr\u00e8s-demain<\/span>: the day after tomorrow<\/li>
    • lundi prochain<\/span>, lundi dernier<\/span>: next Monday, last Monday<\/li>
    • du lundi au vendredi<\/span>: from Monday to Friday<\/li>
    • en semaine<\/span>: on weekdays<\/li>
    • le week-end<\/span>: the weekend (France); la fin de semaine<\/span> (Quebec)<\/li>
    • \u00c0 lundi\u00a0!<\/span>: See you on Monday!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

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

      On French calendars the days are usually abbreviated L, M, M, J, V, S, D, or lun., mar., mer., jeu., ven., sam., dim.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

      Quel jour sommes-nous\u00a0? Nous sommes vendredi.<\/span>What day is it today? It’s Friday.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Samedi, je vais chez ma grand-m\u00e8re.<\/span>On Saturday (this Saturday) I’m going to my gran’s.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Le mercredi apr\u00e8s-midi, je n’ai pas cours.<\/span>On Wednesday afternoons I have no lessons.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      Je vais \u00e0 la piscine tous les jeudis.<\/span>I go to the swimming pool every Thursday.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

      More ways to talk about the week<\/h3>\n\n
      • chaque lundi<\/span>: each Monday<\/li>
      • un lundi<\/span>: on a Monday (Je suis n\u00e9 un lundi.<\/span>)<\/li>
      • \u00e0 partir de lundi<\/span>: from Monday onwards<\/li>
      • d’ici lundi<\/span>: by Monday<\/li>
      • le lundi suivant<\/span>: the following Monday (in a story, not from today)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

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

        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.<\/p>\n\n

        Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
        • Capitals:<\/strong> “Lundi” mid-sentence, copied from English.<\/li>
        • Translating “on”:<\/strong> “sur lundi” or “le lundi” for one particular Monday.<\/li>
        • Missing the habit meaning:<\/strong> le lundi<\/span> means every Monday; pupils often use it for “this Monday”.<\/li>
        • Plural:<\/strong> “tous les lundi” without the s.<\/li>
        • Pronunciation:<\/strong> “mar-dye”, “sam-uh-dee” in three heavy syllables, or an English r in mercredi<\/span> and vendredi<\/span>.<\/li>
        • Jeudi<\/span> and je dis<\/span><\/strong> confused in listening: they sound alike.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

          In class: a daily routine<\/h2>\n\n

          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.<\/p>\n\n

          1. Show the date in figures and ask Quel jour sommes-nous\u00a0?<\/span><\/li>
          2. The class answers with the day: Nous sommes mardi.<\/span> Then with the full date.<\/li>
          3. Reveal the written answer so everyone can check spelling and lower case.<\/li>
          4. Add a quick follow-up: Et demain\u00a0?<\/span>, Et hier\u00a0?<\/span><\/li>
          5. Pass the role of questioner to a different pupil each day.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

            Short activities work well alongside the routine: a day chain round the room, forwards then backwards; “If today is\u2026” questions (Si aujourd’hui c’est jeudi, quel jour sommes-nous apr\u00e8s-demain\u00a0?<\/span>); and, from KS3, the school timetable (Le lundi, j’ai anglais et maths.<\/span>).<\/p>\n\n

            Adapting to your class<\/h3>\n\n
            • A1<\/b>Name the day: Nous sommes lundi.<\/span><\/li>
            • A2<\/b>Add the full date, and habits with le<\/span>: Le lundi, j’ai musique.<\/span><\/li>
            • B1<\/b>Yesterday and tomorrow: Hier, c’\u00e9tait dimanche ; demain, ce sera mardi.<\/span><\/li>
            • B2<\/b>Plans and past events: Samedi dernier, je suis all\u00e9\u2026<\/span>, Jeudi prochain, je dois\u2026<\/span><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Lundi to dimanche: pronunciation, the lundi \/ le lundi rule, where the names come from, and a routine to practise them every lesson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":8,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Days of the Week in French: List and Rules | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"The days of the week in French, how to pronounce them, lundi or le lundi, and the mistakes English-speaking pupils make. With a daily classroom routine.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"jours","_vd_target":"fr","_vd_module":"fecha","_vd_level":"A1","_vd_minutes":"6","_vd_card_word":"lundi\u2026","_vd_answer":"The days of the week in French are lundi<\/span> (Monday), mardi<\/span> (Tuesday), mercredi<\/span> (Wednesday), jeudi<\/span> (Thursday), vendredi<\/span> (Friday), samedi<\/span> (Saturday) and dimanche<\/span> (Sunday). They are written in lower case, they are masculine, and the French week starts on Monday.","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"What are the days of the week in French?\",\"a\":\"Lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi<\\\/span> and dimanche<\\\/span>, from Monday to Sunday.\"},{\"q\":\"Are days of the week capitalised in French?\",\"a\":\"No. They are written in lower case, except at the start of a sentence.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"on Monday\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"Just lundi<\\\/span> for one particular Monday. Le lundi<\\\/span> or tous les lundis<\\\/span> means every Monday.\"},{\"q\":\"Does the French week start on Monday or Sunday?\",\"a\":\"On Monday. French calendars run from lundi<\\\/span> to dimanche<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you ask what day it is in French?\",\"a\":\"Quel jour sommes-nous\u00a0?<\\\/span> or, more informally, On est quel jour\u00a0?<\\\/span> The answer is Nous sommes lundi<\\\/span> or On est lundi<\\\/span>.\"}]","_vd_key":"jours-fr","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-51","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}