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Dates in French

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Days, months, and how to write dates in French

Days of the Week (Les jours de la semaine)

FrenchEnglishAbbreviation
lundiMondaylun.
mardiTuesdaymar.
mercrediWednesdaymer.
jeudiThursdayjeu.
vendrediFridayven.
samediSaturdaysam.
dimancheSundaydim.

Note: Unlike English, days of the week are not capitalized in French (unless they begin a sentence). Also, the French week starts on Monday.

Months of the Year (Les mois de l'année)

FrenchEnglishFrenchEnglish
janvierJanuaryjuilletJuly
févrierFebruaryaoûtAugust
marsMarchseptembreSeptember
avrilApriloctobreOctober
maiMaynovembreNovember
juinJunedécembreDecember

Note: Like days, months are also not capitalized in French.

Date Format

French dates follow the order: day + month + year (the opposite of American English).

  • le 25 décembre 2025 = December 25, 2025
  • le 1ᵉʳ janvier = January 1st (the 1st uses the ordinal premier)
  • le 2 mars = March 2nd (all other dates use cardinal numbers)

Important: Only the 1st of each month uses the ordinal number premier (1ᵉʳ). All other days use cardinal numbers (le 2, le 3, le 15, etc.).

Prepositions with Dates

ExpressionUsageExample
en + month/yearin a month/yearen janvier, en 2025
au mois de + monthin a month (formal)au mois de mars
le + dateon a specific datele 15 avril
le + day of weekevery [day] (habitual)le lundi (= every Monday)

Tip: To say "on Monday" (a specific one), just use the day without le: lundi, je travaille (On Monday, I'm working). Adding le makes it habitual: le lundi = every Monday.

Seasons (Les saisons)

FrenchEnglishPreposition
le printempsspringau printemps
l'étésummeren été
l'automneautumn/fallen automne
l'hiverwinteren hiver

Note: Spring is the exception — it uses au while all other seasons use en.

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