You probably don’t think much about the days of the week until it’s time to make your weekend plans, schedule an appointment or book a relaxing vacation.
Like the flick of a switch, you are suddenly flipping through your planner and wondering if you can fit in a dinner with friends on Tuesday or a dentist appointment on Friday. There’s just one small caveat – you need to do all of this in French.
What are the days of the week in French, you ask? The days of the week, or jours de la semaine in French, are simple and easy to learn. Take a look at the table below to master these basic French words and soon you will be on your way to tackling the months in French.
| English | French | Pronunciation |
| Monday | lundi | luhn-dee |
| Tuesday | mardi | mar-dee |
| Wednesday | mercredi | mare-cruh-dee |
| Thursday | jeudi | juh-dee |
| Friday | vendredi | von-druh-dee |
| Saturday | samedi | sam-dee |
| Sunday | dimanche | dee-monsh |
Days of the week: things you should know
The days of the week in French don’t even require capital letters. Also, all the days of the week are masculine and use the article le, so you don’t ever have to worry about getting confused between le and la. In general however, le is not used when speaking of the days of the week unless you are talking about a habit.
Listed below are some examples:
Lundi je suis allée à la piscine. On Monday I went to the swimming pool.
On se voit mardi. We’re seeing each other on Tuesday
Use le + the day of the week when speaking of habits.
Le lundi, je vais à la piscine. On Mondays, I go to the swimming pool.
Victor sort toujours le vendredi soir. Victor always goes out on Friday evenings.
Note: the French preposition à + the day of the week is used when you plan on seeing someone again.
Salut, à mercredi prochain! See you next Wednesday!
As we mentioned in our guide to French pronunciation, creating the “r” sound is a bit difficult and may trip you up at first when saying mercredi, mardi and vendredi. Don’t worry, because with time and practice les jours de la semaine will roll off your tongue like a native French speaker.
Have you mastered the days of the week in French? Now you are ready to learn how to write today’s date in French!
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