French Vocabulary: Days of the Week
French Vocabulary: Days of the Week
Identify
French Vocabulary: Days of the Week
le vocabulaire français: les jours de la semaine
Learning about the days of the week (les jours de la semaine) will help you plan for future events! Knowing the days of the week is also vital for business appointments, class times, and traveling in places like airports, train stations, bus stations, and other public transit systems!
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Learning about the days of the week (les jours de la semaine) will help you plan for future events! Knowing the days of the week is also vital for business appointments, class times, and traveling in places like airports, train stations, bus stations, and other public transit systems!
In French-speaking countries, the week begins on Monday.
lundi
Monday
mardi
Tuesday
mercredi
Wednesday
jeudi
Thursday
vendredi
Friday
samedi
Saturday
dimanche
Sunday
Notice that the French days of the week are not capitalized. Also, the days of the week are all masculine in French.
The French days of the week have Latin/Roman roots that mostly originated in the names of the planets:
lundi – Lune (Moon)
mardi – Mars
mercredi – Mercure (Mercury)
jeudi – Jupiter
vendredi – Venus
samedi – Sabbat (Sabbath)
dimanche – Dominicus (Lord)
When used with the days of the week, the definite article (le) has the special meaning “on” or “every”. The definite article le is used to indicate that an event takes place repeatedly. But note that – unlike in English – we don’t add an “s” to the end of the day of the week in French.
Je travaille lundi.
I’m working on Monday.
Je ne travaille pas le mardi.
I don’t work on Tuesdays.
Il y a un party mercredi.
There is a party on Wednesday.
Il y a beaucoup de partys le vendredi.
There are many parties on Fridays.
Again, don’t add “s” to the days of the week to talk about repeating events. Just add the article le.
lundi : Monday; on Monday
BUT: le lundi : on Mondays
mardi : Tuesday; on Tuesday
BUT: le mardi : on Tuesdays
mercredi : Wednesday; on Wednesday
BUT: le mercredi : on Wednesdays
jeudi : Thursday; on Thursday
BUT: le jeudi : on Thursdays
vendredi : Friday; on Friday
BUT: le vendredi : on Fridays
samedi : Saturday; on Saturday
BUT: le samedi : on Saturdays
dimanche : Sunday; on Sunday
BUT: le dimanche : on Sundays
Use the verb “être” to express the day. You will soon learn more about this verb. For now, simply realize that the words “est” and “sommes” are two conjugations of that verb, and are the correct verb forms in this use.
There are several different ways to ask what day it is in French:
C’est quel jour aujourd’hui?
What day is today?
Aujourd’hui, c’est lundi.
Today is Monday.
Nous sommes quel jour aujourd’hui?
What day is today?
Aujourd’hui, nous sommes lundi.
Today is Monday.
On est quel jour aujourd’hui?
What day is today?
On est lundi.
It is Monday.
C’est quel jour demain?
What day is tomorrow?
Demain, c’est mardi.
Tomorrow is Tuesday.
Notice that the following actions do not occur in the present, but rather in the near future.
Nous partons lundi.
We leave on Monday.
Demain, c’est dimanche.
Tomorrow is Sunday.
In French, the present tense of the indicative is sometimes used to express the near future. English does this, too.
Nous partons lundi.
We (will) leave on Monday.
Demain, c’est dimanche.
Tomorrow is (will be) Sunday.
Here is some other vocabulary associated with days of the week:
aujourd’hui : today
demain : tomorrow
le lendemain : day after tomorrow
hier : yesterday
avant-hier : the day before yesterday
le jour : the day
la semaine : the week
le week-end : the weekend
Bonne journée! : Have a nice day!
Bon week-end! : Have a nice weekend!
Adapt:
C’est quel jour aujourd’hui?
What day is today?
Aujourd’hui, c’est lundi.
Today is Monday.
C’est quel jour demain?
What day is tomorrow?
Demain, c’est mardi.
Tomorrow is Tuesday.
Quand est le party?
When is the party?
Le party, c’est vendredi.
The party is on Friday.
Quand allons-nous à la messe?
When do we go to Mass?
Nous allons à la messe le dimanche.
We go to Mass on Sundays.
Je n’aime pas le mercredi…
I don’t like Wednesdays…
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Engage
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