Learning the days of the week and months of the year in French is essential if you’re starting to learn French.

Whether you want to make an appointment, talk about your birthday, arrange a holiday, understand a train ticket or simply say what day it is, you’ll need to know how to talk about dates in French.

The good news? Once you know the days, months and a few simple structures, it’s actually quite easy.

Let’s get started!

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📅 Days of the Week in French

Here are the seven days of the week:

French	English
lundi	Monday
mardi	Tuesday
mercredi	Wednesday
jeudi	Thursday
vendredi	Friday
samedi	Saturday
dimanche	Sunday

An important difference from English

In French, days of the week are not normally capitalised.

So we write:

lundi

not:

❌ Lundi

unless the word is at the beginning of a sentence.

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🗓️ The Months of the Year in French

Here are the twelve months:

French	English
janvier	January
février	February
mars	March
avril	April
mai	May
juin	June
juillet	July
août	August
septembre	September
octobre	October
novembre	November
décembre	December

Just like the days of the week, French months are not capitalised.

For example:

mon anniversaire est en juillet

not:

❌ mon anniversaire est en Juillet

Pronunciation tip

août is pronounced approximately like “oot”.

It’s one of those French words where the spelling can look much more complicated than the pronunciation!

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📆 How to Ask “What Day Is It?” in French

One very useful question is:

Quel jour est-on aujourd’hui ?

= What day is it today?

You can also hear:

Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd’hui ?

This is slightly more formal.

A very natural answer is:

Aujourd’hui, on est lundi.

= Today is Monday.

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🇫🇷 How to Say the Full Date in French

Let’s say the date is:

Monday, 27 July 2026

In French:

Aujourd’hui, on est lundi 27 juillet 2026.

You can also say:

Aujourd’hui, on est le 27 juillet 2026.

Notice that the French structure is:

day + number + month + year

So:

27 juillet 2026

rather than the American English order:

July 27, 2026

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🔢 How to Say the Year in French

The year 2026 is:

deux mille vingt-six

Let’s break it down:

deux mille = two thousand
vingt-six = twenty-six

So:

2026 = deux mille vingt-six

And remember:

mille = thousand

For example:

2000 = deux mille
2025 = deux mille vingt-cinq
2026 = deux mille vingt-six

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🎂 Talking About Your Birthday

Once you know the months and numbers, you can talk about your birthday.

Quelle est ta date d’anniversaire ?

= When is your birthday?

You can answer:

Ma date d’anniversaire est le 26 octobre.

= My birthday is October 26th.

Or more naturally:

Mon anniversaire est le 26 octobre.

You can also say:

Je suis née le 26 octobre.
I was born on October 26th.

For a male speaker:

Je suis né le 26 octobre.

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⚠️ A Small Detail: “Le” Before the Date

When you’re giving a specific date, French normally uses le:

le 27 juillet

le 15 août

le 1er février

So:

Mon anniversaire est le 26 octobre.

not:

❌ Mon anniversaire est 26 octobre.

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📝 Practice: Write the Dates in French

Can you write these dates in French?

1. 24/05/2026

→ __________________________________

2. 15/08/2026

→ __________________________________

3. 01/02/2026

→ __________________________________

4. 09/10/2026

→ __________________________________

5. 18/12/2026

→ __________________________________

Answers

1. le vingt-quatre mai 2026
2. le quinze août 2026
3. le premier février 2026
4. le neuf octobre 2026
5. le dix-huit décembre 2026

One special rule: the first of the month

For the 1st of the month, French normally uses:

le premier

So:

1er février → le premier février

But:

2 février → le deux février

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🗣️ Practice: Ask and Answer

Practise these questions aloud.

Question 1

Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd’hui ?

→ Aujourd’hui, on est __________.

Question 2

Quelle est ta date d’anniversaire ?

→ Mon anniversaire est le __________.

Question 3

Quel mois sommes-nous ?

→ Nous sommes en __________.

Question 4

Quel jour est demain ?

→ Demain, c’est __________.

Question 5

Quel jour était hier ?

→ Hier, c’était __________.

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💡 A Useful French Structure: “On est…”

Beginners often learn je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles, but there’s another very useful French subject:

on

On can mean we in everyday French, but it is also commonly used to say “one / we / people” or to talk about the date.

For example:

On est lundi.
It’s Monday.

On est le 27 juillet.
It’s July 27th.

You’ll hear on constantly in everyday spoken French, so it’s worth getting comfortable with it from the beginning.

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🧠 Quick Vocabulary Review

Days

lundi – mardi – mercredi – jeudi – vendredi – samedi – dimanche

Months

janvier – février – mars – avril – mai – juin – juillet – août – septembre – octobre – novembre – décembre

Useful expressions

Aujourd’hui = today
Demain = tomorrow
Hier = yesterday
Quel jour…? = Which day…?
Quel mois…? = Which month…?
Quelle est ta date d’anniversaire ? = When is your birthday?
On est… = It’s… / We are…

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🇫🇷 Your Turn!

Try to answer these questions about yourself in French:

1. Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd’hui ?

2. Quel mois sommes-nous ?

3. Quelle est ta date d’anniversaire ?

4. Quel est ton jour préféré de la semaine ?

5. Quel est ton mois préféré ?

6. Pourquoi ?

You can start very simply:

Mon jour préféré est samedi.

Mon mois préféré est juillet.

Mon anniversaire est le 26 octobre.

Then gradually make your answers longer:

Mon mois préféré est juillet parce qu’il fait chaud et j’aime l’été.

That’s how you move from memorising vocabulary to actually communicating in French.

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🌿 Learn French for Real Life

Knowing the days and months might seem like a small part of learning French, but these are the words you’ll use constantly in everyday life — booking appointments, planning trips, making arrangements, talking about your birthday and simply understanding what’s happening around you.

In my French lessons, I focus on practical French that you can actually use, combining vocabulary, grammar, conversation and French culture so that you gradually become more confident expressing yourself.

If you’re an English speaker learning French and you’re ready to move beyond memorising vocabulary lists, get in touch to find out about personalised French lessons designed around your level and goals.