How To Write The Date In French

Give us an English day of the week that ends in “y,” and we’ll give you a French one that doesn’t. Here’s how to write the date in French.
calendar for learning the days of the week in French

Got a case of the Mondays? Celebrating Thirsty Thursday? We place a lot of emphasis on the days of the week in our conversations, particularly when we’re making small talk with someone we may not know that well. Then there are all the documents and travel booking sites where we have to indicate the date. That’s why learning the names of the months and the days of the week in French — and how to write the date — will be extremely useful for your next trip to France, or the next time you’re chatting with a French-speaking acquaintance. Here’s your guide to the basic words you should know and how to pronounce them.

Days Of The Week In French

Monday — lundi

Tuesday — mardi

Wednesday — mercredi

Thursday — jeudi

Friday — vendredi

Saturday — samedi

Sunday — dimanche

Months Of The Year In French

January — janvier

February — février

March — mars

April — avril

May — mai

June — juin

July — juillet

August — août

September — septembre

October — octobre

November — novembre

December — décembre

Write The Date In French

Now that you know the days of the week in French and the months of the year, let’s go over how to write the date in French. The formal way of writing the date is day, then date, then month. For example, you would write mardi, 18 avril (Tuesday, 18 April). Note that the French don’t use “th” or “st” with the numbers like we do. The only time they don’t use just the number is on the first of the month, for which they write and say le premier (i.e. le premier janvier is January 1st). They also don’t capitalize the month, like American English speakers do.

When writing the date informally, using only numerals, French do it the same way as other Europeans: the date goes before the month. So April 18, 2019 would be written as 18/4/19.

Before you use either of these date formats, you’ll want to make sure you review how to count in French.

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Dylan Lyons

Dylan is a senior content producer, overseeing video and podcast projects for the U.S. team. He studied journalism at Ithaca College and has an MBA from NYU. Before joining Babbel, Dylan managed social media for CBS News. His interests include reading, writing, politics, and anything sweet. Dylan lives in New York City.

Dylan is a senior content producer, overseeing video and podcast projects for the U.S. team. He studied journalism at Ithaca College and has an MBA from NYU. Before joining Babbel, Dylan managed social media for CBS News. His interests include reading, writing, politics, and anything sweet. Dylan lives in New York City.