The 7 Days of the Week in French – Pronunciation + Examples

Are you planning a trip to France and worrying about making yourself understood in the local language? I hear you! I grew up bilingual in Italian and French because my mother is French mother tongue but since I’ve always lived in Italy, I admit that the French language is hard! One of the first and most important things you should learn is the days of the week in French.

Whether you are taking a short holiday in Provence or are planning a longer stay in France, you are going to need the days of the week to plan your travels, book a hotel or a restaurant, and schedule an appointment with friends, colleagues, or your doctor.

Learning the days of the week in French is really something you can’t overlook. Thankfully, it’s very easy to remember them.

In this easy guide, I’m going to explain the origins of the names, tell you exactly how to pronounce them, and give you plenty of examples and a richer glossary to use them and be confident in your future conversations. As fun trivia, I will mention some French proverbs and even link to a children’s song about the days of the week to memorize them quicker.

Image: Diary with the days of the week in French.

Translation and pronunciation of the days of the week in French: easy table

French day of the weekPronunciationEnglish translation
Lundiluhn-dee [lœ̃di]Monday
Mardimahr-dee [maʀdi]Tuesday
Mercredimehr-kreh-dee [mɛʀkʀədi]Wednesday
Jeudijeuh-dee [ʒødi]Thursday
Vendredivahn-dreh-dee [vɑ̃dʀədi]Friday
Samedisam-dee [samdi]Saturday
Dimanchedee-mansh [dimɑ̃ʃ]Sunday

How to pronounce the days of the week in French: audio

Lundi

Mardi

Mercredi

Jeudi

Vendredi

Samedi

Dimanche

The French weekdays: the origin of the names

The days of the week in French have been named after the planets like the ancient Romans used to do. Unlike the English version, in French, the days of the week don’t start with a capital letter. Being French a Neo-Latin language, the names are somehow similar to the days of the week in Italian.

So where in Italian you have “lunedì” for Monday, in French, it’s “lundi”, “martedì” (Tuesday) in Italian becomes “mardi” in French. The only one that differs a little more is Saturday: “sabato” in Italian and “samedi” in French.

Day of the weekLatin versionName’s origins
LundiDies LunaeThe day of the Moon
MardiDies MartisThe day of Mars
MercrediDies MercuriiThe day of Mercury
JeudiDies IovisThe day of Jupiter
VendrediDies VenerisThe day of Venus
SamediDies SaturniThe day of Saturn
DimancheDies SolisThe day of the Sun /
The day of the Lord

The last two days of the week, Saturday and Sunday, in French samedi and dimanche, were initially devoted to pagan gods or planets like the others but once Christianity started to spread in Europe, were changed according to the newly adopted religion.

This is how in many neo-Latin languages such as Spanish and Portuguese, the word “shabbat” (day of rest in Hebrew), replaced the pagan name. In French, it became samedi, in Italian, sabato, in Spanish and Portuguese, sábado, and in the Sardinian language sàbadu, from the Latin sambati dies, day of sabbat.

Similarly to the other Neo-Latin languages, also Sunday has been adapted to the local religious beliefs. So, instead of “the day of the Sun” like it still is in English, it became “the day of the Lord”. In French, this is “dimanche” from the Latin “dies dominicus“.

Check out what to do in Strasbourg, the beautiful Alsatian capital.

Image: Weekdays in French

How to use the days of the week in French: common examples and sentences

Drop the “on”

Unlike in English, when using the days of the week in French, you don’t need to use “on”. Here are some examples:

  • See you on Monday >> On se voit lundi / À lundi
  • On Sundays, I go to church >> Le dimanche, je vais à l’église
  • On Saturday, I’m going to the park >> Samedi je vais au parc

With vs without the article

Unlike in English, the days of the week in French sometimes require an article. Usually, if you are talking about a specific day, you don’t need to start with the article. On the other hand, if the day is mentioned as a routine, you should. Here are a few examples.

  • I hate Mondays >> Je déteste le lundi
  • Saturday, I go to school >> Samedi je vais à l’école

How do you use “Le” with days of the week in French?

If you are talking about something that you regularly do on the same day, for example always on Monday, or every Tuesday, when using the days of the week in French, you will use “le” in the format “le + day in the singular form”.

In English, this corresponds to the phrasal structure “on + a day of the week in the plural form”, so “on Sundays, on Thursdays”. Here are some examples:

  • On Thursdays, I have piano lessons >> Le jeudi j’ai cours de piano
  • On Wednesdays, I play volleyball >> Le mercredi je joue au volley

Which day? Last, this, or next?

To specify which day you mean, you can ask:

  • Quel mardi? (Which Tuesday?) or Quel jour? (Which day?)

And the answer is likely to be one of these:

  • Ce lundi >> This Monday
  • Mercredi prochain >> Next Wednesday
  • Jeudi dernier >> Last Thursday

Masculine or feminine?

All the weekdays in French are masculine, so if you are pronouncing a sentence with the article, you need to use “le” (singular masculine) or “les” (plural). So you will have:

  • Le lundi
  • Le mardi
  • Le mercredi
  • Le jeudi
  • Le vendredi
  • Le samedi
  • Le dimanche

More week- and day-related words + phrases (with audio)

Here are some other words strictly connected with the French days of the week that you are likely to find in common sentences.

Words

  • Today >> Aujourd’hui
  • Yesterday >> Hier
  • Tomorrow >> Demain
  • Weekend >> Fin de semaine
  • This morning >> Ce matin
  • Last night >> La nuit dernière
  • Tomorrow afternoon >> Demain après-midi
  • This evening >> Ce soir
  • Morning >> Matin
  • Evening >> Soir
  • Afternoon >> Après-midi
  • Night >> Nuit
  • Good night >> Bonne nuit
  • Good morning >> Bonjour

Phrases

  • What day is today? >> Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd’hui?
  • I will call you tomorrow >> Je vais t’appeler demain
  • On Easter day, schools are closed >> Le jour de Pâques, les écoles sont fermées
  • Last night, I couldn’t sleep >> La nuit dernière je n’ai pas trop dormi
  • Yesterday, he turned 20 >> Il a eu vingt ans hier
  • From tomorrow, I’ll be on holiday >> À partir de demain, je serai en vacances
  • Next weekend, I’m off to Italy >> La fin de semaine prochaine, je pars en Italie

How do you say “days of the week” in French?

The word “day” translates in French into “jour” and since it’s plural, it becomes “jours”. The word “week” translates into “semaine”. So, “days of the week” in French translates into “les jours de la semaine”. Here is how you pronounce it:

Traditional sayings with the days of the week in French

  • Petit lundi, grosse semaine. This translates into “small Monday, fat week”, and means
  • Jeudi arrive, et la semaine est finie. This roughly translates into “when Thursday arrives, the week is over”.
  • Le dimanche efface la rouille de toute la semaine. This translates into “Sunday deletes the rust of the whole week”.
  • La semaine du travailleur a sept jours, la semaine du paresseux a sept demains. This means “the worker’s week has seven days, the week of the lazy has seven tomorrows”.

French children’s song to learn the days of the week in French (video)

Lyrics:

Lundi,
Les canards vont à la mare, mare, mare…
Mardi,
Ils s’en vont jusqu’à la mer, mer, mer…
Mercredi,
Ils organisent un grand jeu, jeu, jeu…
Jeudi,
Ils se promènent dans le vent, vent, vent…
Vendredi,
Ils se dandinent comme ça, ça, ça…
Samedi,
Ils se lavent à ce qu’on dit, dit, dit…
Dimanche,
Ils se reposent et voient la vie en rose…
La semaine recommencera demain, coin, coin.

about me: Angela Corrias
About the author

I'm Angela Corrias, an Italian journalist, photographer, and travel writer located in the heart of Italy's capital. Welcome to my website, your comprehensive source for your travels and expert guidance for crafting your dream travel experience.

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