After learning to count and tell time, I’m ready to dive into how the French mark their calendars. Knowing how to say the days of the week and months of the year seems essential, especially if I ever need to book a reservation or schedule a meeting in French. Plus, it’ll come in handy when I get to talking about birthdays, holidays, or even planning a trip.
Days of the Week: Les Jours de la Semaine
First up are the days of the week, which are all masculine in French. Here’s how they go:
- Lundi (Monday) – sounds like lun-dee.
- Mardi (Tuesday) – like mar-dee, but without the American “r.”
- Mercredi (Wednesday) – this one’s tricky: mehr-cre-dee.
- Jeudi (Thursday) – say it like zheu-dee, with a soft “j.”
- Vendredi (Friday) – almost like vawn-druh-dee.
- Samedi (Saturday) – sam-dee, easy to remember.
- Dimanche (Sunday) – dee-mahnsh, with a bit of a nasal sound.
French weeks start on Monday (lundi), which makes a lot of sense, especially when planning for the week ahead. Each day’s name has a Latin origin, often linked to planets or gods, like lundi (the moon) and mardi (Mars). It’s interesting to see how ancient history lingers in everyday words.
Months of the Year: Les Mois de l’Année
The months are straightforward, with only slight pronunciation differences from English:
- Janvier (January) – sounds like zhahn-vee-ay.
- Février (February) – feh-vree-ay, rolling that “r.”
- Mars (March) – pronounced just like in English!
- Avril (April) – say it like ah-vreel.
- Mai (May) – easy, it’s just meh.
- Juin (June) – say zhwa with a soft “j.”
- Juillet (July) – pronounced zhwee-ay.
- Août (August) – a short, almost clipped oot.
- Septembre (September) – similar to English but with a French twist.
- Octobre (October) – also close to the English version.
- Novembre (November) – noh-vahm-bruh.
- Décembre (December) – day-sahm-bruh.
It’s worth noting that French months aren’t capitalized unless they start a sentence. Small details like this help immerse in the language’s rules, making it feel less foreign over time.
Vocabulary for the Day:
- Aujourd’hui (today)
- Demain (tomorrow)
- Hier (yesterday)
- La semaine (week)
- Le mois (month)
- L’année (year)
- Un rendez-vous (an appointment/meeting)
- Un anniversaire (birthday)
Cultural Insight: French Holidays
While learning the months, I couldn’t resist checking out a few French holidays. It turns out that the French are big on celebrating la Fête Nationale (Bastille Day) on July 14th, which marks the French Revolution. Another important date is La Toussaint (All Saints’ Day) on November 1st, a time for remembering loved ones.
Practice in Action: Planning a Future Trip
To put today’s new vocabulary into practice, I decided to “plan” an imaginary trip to Paris. I imagined booking a flight for mars (March), with an arrival on lundi (Monday). I mentally penciled in a rendez-vous with the Eiffel Tower and a walk along the Seine. It might not be real (yet), but talking about these plans in French made them feel more attainable.
“Je voudrais réserver un billet pour Paris en mars, s’il vous plaît.”
(I’d like to book a ticket to Paris in March, please.)
Common Pitfalls:
- Confusing “samedi” and “dimanche”: It’s easy to mix up Saturday and Sunday, but just remember: samedi comes before dimanche.
- Forgetting to lowercase months and days: In English, it’s natural to capitalize them, but French is different.
Tomorrow, I’m diving into basic verbs and some essential phrases for everyday life. It’s time to learn how to do things in French. À demain!
