In French, one of the most important words to know is aujourd’hui (today). The reason we’re doing a post on this word is that the pronunciation can be a bit hard for beginners. Try pronouncing it like this “oh-jour-dwee”. Keep reading and repeat along with the example sentences.
aujourd’hui
today
Aujourd’hui Meaning & Pronunciation
Origin of the word aujourd’hui
The word aujourd’hui is built around the ancient French word hui (or hoi) which came from the Latin word hodie (meaning the day one is today).
Around the word hui, the words le jour (the day) were added to make le jour d’hui (the day of today). Then, in the 14th century the prepositions pour (for) and au (to or at) were added. Hence, “aujourd’hui”. For a time in the 16th and 17th centuries hui was written with a -y: aujourdhuy and aujourd’huy.
Example sentences
Here are some example sentences using aujourd’hui in French.
Est-ce que vous partez en vacances aujourd’hui ?
Are you going on vacation today?
In this second example sentence, tu m’invites translates literally to “you invite me” but really means “you’re treating me”. We’re loosely translated au restaurant to mean “to dinner”.
Aujourd’hui c’est mon anniversaire ! Tu m’invites au restaurant ?
Today’s my birthday! Are you treating me to dinner?
La Coupe du Monde, c’est aujourd’hui ou demain?
Is the World Cup today or tomorrow?
Je ne mange plus de sucre à partir d’aujourd’hui !
I’m not eating sugar anymore starting today!
The next example sentence has do with telling the date in French.
Quelle est la date d’aujourd’hui ?
What is the date today?
Our final example sentence is actually an expression.
C’est pour aujourd’hui ou pour demain !
S*** or get off the pot! / What are you waiting for? Christmas?
Conclusion
Et voilà ! You now know how to use aujourd’hui (today) in French. Now check out our similar lesson covering the word demain (tomorrow).
References
