🔊 Jump to examples now
👉 See also: French days of the week »
Level A1 (Beginner)
Published March 8, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
The French Word of the Day is mercredi, meaning “Wednesday.” I chose this word for today’s lesson because many students find its pronunciation difficult due to the two French R sounds. Listen to Marie’s audio and you’ll get it: “mehr-kruh-dee.”
📘 Mercredi meaning in French
Mercredi means “Wednesday” in French and is the fourth day of the week. To say “on Wednesday,” French usually uses mercredi without a preposition (Je travaille mercredi — I work on Wednesday). To specify a particular Wednesday, use ce mercredi (this Wednesday), while le mercredi means “on Wednesdays” or “every Wednesday.” The word mercredi comes from Latin Mercurii dies, meaning “day of Mercury,” the Roman messenger god.
🎧 Mercredi pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of mercredi is /mɛʁ.kʁə.di/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “mehr-kruh-dee.”
📝 Mercredi usage examples
Elle m’a dit qu’elle viendrait mercredi soir.
She told me that she would come Wednesday evening.
Il faut que je travaille ce mercredi.
I have to work this Wednesday.
Je finirai ce projet avant mercredi prochain.
I will finish this project before next Wednesday.
👉 See also: Finir conjugation chart (with audio) »
Le mercredi, je préfère étudier le français.
On Wednesdays, I prefer to study French.
The French days of the week can cause lots of confusion among students as they have very specific rules.
👉 See also: French days of the week (with Marie’s audio) »
❓ Want to feel more confident in French?
🎯 À Moi Paris — This is my top recommendation for online French courses, and it pairs wonderfully with my daily lessons. Camille Chevalier teaches with engaging audio stories that she records at three speeds. Her specialty is helping students with pronunciation and bridging the gap between textbook French and real spoken French as you hear it on the streets of Paris.
👉 Explore À Moi Paris »
👉 Read my review »
🎧 French Verb Drills — Having trouble with French verb conjugations? Camille’s audio drills break everything down step by step so you can finally lock in the patterns and speak with confidence.
If you purchase the courses, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.
🔗 Related words and expressions
- lundi — Monday
- mardi — Tuesday
- jeudi — Thursday
- vendredi — Friday
- samedi — Saturday
- dimanche — Sunday
- le jour — day (unit of time)
- la journée — day (duration of time)
- la semaine — week
- le week-end — the weekend
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 French days of the week »
👉 French months of the year »
👉 Saying the date in French »
👉 Aujourd’hui (today) »
👉 Demain (tomorrow) »
