The days of the week in French are: lundi (Monday), mardi (Tuesday), mercredi (Wednesday), jeudi (Thursday), vendredi (Friday), samedi (Saturday) and dimanche (Sunday).
French days of the week
(hold phone in landscape)
| Day | Audio |
|---|---|
| lundi Monday | |
| mardi Tuesday | |
| mercredi Wednesday | |
| jeudi Thursday | |
| vendredi Friday | |
| samedi Saturday | |
| dimanche Sunday |
Days of the week pronunciation notes
Three of the days of the week, lundi (Monday), vendredi (Friday) and dimanche (Sunday), all contain some nasal sounds which are difficult to pronounce.
The un in lundi (Monday) is totally nasal and you do not make an actual -n sound. This means that the tip of your tongue does not touch the roof of your month.
The en in vendredi (Friday) is also nasal. Again, you do not make an “-n” sound where the tongue touches the roof of your mouth.
Please note before reading the page that both en and an in French have the same nasal sound: [ɑ̃].
The an in dimanche (Sunday) is also completely nasal. the an in dimanche and en in the previously mentioned vendredi are the same nasal sound.
How to make sentences with the days of the week in French
This Monday, this Friday, on Monday, on Friday, etc.
When expressing actions which will occur on a day “this week”, the particular day of the week does not need a preposition. For example:
- J’arrive vendredi. I’m arriving (on) Friday.
- La réunion est mardi. The meeting is on Tuesday.
Notice we didn’t say, “J’arrive ce vendredi”. The “ce” means “this” and is a demonstrative adjective (link offers complete lesson on this site).
However, to make your point to emphasize “this Friday”, you could say:
- J’arrive vendredi de cette semaine. Literal translation: I’m arriving Friday of this week.
Last Monday, last Friday, etc.
To express “last” as in the week day from the previous week, simply follow the day with the word “passé”. For example lundi passé is “last Monday” and vendredi passé is “last Friday”.
Next Monday, next Friday, etc.
To express “next” as in the particular day of the coming week, simply follow the day with the word “prochain”, which means next. For example, lundi prochain (next Monday) or vendredi prochain (next Friday).
On a + day of week
To express “on a + day of week”, use the following construction: “un + day of week”. For example:
- Mon anniversaire tombe sur un jeudi. My birthday is on a Thursday.
- Noël tombe sur un samedi cette année. Christmas is on a Saturday this year.
Notice that the article used for “a” is the masculine “un”. This is because all of the days of the week in French are masculine. This means that none of them take the feminine “une”.
On Mondays, on Fridays, etc.
To express “on + a day of the week in the plural form”, use the following construction: “le + day of the week in the singular form”. For example, “le lundi” means “on Mondays” and “le vendredi” means “on Fridays. For example:
- Je travaille le dimanche. I work on Fridays.
- Je ne travaille pas le lundi. I don’t work on Mondays.
From Monday to Friday
There are two accepted ways to express from one day of the week to another. You can use “de…à” and “du…au”. For example:
- Le magasin est ouvert de lundi à vendredi. The store is open from Monday to Friday.
- Le magasin est ouvert du lundi au vendredi. The store is open from Monday to Friday.
On weekdays, during the week
To say “on weekdays” or “during the week”, use the expression “en semaine” (literal translation: in week). For example:
- Je vais au travail en semaine. I go to work on weekdays.
The French word for “weekday” is either “un jour de semaine” or “un jour en semaine”. For example:
- Peut-on faire la leçon un jour en semaine ? Can we do the lesson on a weekday?
Le week-end
Unfortunately, the French have borrowed the word “weekend” from English to create a horribly ugly anglicism: “le week-end”. Weekend in French can also be written without the hyphen: “le weekend”. For example:
- Qu’est-ce que vous faites le week-end? What do you do on weekends?
- Nous partons en vacances ce week-end. We’re going on vacation this weekend.
In Canada, however, there is a French word for weekend: la fin de semaine (literal translation: the end of the week).
Thus, to wish somebody a good weekend in France, say “bon week-end !”. In Canada, say: “bonne fin de semaine !”.
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