Unlike English, French does NOT capitalize days or months. Dates are written day-month-year, and seasons take a definite article.
Days of the week
All masculine, all lowercase. The French week starts on Monday.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| lundi | Monday |
| mardi | Tuesday |
| mercredi | Wednesday |
| jeudi | Thursday |
| vendredi | Friday |
| samedi | Saturday |
| dimanche | Sunday |
Months of the year
All masculine, all lowercase.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| janvier | January |
| février | February |
| mars | March |
| avril | April |
| mai | May |
| juin | June |
| juillet | July |
| août | August |
| septembre | September |
| octobre | October |
| novembre | November |
| décembre | December |
Seasons
All masculine. Use 'au' for printemps, 'en' for the others.
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| le printemps | spring | au printemps |
| l'été | summer | en été |
| l'automne | fall | en automne |
| l'hiver | winter | en hiver |
Dates and useful phrases
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Quelle est la date ? | What's the date? | |
| C'est le 14 juillet 2026 | It's July 14, 2026 | |
| le premier mai | May 1st | Only 'premier' uses ordinal; the rest use cardinal numbers |
| lundi prochain | next Monday | |
| le lundi | on Mondays | With 'le', it means every Monday |
Tips to memorize this list faster
- Never capitalize days or months in French — that's the most common beginner mistake.
- Dates use cardinal numbers except for the first of the month (le premier).
- When writing dates in figures, French uses day/month/year: 14/07/2026.