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Dates and Days
The French days of the week are lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche, and the months run from janvier to décembre — none of them ever take a capital letter. Dates use le plus a plain number: le deux mai, with one exception, the first of the month: le premier mai.
Two small systems — the word lists and the le-plus-number pattern — cover everything from diary entries to train tickets.
In short
- Days and months are lowercase: lundi, janvier — never Lundi, Janvier.
- A date is le + plain number + month: le deux mai. Only the first is an ordinal: le premier mai.
- Bare lundi = "on Monday" (once); le lundi = "on Mondays" (every week). Years take en: en 2026.
date with leday or month namehabitual le (every Monday)en + year· hover a highlighted word for its label
The days of the week
The week starts on Monday in French calendars. All seven names are masculine and written in lowercase — the missing capital is the rule English speakers forget most.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| lundi | Monday |
| mardi | Tuesday |
| mercredi | Wednesday |
| jeudi | Thursday |
| vendredi | Friday |
| samedi | Saturday |
| dimanche | Sunday |
Today is Tuesday.
— Day names like mardi stay lowercase even mid-sentence.
The months and the year
Months are lowercase too. The year takes en on its own: en 2026, en 1998.
Elle est née en 1998.
| 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 |
Saying the date: le + plain number
English says "the third of May"; French counts plainly: le trois mai. How the numbers themselves are built and spelled is covered under french numbers.
- Date = le + plain number + month: le vingt-trois avril.
- The first of the month is the only ordinal: le premier mai — never le un mai.
- The year takes en on its own: en 2026. A full date stacks day, number, month, year: le mardi 2 juin 2026.
My birthday is May 2nd.
— le deux is a plain number where English says "the second".
Shops are closed on January 1st.
— The one exception: the first of the month keeps the ordinal le premier.
The wedding will take place on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026.
— A full date runs in one breath: le mardi 2 juin 2026 — le, day, number, month, year.
Lundi vs le lundi: one Monday or every Monday
English "on Monday" has no preposition in French — the bare day name does the job. Adding le turns it into a weekly habit: le lundi = "on Mondays".
I’m working on Monday.
— Bare lundi points at one specific Monday — usually the coming one.
The museum is closed on Mondays.
— le lundi means every Monday, as a rule.
Asking and writing the date
To ask the date, use Quel jour sommes-nous ? (see quel and quelle) or, informally, On est quel jour ? The answer reuses the le pattern. For clock time — Quelle heure est-il ? — see telling time.
In writing, French puts the day first: day/month/year. So 03/05 is le 3 mai, not March 5th — a trap worth double-checking on tickets and deadlines.
What’s the date? — It’s March 3rd.
— The answer keeps the plain number: le trois, not a "third".
Common mistakes
✗On se voit Lundi prochain.
✓On se voit lundi prochain.
Days and months never take a capital letter in French: lundi, mardi, janvier.
✗Son anniversaire est le trois de mai.
✓Son anniversaire est le trois mai.
French puts the month straight after the number, with no "of": le trois mai.
✗La réunion est le deuxième avril.
✓La réunion est le deux avril.
Only the first of the month uses an ordinal (le premier); every other date is a plain number.
Check yourself
1 / 3"My birthday is May 1st" — Mon anniversaire est ___.
2 / 3The restaurant is closed every Monday — Le restaurant est fermé ___.
3 / 3In a French email, 03/05 means ___.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say the date in French?
With le plus a plain number plus the month: le deux mai, le vingt-trois avril. Only the first of the month uses an ordinal: le premier mai. A full date stacks everything: le mardi 2 juin 2026.
Are days of the week capitalized in French?
No. Days (lundi, mardi…) and months (janvier, février…) are written in lowercase, except at the start of a sentence. Writing Lundi or Janvier mid-sentence is a spelling mistake.
How do you say "on Monday" in French?
With the bare day name, no preposition: Je travaille lundi ("I’m working on Monday"). Adding le makes it habitual: le lundi means "on Mondays", every week.
How do you ask what the date is in French?
Quel jour sommes-nous ?, or informally On est quel jour ? You can also ask Quelle est la date aujourd’hui ? The answer uses le plus the number: Nous sommes le trois mars.
Memory tip
If English capitalizes it (Monday, May), French almost certainly doesn’t: lundi, mai. And where English says "the third of May", French just counts: le trois mai — only le premier keeps its ordinal.
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