< French < Vocabulary

Days of the week

Vocabulary
The days of the week · Les jours de la semaine
FrenchPronunciationEnglishOrigin
lundi/lœ̃di/ (luh(n)-dee)Monday(Moon)
mardi/maʁdi/ (mahr-dee)Tuesday(Mars)
mercredi/mɛʁkʁədi/ (mehr-kruh-dee)Wednesday(Mercury)
jeudi/ʒødi/ (zhew-dee)Thursday(Jupiter)
vendredi/vɑ̃dʁədi/ (vah(n)-druh-dee)Friday(Venus)
samedi/samdi/ (sahm-dee)Saturday(Saturn)
dimanche/dimɑ̃ʃ/ (dee-mah(n)sh)Sunday(Dies Solis, Sun's day)
  • The days of the week are not capitalized in French.
  • The calendar starts on Monday
  • For phrases relating to the day of the week, see the phrasebook.

The Months of the Year

Vocabulary
The months of the year · Les mois de l'année
FrenchPron.English
janvier/ʒɑ̃vje/ (zhah(n)-vyay)January
février/fevʁije/ (fay-vree-yay)February
mars/maʁs/ (mahrs)March
avril/avʁil/ (ahv-reel)April
mai/mɛ/ (meh)May
juin/ʒɥɛ̃/ (zhoo-a(n))June
juillet/ʒɥijɛ/ (zhwee-yeh)July
août/ut/, /u/ (oot/oo)August
septembre/sɛptɑ̃bʁ/ (sehp-tah(n)-br)September
octobre/ɔktɔbʁ/ (ohk-toh-br)October
novembre/nɔvɑ̃bʁ/ (noh-vah(n)-br)November
décembre/desɑ̃bʁ/ (day-sah(n)-br)December
  • The months of the year are not capitalized in French.
  • For phrases relating to the months of the year, see the phrasebook

The Seasons

Vocabulary
The Seasons · Les Saisons
la saison/la sɛ.zɔ̃/ (lah seh-zoh(n))season
le printemps /lə pʁɛ̃.tɑ̃/ (luh pra(n)-tah(n))Spring
l'été (m) /le.te/ (lay-tay)Summer
l'automne (m) /lo.tɔn/ (loh-tohn)Autumn
l'hiver (m) /li.vɛʁ/ (lee-vehr)Winter

Les nombres (adjectifs numéraux cardinaux et ordinaux)

Vocabulary
Numbers · Les nombres
Cardinal Numbers 001-019 Ordinal Numbers 001-010 Cardinal Numbers 020 - 069
#FrenchPron.English#FrenchPronunciationAbbr.English#FrenchPronunciationEnglish
000zérozairozero020vingtvahntwenty
001unuhnone1stpremier(ère)prem me ay (air)1erfirst021vingt et unvahntay uhntwenty-one
002deuxdeuhtwo2nddeuxièmedeuhzee ehm2ièmesecond Numbers twenty-two to twenty-nine are
configured in the form of vingt-[02-09].
For example twenty-two is vingt-deux.
003troistrwahthree3rdtroisièmetrawhzee ehm3ièmethird
004quatrecatrfour4thquatrièmecatree ehm4ièmefourth030trentetrahntthirty
005cinqsankfive5thcinquièmesankee ehm5ièmefifth031trente et untrahntay uhnthirty-one
006sixseesesix6thsixièmeseesee ehm6ièmesixth Numbers thirty-two to thirty-nine are
configured in the form of trente-[02-09].
For example thirty-three is trente-trois.
007septsetseven7thseptièmesetee ehm7ièmeseventh
008huitweeteight8thhuitièmeweetee ehm8ièmeeighth040quarantecahrahntforty
009neufneuhfnine9thneuvièmeneuhvee ehm9ièmeninth041quarante et uncahrahntay uhnforty-one
010dixdeeseten10thdixièmedeezee ehm10ièmetenth Numbers forty-two to forty-nine are
configured in the form of quarante-[02-09].
For example forty-four is quarante-quatre.
011onzeohneleven
012douzedooztweleve050cinquantesankauntefifty
013treizetrehzthirteen051cinquante et unsankauntay uhnfifty-one
014quatorzecatorzfourteen Numbers fifty-two to fifty-nine are
configured in the form of cinquante-[02-09].
For example fifty-five is cinquante-cinq.
015quinzecanzfifteen
016seizesehzsixteen060soixanteswahsahntsixty
017dix-septdeesetseventeen061soixante et unswahsahntay uhnsixty-one
018dix-huitdeezweeteighteen Numbers sixty-two to sixty-nine are
configured in the form of soixante-[02-09].
For example sixty-six is soixante-six.
019dix-neufdeeznufnineteen
  • This pattern changes slightly after the sixties:
    • Numbers seventy to seventy-nine are configured in the form of soixante-[10-19]. For example seventy is soixante-dix (60-10), seventy-three is soixante-treize (60-13), and seventy-seven is soixante-dix-sept (60-10-7).
    • Number eighty is configured in the form of quatre-vingts (4 - 20's) || catr vahn || eighty
    • Numbers eighty-one to ninety-nine are configured in the form of quatre-vingt-[01-19]. For example eighty-one is quatre-vingt-un (4*20-one), ninety is quatre-vingt-dix (4*20-10), and ninety-four is quatre-vingt-quatorze(4*20-14).
  • une dizaine (one ten)
  • une douzaine (one dozen)
cent100une centaine (one hundred)
[deux - neuf] cents200-900
mille1.000un millier (one thousand)
(un) million1.000.000
(un) milliard1.000.000.000
  • The French commonly use '.' instead of ',' to separate thousands.
  • For 70-79, it builds upon "soixante" but past that it builds upon a combination of terms for 80-99.
  • Only the first (21,31,41,51,etc.) have "et un"; but past this it is simply both words consecutively (vingt-six, trente-trois, etc).
  • For 100-199, it looks much like this list already save that "cent" is added before the rest of the number; this continues up to 1000 and onward.

The Time

Vocabulary
The Time · L'heure
FrenchPron.English
l'heure (f)?time, (one) hour, o'clock
une demi-heure?half-hour (half an hour)
le matin?morning
le midi?noon
l'après-midi (m)?afternoon
le soir?night
le minuit?midnight
la journée?daytime
  • Use heure in between the hour and the minutes when telling the time, e.g., Il est cinq heures dix
  • Note that there is no "a.m." or "p.m." in French. Use du matin, de l'après midi, and du soir to disambiguate a given time. "Il est sept heures du soir" makes it clear that it is 7 o'clock at night, and not in the morning. Alternatively, you could use the 24-hour system: "Il est dix-neuf heures" has no ambiguity; time is often expressed in this fashion, particularly in professional/commercial settings.
  • Midi and minuit can be used without an article when telling the time: "Il est midi." (It is noon.)
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