You might have heard that “The date is reversed in French.” But how does it work? What are the exceptions? And how can you sound fluent (and not awkward) when saying the date in French?
Knowing how this tricky part of written and spoken French works is very important if you want to effortlessly navigate everyday French conversations and situations.
For example: if you want to make a reservation to see a play at the theater La Comédie française in Paris for Tuesday, December 15th, how would you say that date in French?
If your train ticket to Carcassonne says: 02/01/2020, what does it mean?
Let’s find out!
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1) Saying the date in french: Days of the week, numbers and months
Dates in French follow much easier rules than other parts of the French language, but you still need to learn them at some point.
In order to say “Tuesday, December 15th,” you need to know how to say… well, “Tuesday,” “December,” and “Fifteen” !
If you already know your French days, months and numbers sur le bout des doigts (= perfectly, or “on your fingertips” as we say in French), skip ahead to section 2 of this lesson.
A French week is made of:
- Lundi = Monday
- Mardi = Tuesday
- Mercredi = Wednesday
- Jeudi = Thursday
- Vendredi = Friday
- Samedi = Saturday
- Dimanche = Sunday
Numbers are more complicated, there’s more of them! For example:
- Un = 1
- Deux = 2
- Six = 6
- Onze = 11
- Douze = 12
- Quinze = 15
- Trente = 30
- Trente-et-un = 31
French months are easier, as there are only 12 to remember:
- Janvier = January
- Février = February
- Mars = March
- Avril = April
- Mai = May
- Juin = June
- Juillet = July
- Août = August
- Septembre = September
- Novembre = November
- Décembre = December
Learn how to talk about time with more context (like when referring to the time of day, “yesterday”, or “tomorrow”…) with the lesson:
The Days of the Week in French.
Learn more about French numbers with these lessons:
French numbers (0-10): Pronunciation and Expressions
Essential Guide to Counting in French: Rules and pronunciation
Learn more about French months with this lesson:
2) Saying the date in French: Rules, examples, and practice exercises
Une date in French is never a romantic date. It’s always a day of the year.
Here are some examples of dates in French:
- Mardi 15 décembre = Tuesday, December 15th
- Le 15 décembre = December 15th
- Le 15 décembre 2020 = December 15th, 2020
- “On se voit le mardi 15 ?” = Can we meet on tuesday the 15th?
We generally express the date as:
- Day of the week / Number / Month (+ Year) → le mardi 15 décembre (2020)
- “Le” + Number (+ Month / Year) → le 15 = le 15 décembre = le 15 décembre 2020
Normally, the numbers are all “cardinal” (like 1, 2, 3, 4) and not “ordinal” (1st, 2nd, 3rd…).
But there is one key exception: The first day of the month is le 1er (“le premier”) = the 1st.
- Le 1er février = February 1st
And now you understand how to read or say a date in French!
Even with abbreviations, the order remains the same:
Jour / Mois / Année = Day / Month / Year
For example: 15/12/2020 = December 15th, 2020
- Le 6 avril = April 6th
- Mercredi 11 mars = Wednesday, March 11th
- 12/06/2020 = le 12 juin 2020 = June 12th, 2020
- 30-oct.-1983 = le 30 octobre 1983 = October 30th, 1983 (This abbreviation style is unusual but you might find it in some administrative paperwork)
Congratulations! Now you’re ready to use the date in French with all the other numbers, months, and days of the week!
Want to go even further? Learn more with these other lessons:
À tout de suite !
I’ll see you in the next lesson.
In French tradition, a date may also be a “Name day”, “la fête.” Learn more with my lesson: Name day in France
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In the article, there is the example “le mardi 15 décembre (2020)”, and also “Mercredi 11 mars”, without using “le”. Are both correct?
Bonjour @Mike,
Très bonne question. D’habitude, nous n’avons pas besoin d’utiliser l’article devant le jour de la semaine. Par exemple, “Jeudi 28 décembre 2023” ou “Le 28 décembre”. En revanche, si tu souhaites insister sur le jour précis d’un rendez-vous, d’une réunion, etc., il sera tout à fait acceptable d’utiliser l’article. Ainsi, “La réunion aura lieu le jeudi 28 décembre 2023”.
Bonnes fêtes de fin d’année !
Fabien
Comme une Française Team
a question: is it free to say On se voit mardi LE 12 octobre
ou mardi 12 octobre
toujours (sams jour): On se voit LE 12 octobre
Hi Claudia!
“On se voit le 12 octobre” is totally OK.
“On se voit mardi 12 octobre” as well.
“On se voit mardi, le 12 octobre” works if you add a comma (a slight pause) after “mardi” – as if you said “mardi” (which is OK) and then “le 12 octobre” (which is OK too).
We wouldn’t write “mardi, le 12 octobre” though – the date on official documents would rather be “mardi 12 octobre.”
Have a great day,
– Arthur, writer for Comme une Française
Merci beaucoup!
Great lesson, thank you! One note, you forgot the month October on your list 🙂
“French months are easier, as there are only 12 to remember:
Janvier = January
Février = February
Mars = March
Avril = April
Mai = May
Juin = June
Juillet = July
Août = August
Septembre = September
Novembre = November
Décembre = December”
For years I have tried to persuade our animatrice that vingt vingt is acceptable for example, for saying 2020 pas deux milles …
I failed! 😳
Alors, comment dit-on “a romantic date”?
Hi Ann!
– Young people might say “un date” [with English pronunciation of “date”]
– Older people might say “un rendez-vous” (= same word as “meeting / appointement”) or “un rendez-vous galant” (= more specific but way too formal / old-fashioned.) “Un rencard” used to be slang for “a date” but that’s now old-fashioned as well.
So I would advise using “un rendez-vous.” But the fact that there’s no definite translation (and that the English word is gaining ground) reflects the fact that there’s no real “dating” culture. I mean, there is, but it’s different; French dates tend to be less codified / structured / have less pressure than what American dates seem to be. We might make a lesson on this at some point, but it’s a touchy, subtle topic that no one can’t cover completely correctly.
– Arthur, writer for Comme une Française
Bonjour Géraldine, et merci pour cette leçon ! J’écris cette message sur le mercredi 2 décembre 🙂 Ça marche ? 🙂
In British English, the dates are expressed differently; day/date/month, using ordinal numbers e.g. Monday the first of December.
The French format date is the same in other English speaking countries such as UK, Australia, New Zealand. I would be more likely to say that the date is reversed in America. Thankyou Geraldine for another great video and lesson.