📅 How to say the date in French? – Mastering the Art of Telling the Date in French

Knowing how to say the date is a must in French — whether you’re booking a hotel, filling in a form, or just talking about your birthday. Luckily, once you know the pattern, it’s simple.

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1. The Basic Formula

👉 Le + [day] + [month] + [year]

Examples:

• Le 5 mai 2024 → May 5th, 2024

• Le 14 juillet 1789 → July 14th, 1789

⚠️ Unlike English, French doesn’t use ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd…) for dates. Only le premier (the first) is special.

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2. Saying the Day of the Month

• le 1er janvier → January 1st

• le 2 janvier → January 2nd

• le 15 mars → March 15th

👉 Only 1 uses le premier. All other days use regular cardinal numbers.

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3. The Months in French

• janvier → January

• février → February

• mars → March

• avril → April

• mai → May

• juin → June

• juillet → July

• août → August

• septembre → September

• octobre → October

• novembre → November

• décembre → December

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4. The Days of the Week

• lundi → Monday

• mardi → Tuesday

• mercredi → Wednesday

• jeudi → Thursday

• vendredi → Friday

• samedi → Saturday

• dimanche → Sunday

👉 To say on Monday, January 5th:

• Lundi 5 janvier (without “le”).

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5. Talking About the Year

In French, years are said as full numbers:

• 2024 → deux mille vingt-quatre

• 1998 → mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-huit

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6. Useful Phrases with Dates

• Aujourd’hui, nous sommes le… → Today is the…

• Demain, nous serons le… → Tomorrow will be the…

• Quelle est la date aujourd’hui ? → What’s the date today?

• Mon anniversaire est le… → My birthday is on…

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7. Examples

• Aujourd’hui, nous sommes le 2 octobre 2025. → Today is October 2nd, 2025.

• Mon anniversaire est le 10 juin. → My birthday is on June 10th.

• Nous partons le 1er août. → We’re leaving on August 1st.

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Quick Recap

• Formula = le + number + month + year

• Only 1st = le premier

• Months and days are not capitalized in French

• Years are read in full (2001 = deux mille un)

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✅ Practice Challenge: Write today’s date in French and say it aloud. Then try your birthday.

Useful links:

• French from the beginning: Days of the week
• French test for beginners (free) | Days of the week in French
• Easy French Words for Beginners: Days of the week, months, seasons
• Sentences in French with english translation: Days of the week

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