MONTHS OF THE YEAR / LES MOIS DE L’ANNEE
| January | janvier | /ʒɑ̃vje/ |
| February | février | /fevʀije/ |
| March | mars | /maʀs/ |
| April | avril | /avʀil/ |
| May | mai | /mɛ/ |
| June | juin | /ʒɥɛ̃/ |
| July | juillet | /ʒɥijɛ/ |
| August | août | /u(t)/ |
| September | septembre | /sɛptɑ̃bʀ/ |
| October | octobre | /ɔktɔbʀ/ |
| November | novembre | /nɔvɑ̃bʀ/ |
| December | décembre | /desɑ̃bʀ/ |
| month | le mois | /lə mwa/ |
| year | l’an (as an ‘unit’) / l’année (duration) | /lɑ̃/ /lane/ |
| decade | la décennie | /deseni/ |
| century | le siècle | /lə sjɛkl/ |
| millennium | le millénaire | /milenɛʀ/ |
To express in a certain month, such as in May, use en before the month as in “en mai.” With dates, the ordinal numbers are not used, except for the first of the month: le premier mai but le deux juin. Also note that months are all masculine and not capitalized in French (same as days of the week).
Exemple: DATE OF THE DAY: Le mercredi 7 juillet
DAYS OF THE WEEK / LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINE
Monday = Lundi
Tuesday = Mardi
Wednesday = Mercredi
Thursday = Jeudi
Friday = Vendredi
Saturday = Samedi
Sunday = Dimanche
| day | le jour (as an ‘unit’) / La journée (duration) | /lə ʒuʀ/ |
| week | la semaine | /la s(ə)mɛn/ |
| today | aujourd’hui | /oʒuʀdɥi/ |
| yesterday | hier | /jɛʀ/ |
| tomorrow | demain | /dəmɛ̃/ |
| next | prochain / prochaine | /pʀɔʃɛ̃/ /pʀɔʃɛn/ |
| last | dernier / dernière | /dɛʀnje/ /dɛʀnjɛʀ/ |
| day before yesterday | avant-hier | /avɑ̃tjɛʀ/ |
| day after tomorrow | après-demain | /apʀɛdmɛ̃/ |
| the following day | le lendemain | /lə lɑ̃dəmɛ̃/ |
| the day before | la veille | /la vɛj/ |
Articles are not used before days, except to express something that happens habitually on a certain day, such as le lundi= on Mondays. Days of the week are all masculine in gender and they are not capitalized in writing.
SEASONS / LES SAISONS
| Summer | l’été | /lete/ | in the summer | en été | /ɑ̃ nete/ |
| Fall | l’automne | /lotɔn/ | in the fall | en automne | /ɑ̃ notɔn/ |
| Winter | l’hiver | /livɛʀ/ | in the winter | en hiver | /ɑ̃ nivɛʀ/ |
| Spring | le printemps | /lə pʀɛ̃tɑ̃/ | in the spring | au printemps | /o prɛ̃tɑ̃/ |
TIME / LE TEMPS (HEURE)
| What time is it? | Quelle heure est-il ? | /kɛl œʀ ɛ til/ |
| It is… | Il est… | /il ɛ/ |
| one o’clock | une heure | /yn œʀ/ |
| two o’clock | deux heures | /dø zœʀ/ |
| noon | midi | /midi/ |
| midnight | minuit | /minɥi/ |
| a quarter after three | trois heures et quart | /tʀwɑ zœʀ e kaʀ/ |
| one o’clock sharp | une heure précise | /yn œʀ pʀesiz/ |
| four o’clock sharp | quatre heures précises | /katʀœʀ pʀesiz/ |
| twelve thirty | midi (minuit) et demi | /midi (minɥi) e dəmi/ |
| six thirty | six heures et demie | /si zœʀ e dəmi/ |
| a quarter to seven | sept heures moins le quart | /sɛt œʀ mwɛ̃ lə kaʀ/ |
| five twenty | cinq heures vingt | /sɛ̃k œʀ vɛ̃/ |
| ten fifty | onze heures moins dix | /ɔ̃z œʀ mwɛ̃ dis/ |
| in the morning/AM | du matin | /dy matɛ̃/ |
| in the afternoon/PM | de l’après-midi | /də lapʀɛmidi/ |
| in the evening/PM | du soir | /dy swaʀ/ |
Official French time is expressed as military time (24 hour clock.) You can only use regular numbers, and not demi, quart, etc. when reporting time with the 24 hour system. For example, if it is 18h30, you must say dix-huit heures trente. The word pile /pil/ is also a more informal way of saying précise (exactly, sharp).