Bonjour, mes amis! If you happen to’ve ever puzzled the way to write a date in French, you’re in the correct place. Whether or not you’re planning a visit to a French-speaking nation, studying the language, or trying to broaden your cultural information, understanding the way to categorical dates in French is vital. It’s totally different than how we do it within the U.S., and even after a decade of dwelling in France, I nonetheless double verify once I’m studying and writing a French date.
Learn how to write a date in French
Numbers had been the bane of my existence the primary couple of years in France when attempting to get a deal with on this lovely international language. From the stress of studying numbers over 70 (sure, they get difficult), to having the ability to decipher French handwriting, to the training curve of claiming and writing French telephone numbers in actual time, numbers can throw a French newbie for a loop.
That will help you get somewhat bit extra comfy with all issues numbers, let’s flip to how the French write dates.
Let me stroll you thru the fundamentals of writing dates in French, together with the format, pronunciation, and a few frequent phrases you should use.
1. The fundamental French date format
In the USA, the date format we use is MM/DD/YYYY. The American format is the month, adopted by the day, adopted by the 12 months. In France and most different European nations, dates are written in a barely totally different format.
In France, the format is day/month/12 months (JJ/MM/AAAA). For instance, right now’s date in French is September 28, 2023 it it might be written 09/28/2023 within the U.S. however it might be 28/09/2023 in France. That’s the principle distinction.
Additionally, within the U.S., generally we’ll drop the zero for months and days below 10 and shorten the 12 months (9/27/23) however in French, months and days smaller than 10 are at all times written with the 0. So it’s 27/09/2023.
Folks generally shorten the 12 months to the final two digits like we do within the U.S.
The rationale for this format is as a result of in French, you say the date main with the day first. For instance, it’s le 21 novembre. Saying the date with the month first, novembre 21 isn’t an possibility in French like it might be in English.
In English, we will say one thing like “we’re leaving on the twenty first of November” or “we’re leaving November twenty first.” Each can be right. Not in French.
For French dates that include days on the twelfth or earlier than, I take further care to verify I’m understanding the French date appropriately because it’s simple to mistake days 1-12 for the month in case you aren’t paying consideration. It’s simple to acknowledge my birthday 31/12/2023 as December 31 since there are solely 12 months and it’s clear that 31 is the day.
However within the case of Tom’s birthday, which is September 8, I at all times make sure that I’m not writing August 9 accidentally. His birthday is 08/09/2023 in French. However in case you aren’t accustomed to the French date format otherwise you learn it or write it rapidly, you is perhaps tempted to jot down 09/08/23, which is August ninth in France (and September 8 within the U.S.).
Transposing the numbers accidently used to occur extra my first couple of years in France, however finally you get the cling of it and the French means turns into second nature.
Appears easy sufficient, proper? Writing and saying dates in French is a breeze! However wait, there’s extra.
2. Months in French
To write down dates in French precisely, you’ll have to know the names of the months as properly. Right here’s an inventory of the months in English and their French translations. Observe that in French, months are at all times lowercase and never capitalized like in English (identical with days of the week). No capital letter is required.
Hearken to my French husband Tom saying the months (simply press the play button icon):
– January: janvier
– February: février
– March: mars
– April: avril
– Might: mai
– June: juin
– July: juillet
– August: août
– September: septembre
– October: octobre
– November: novembre
– December: décembre
3. Pronunciation
Now that the format and months, let’s speak about the way to say the dates in French. Saying dates is comparatively easy, however there are some things to bear in mind:
– When saying the day of the month, use “le” earlier than the quantity. For instance, “le vingt-cinq” means “the twenty-fifth.” So le 25 novembre.
– When saying the month by itself, you don’t want to make use of “le” earlier than it. For instance, “janvier” is just “janvier” and never “le janvier.”
– When saying the 12 months 2023, it’s sometimes stated deux-mille-vingt-trois (which is 2 thousand twenty three. You don’t say vingt vingt-trois (20, 23).
Placing all of it collectively, you’ll say the complete date “le vingt-deux janvier deux-mille vingt-trois” for January 22, 2023.
4. Some frequent phrases
Now you can write and pronounce dates in French, listed here are a couple of frequent phrases you would possibly discover helpful:
– Aujourd’hui, c’est le 5 septembre 2023. (Immediately is September 5, 2023.)
– Mon anniversaire est le 11 juillet. (My birthday is July eleventh.)
– Le 1er janvier, c’est le jour de l’an en France. (January 1st is New 12 months’s Day in France.)
– Le 14 février, c’est la Saint-Valentin. (February 14th is Valentine’s Day.)
– We’re going there from September 10-15. On y va du 10 au 15 septembre. (it’s du since you’re saying “from the,” which is de+le=du, and au as a result of it’s à+le=au)
–Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd’hui ? (“On est/nous sommes quel jour aujourd’hui” is heard in on a regular basis casual French) That is asking, “What day is right now?” Observe that a method of asking what day it’s in French is actually phrased as “we.” We’re what day right now?). You too can say: Quelle est la date aujourd’hui ? (What’s the date right now?) Observe that in French, there’s an area earlier than the query mark.
-For the primary day of the month, equivalent to le 1er janvier, notice that it’s at all times an ordinal quantity (first) and never a cardinal quantity (one) in each written in spoken French. My instance there’s pronounced “le premier janvier” and never “le un janvier.” For the second and so forth, use cardinal numbers (ordinal numbers aren’t used).
Additionally notice that there’s by no means a “de” like we’d use “of” in English. We don’t say “the primary of January” (le 1er de janvier) in French. It’s “le premier janvier” (no of)
5. Variations and regional variations
It’s value noting that whereas the day/month/12 months format is the commonest in France, there are variations in different French-speaking nations. As an example, in Canada, it’s frequent to see the day/month/12 months format with hyphens as a substitute of slashes (e.g., 25-01-2023).
6. Abbreviations for months of the 12 months
In casual writing and speech, you could encounter abbreviations for months in French. Listed here are the abbreviated types of the months:
– Janvier: janv.
– Février: févr.
– Mars: mars
– Avril: avr.
– Mai: mai
– Juin: juin
– Juillet: juil.
– Août: août
– Septembre: sept.
– Octobre: oct.
– Novembre: nov.
– Décembre: déc.
Utilizing these abbreviations can prevent time and area when writing dates casually.
Picture credit score: www.depositphotos.com / ciaobucarest 26410275
7. French days of the week
Whereas we’re on the subject of time, let’s not neglect the times of the week (les jours de la semaine). Listed here are the times of the week in French.
You’ll be able to hearken to Tom saying the names of the times of the week (simply press the play button):
– Monday: lundi
– Tuesday: mardi
– Wednesday: mercredi
– Thursday: jeudi
– Friday: vendredi
– Saturday: samedi
– Sunday: dimanche
If you happen to’re saying the day of the week, you don’t use “le” earlier than it. It’s simply, “Aujourd’hui, c’est jeudi” (Immediately is Thursday). Observe: The one exception while you put “le” earlier than a day by itself is in case you’re saying that one thing occurs recurrently on Mondays, for instance. “I solely work on Mondays” is Je ne travaille que le lundi. Generally you’ll hear folks say “les lundis” as properly.
You need to use days together with dates and it might seem like this.
Immediately is Friday, September 29, 2023. Aujourd’hui nous sommes le vendredi 29 septembre 2023.
8. Use preposition “en” to imply “in”
If you wish to say you had been born in December, use en for “in.” You’d write and say Je suis né(e) en décembre. The identical goes for the 12 months. Je suis née en 1987. Don’t use dans (which implies “in” however in different contexts).
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Voilà! You’re properly in your technique to changing into a professional at writing dates in French identical to French folks do. Whether or not you’re jotting down your journey itinerary, planning with a French-speaking good friend, or just studying extra in regards to the lovely French language and tradition, figuring out the way to write dates in French is a invaluable addition to your language expertise.
Bear in mind to apply writing and saying dates to develop into extra comfy with the format and French pronunciation. As with every language, apply makes progress and also you’ll acquire confidence alongside the best way.
Hope you loved studying the way to write the date in French. Go on and make your French instructor proud!
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