# Months in French — All 12 With Pronunciation, Plus the Seasons

> The months in French are **janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, août,
> septembre, octobre, novembre, décembre** — and none of them are capitalised. To say
> a date, use *le* + a plain number + the month (*le 3 mars*); only the first of the
> month is different (*le premier janvier*).

Canonical page: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/months-in-french
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Updated: 2026-08-27

## All twelve months

| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| janvier | zhahn-vee-AY | January |
| février | fay-vree-AY | February |
| mars | MARSS — the s *is* pronounced | March |
| avril | ah-VREEL | April |
| mai | MAY | May |
| juin | zhoo-AN | June |
| juillet | zhwee-YAY | July |
| août | OOT | August |
| septembre | sep-TAHM-bruh | September |
| octobre | ok-TOH-bruh | October |
| novembre | noh-VAHM-bruh | November |
| décembre | day-SAHM-bruh | December |

French writes months in **lower case** everywhere — *le 3 mars*, never *le 3 Mars*. Days of
the week and the seasons follow the same rule.

## The two that trip everyone up

- **mars** — French normally swallows a final *s*, but this one keeps it: MARSS, near the
  English word "farce".
- **août** — one syllable, not three: OOT. The *a* and the *û* melt into a single "oo".
  Some speakers drop the final *t* and say plain "oo"; both are correct.

The four *-bre* months (septembre, octobre, novembre, décembre) all end on the same soft
*-bruh*, so learning one gets you four.

## Saying a date

- **In a month** → *en janvier*, or the slightly more formal *au mois de janvier*
  ("in the month of January"). *Mon anniversaire est en juillet* = my birthday is in July.
- **A specific date** → *le* + a plain counting number + the month: *le 3 mars* (the 3rd of
  March), *le 14 juillet*, *le 25 décembre*. Not "third", not "fourth" — just three, four.
- **The one exception** → the first of the month takes an ordinal: *le premier janvier*
  (January 1st), written *le 1er janvier*.
- **Order** → French puts the day before the month, like British English: *le 3 mars* =
  3 March. In figures, a French 06/07 is the 6th of July, not the 7th of June.
- **What today is** → *Nous sommes le 3 mars*, or casually *On est le 3 mars*.

## The four seasons

| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le printemps | pran-TAHM | spring |
| l'été | lay-TAY | summer |
| l'automne | loh-TUN | autumn / fall |
| l'hiver | lee-VEHR | winter |

Saying **in** a season: three take *en*, and *printemps* alone takes *au*.

| Say this | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| au printemps | oh pran-TAHM | in spring |
| en été | ahn nay-TAY | in summer |
| en automne | ahn noh-TUN | in autumn |
| en hiver | ahn nee-VEHR | in winter |

The other three all begin with a vowel sound (the *h* in *hiver* is silent), which is why
*en* links straight onto them. *Printemps* opens on a consonant and takes *au* instead.
Seasons are never capitalised either.

## FAQ

**What are the months in French?**
In order: janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, août, septembre, octobre,
novembre, décembre. None of them take a capital letter.

**Are months capitalized in French?**
No. French writes months in lower case wherever they appear — le 3 mars, not le 3 Mars.
Days of the week and the seasons follow the same rule.

**How do you say the date in French?**
Use le + a plain number + the month: le 3 mars is the 3rd of March. The only exception is
the first of the month, which uses an ordinal: le premier janvier. French puts the day
before the month.

**How do you pronounce août?**
Roughly OOT. The a and the û melt into one "oo" sound, so it is a single syllable, not
three. Some French speakers drop the final t and say simply "oo" — both are correct.

**How do you say "in summer" and "in spring" in French?**
In summer is en été, and in spring is au printemps. Printemps is the only season that takes
au — été, automne and hiver all take en.

## Related guides

- Days of the week in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/days-of-the-week-in-french
- Colours in French: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/colors-in-french
- Common French phrases: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides/common-french-phrases
- All guides: https://cocoonfrench.com/guides