French Months of the Year: Complete Guide With Pronunciation and Origins

The 12 months of the year in French are janvier, février, mars, avril, mai, juin, juillet, août, septembre, octobre, novembre, and décembre. They follow the same Latin calendar roots as English, but with distinctly French pronunciation, including nasal vowels, silent letters, and one famously debated word (août). Whether you're looking up "months in french" for travel, study, or conversation, this guide covers everything you need.

French is spoken by approximately 310 million people across 29 countries on five continents, according to Ethnologue's 2024 data and the OIF's global Francophonie report. Whether you are booking a hotel in Paris, scheduling meetings in Montreal, or reading a Belgian train timetable, the months are essential vocabulary that appears in nearly every written and spoken interaction.

"The names of the months, inherited virtually unchanged from Latin through Old French, represent one of the most stable lexical domains in the history of the French language."

(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language)

This guide covers all 12 months with pronunciation, Latin etymology, grammar rules, cultural events, and the pronunciation traps that catch most learners.

All 12 Months at a Glance

Notice that the last four months (septembre through décembre) all share the -bre ending, pronounced as a soft "bruh." This pattern makes them easy to learn as a group.

Etymology: From Latin to Modern French

Every French month name traces directly back to Latin, passing through Old French with remarkably little change. Understanding these origins helps you remember the names and connects French to its sister Romance languages.

Janvier

From Latin Januarius, honoring Janus, the two-faced Roman god of doorways, beginnings, and transitions. Janus looked simultaneously backward at the old year and forward into the new one. The CNRTL traces the Old French form jenvier appearing as early as the 12th century before settling into modern janvier.

Février

From Latin Februarius, derived from februare (to purify). February was the month of ritual purification in the Roman calendar, when the Lupercalia festival cleansed the city before spring. The accent aigu on the first é is essential; without it, the word does not exist in French.

Mars

From Latin Martius, the month of Mars, the god of war. In the original Roman calendar, March was actually the first month of the year. The Roman agricultural season began with spring planting, making Mars the logical starting point. The final s in French mars is pronounced, unlike in most French words ending in s.

Avril

From Latin Aprilis, possibly related to aperire (to open), referring to the opening of flower buds in spring. The final l is always pronounced in avril, making it "ah-VREEL."

Mai

From Latin Maius, honoring Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and fertility. At one syllable (simply "meh"), mai is the shortest month name in French and one of the easiest to pronounce.

Juin

From Latin Junius, likely honoring Juno, the goddess of marriage and childbirth. The pronunciation "zhwehn" contains one of French's characteristic nasal vowels, where the -in sound resonates through the nose rather than the mouth.

Juillet

From Latin Julius, named after Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Before Caesar's reform, this month was called Quintilis (the fifth month in the original Roman calendar). The -illet ending in French is pronounced "ee-YEH" with a silent final t.

Août

From Latin Augustus, named after Emperor Augustus Caesar. The pronunciation of août is the single most debated pronunciation question in French. The Académie française accepts both "oot" (with the final t) and "oo" (without it). Northern French speakers generally pronounce the t; many southern speakers do not. The circumflex accent on the o (now optional under the 1990 spelling reform) marks a historical u that disappeared from the written form.

Septembre

From Latin September, meaning "seventh month" (septem = seven). This is a relic of the original Roman calendar, where March was the first month. September was indeed the seventh month until January and February were added to the beginning of the calendar around 713 BC.

Octobre

From Latin October ("eighth month," from octo = eight). Like septembre, it preserves the old Roman numbering that no longer matches our calendar.

Novembre

From Latin November ("ninth month," from novem = nine). The nasal vowel in the second syllable makes the pronunciation distinctly French: "noh-VAHM-bruh."

Décembre

From Latin December ("tenth month," from decem = ten). The last of the four "numbered" months, all of which are off by exactly two from their actual position, a permanent reminder that the Roman calendar once started in March.

Pronunciation Guide: Nasal Vowels and Silent Letters

French months contain several pronunciation features that trip up English speakers. Mastering these sounds early prevents bad habits.

Nasal Vowels

Three months feature prominent nasal vowels, a hallmark of French pronunciation where air passes through both the mouth and nose simultaneously:

The key rule: when n or m follows a vowel and precedes a consonant (or ends the word), the vowel becomes nasal and the n/m itself is not pronounced as a separate consonant. So janvier is "zhah(n)-vee-AY" where the (n) nasalizes the a rather than being spoken distinctly.

Silent and Pronounced Final Consonants

French is famous for silent final consonants, but the months contain exceptions that must be memorized:

Grammar: Using Months in Sentences

No Capitalization

The Académie française classifies months as common nouns (noms communs). They are never capitalized in French unless they begin a sentence. Writing Janvier with a capital letter in the middle of a sentence is a spelling error.

• Mon anniversaire est en mars. (My birthday is in March.)
• Mars est le mois du printemps. (March is the month of spring. Capitalized only because it starts the sentence.)

All Masculine

Every month is grammatically masculine. When you need an article, use le:

• le mois de janvier (the month of January)
• le beau mois de mai (the beautiful month of May)

Prepositions: "En" and "Au mois de"

To say "in [month]," French offers two constructions:

Never use dans to say "in a month." The correct preposition is always en: en février, en octobre, en décembre.

Writing Dates

French dates follow the day-month-year order, the opposite of American English:

• le 14 juillet 2026 = July 14, 2026
• le 1er janvier = January 1st (the only date that uses an ordinal: premier)
• le 25 décembre = December 25th (cardinal number, not ordinal)

In numeric format, France uses dd/mm/yyyy: 14/07/2026. This is a common source of confusion for English speakers: 03/04/2026 means April 3rd in France, not March 4th.

Cultural Calendar: Key Events by Month

Understanding which months matter culturally helps you connect vocabulary to real French life. Here are the events that define the French year.

Août and Les Grandes Vacances

August is the defining vacation month in France. The concept of les grandes vacances (the long holidays) runs from early July through August, but août is when the country truly empties. Entire businesses close for the month, and signs reading fermeture annuelle (annual closing) appear in shop windows across the country. Paris becomes noticeably quieter as Parisians flee to the coast or countryside.

Septembre and La Rentrée

La rentrée (literally "the re-entry") in September is far more than just back-to-school. It marks the restart of French political, cultural, and social life after the summer pause. New book releases, television seasons, business initiatives, and political agendas all launch during la rentrée. The expression la rentrée littéraire specifically refers to the September publishing season, when hundreds of new novels flood French bookstores simultaneously.

Seasonal Vocabulary

French divides the year into four seasons, each grammatically feminine except printemps (which is masculine). The preposition changes depending on the season.

The preposition rule: use au for printemps (because it starts with a consonant and takes the article le), and en for the other three seasons: en été, en automne, en hiver. This mirrors the month preposition, since en is the default for time expressions.

Practice With Real French Content

Months appear constantly in everyday French, from news broadcasts (les élections auront lieu en juin) to casual conversation (on part en vacances en août) to written invitations and schedules. Recognizing them by sound, not just in writing, is essential for real comprehension.

French films and series provide excellent practice for hearing months spoken naturally. Weather reports, birthday scenes, and holiday episodes are especially rich with calendar vocabulary. Check out our guide to the best movies for learning French for recommendations across different genres and difficulty levels.

Wordy lets you watch French content with interactive subtitles, so you can hear months and dates used in authentic dialogue and tap any word to see its meaning and pronunciation instantly. Explore our blog for more French learning guides, or visit our French learning page to start building your vocabulary today.