Months and Seasons in French (and When to Say En vs Au)
The 12 French months and 4 seasons, plus basic en/au usage: en janvier, en été and au printemps, with examples for saying the date.
The French months are janvier through décembre, normally lowercase. The 4 seasons are le printemps, l’été, l’automne, l’hiver. To say “in” a month, use en (en janvier). Common season expressions are en été, en automne, en hiver and au printemps.
Quick answer
The French months are janvier through décembre, normally lowercase. The 4 seasons are le printemps, l’été, l’automne, l’hiver. To say “in” a month, use en (en janvier). Common season expressions are en été, en automne, en hiver and au printemps.
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The 12 months
| Month | French |
|---|---|
| January | janvier |
| February | février |
| March | mars |
| April | avril |
| May | mai |
| June | juin |
| July | juillet |
| August | août |
| September | septembre |
| October | octobre |
| November | novembre |
| December | décembre |
Like the days of the week, month names normally use lowercase; the usual capital at the beginning of a sentence still applies. See days of the week in French for the same convention.
The 4 seasons
| Season | French | Gender/article |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | le printemps | masculine |
| Summer | l’été | masculine, elided |
| Autumn | l’automne | masculine, elided |
| Winter | l’hiver | masculine, elided |
En vs au: saying “in” a month or season
To locate an event in a month, use en: en janvier, en avril. For seasons viewed as periods of time, common expressions are en été, en automne and en hiver. Learn au printemps as the established expression: au is the contraction of à + le, not a general rule for every masculine word beginning with a consonant.
You can also encounter à l’été, à l’automne and à l’hiver when a season is treated as a point in time. These are alternatives in suitable contexts, not errors. For broader background on constructions such as à + le = au, see the French prepositions guide; it is not a complete guide to seasonal expressions.
Saying the date (teaser)
Dates use cardinal numbers - le 3 mai - except the first of the month, which uses the ordinal le premier janvier. Full rules in how to say the date in French.
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Questions about this note
Are French months capitalized?
Normally no, unlike English. A month name still takes a capital at the beginning of a sentence.
Why is it au printemps but en été?
Learn au printemps as the established expression; au is à + le. En été, en automne and en hiver are common, but à l'été, à l'automne and à l'hiver are also possible when placing an event at that time.
How do you say "in the summer"?
en été.
What are the 4 seasons in French?
le printemps, l'été, l'automne, l'hiver.
How do you say a specific date in French?
le + number + month: le 3 mai (except le premier for the 1st).