Everyone knows that samedi is the French word for Saturday, the glorious start to the weekend! But did you know there are other ways to talk about this beloved day? Whether you're making plans for 'this Saturday,' 'every Saturday,' or even reminiscing about a 'Saturday in the past,' French has a specific way to say it. Getting these nuances right will make you sound much more like a native speaker. Let's dive into nine different ways to talk about Saturday in French and get you ready for your next week-end!

The standard 'Saturday' – Samedi

The most direct and universally used word for 'Saturday' in French is samedi. It's the go-to term you'll hear and use in all contexts, from casual conversation to formal writing.

Pronouncing samedi is straightforward. It sounds like 'sahm-dee'. The 'e' in the middle is often silent or swallowed, especially in rapid speech, making it sound more like 'sam-di'.

In French, days of the week are masculine nouns and are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. So, you would write samedi, not Samedi. The correct article to use is le, as in le samedi.

The article you use with samedi changes its meaning, which is a key concept for all days of the week in French:

samedi (without an article): Refers to a specific, upcoming Saturday. For example, Je vais au cinéma samedi means 'I am going to the cinema this Saturday'.
le samedi: Refers to a recurring action that happens every Saturday. For instance, Le samedi, je fais les courses means 'On Saturdays, I do the shopping'.

You'll frequently encounter samedi in common time-related expressions:

samedi dernier: last Saturday
samedi prochain: next Saturday
samedi matin: Saturday morning
samedi soir: Saturday evening/night
à samedi !: See you on Saturday!

Culturally, le samedi marks the true beginning of the weekend for most people in France. It's often a day for shopping, going to the local market (marché), relaxing, or spending time with family and friends. In larger cities, it can also be a popular day for public demonstrations or parades (manifestations).

💡 * On se voit samedi soir pour le dîner ? (Are we seeing each other Saturday night for dinner?)

Le samedi, le marché est toujours très animé. (On Saturdays, the market is always very lively.)

J'ai travaillé toute la journée samedi dernier. (I worked all day last Saturday.)

Que fais-tu samedi prochain ? (What are you doing next Saturday?)

Le magasin est fermé le samedi. (The store is closed on Saturdays.)

1. Referring to 'this Saturday' – Ce samedi

The most straightforward way to say 'this Saturday' in French is ce samedi. The demonstrative adjective ce means 'this' or 'that', and when paired with a day of the week, it refers to the specific Saturday being discussed within the context of the conversation.

The meaning of ce samedi—whether it's the upcoming Saturday or the one that just passed—is almost always determined by the verb tense. This is the most important clue for understanding the timeframe.

When used with a future tense (like the futur proche or futur simple), ce samedi refers to the next or upcoming Saturday. For example, Je vais dîner au restaurant ce samedi clearly indicates a plan for the coming weekend.

Conversely, when used with a past tense (like the passé composé), ce samedi refers to the most recent or past Saturday. For instance, J'ai dîné au restaurant ce samedi means you already had dinner last Saturday.

If you want to be perfectly clear and remove any doubt, you can use more specific phrases. Use samedi prochain or samedi qui vient to explicitly mean 'this coming Saturday,' and samedi dernier for 'last Saturday'.

💡 * Qu'est-ce que tu fais ce samedi ? (What are you doing this Saturday?)

Ce samedi, nous allons rendre visite à mes grands-parents. (This Saturday, we are going to visit my grandparents.)

Il a plu toute la journée ce samedi. (It rained all day this past Saturday.)

Le concert a lieu ce samedi soir. (The concert takes place this Saturday evening.)

For 'on Saturdays' or 'every Saturday' – Le samedi

When you want to talk about something that happens regularly on a specific day of the week in French, you don't need to add a word like 'every'. Instead, the magic lies in a small but crucial word you place before the day.

The core rule is simple: use the singular, masculine definite article le before a day of the week to indicate a recurring action. Therefore, le samedi translates to 'on Saturdays' or 'every Saturday'.

This is fundamentally different from using the day without an article. Samedi on its own refers to a specific, one-time Saturday (e.g., this coming Saturday). In contrast, le samedi refers to a habit or a routine that occurs every Saturday.

A common mistake is to try to make the day plural (e.g., les samedis). For habitual actions, you always use the singular form: le samedi. The use of le already implies the recurring, plural nature of the event.

This rule isn't just for Saturdays! It applies to every day of the week. For example, le lundi means 'on Mondays', le mardi means 'on Tuesdays', le dimanche means 'on Sundays', and so on.

💡 * Le samedi, je vais au marché. (On Saturdays, I go to the market.)

Elle ne travaille jamais le lundi. (She never works on Mondays.)

Nous avons cours de yoga le mercredi soir. (We have yoga class on Wednesday evenings.)

Samedi, je vais dîner avec mes parents. (On Saturday, I am going to have dinner with my parents. Note the one-time action)

For 'last Saturday' – Samedi dernier

To express 'last Saturday' in French, the direct and most common phrase is samedi dernier. This construction is used to refer specifically to the Saturday of the previous week.

This phrase follows a simple and consistent pattern: [Day of the Week] + dernier. Because all days of the week are masculine nouns in French, you always use the masculine form dernier. For example, 'last Monday' is lundi dernier and 'last Friday' is vendredi dernier.

It is important to distinguish samedi dernier (last Saturday, a specific single event) from le samedi (on Saturdays, a recurring habit). For example, Je suis allé à la plage samedi dernier means you went to the beach on the most recent Saturday, while Je vais à la plage le samedi means you go to the beach every Saturday.

While days are masculine, this structure also works with feminine nouns by using the feminine form dernière. For instance, 'last week' is la semaine dernière and 'last year' is l'année dernière.

💡 * Je suis allé au cinéma samedi dernier. (I went to the cinema last Saturday.)

Qu'as-tu fait mardi dernier ? (What did you do last Tuesday?)

Nous avons vu nos amis la semaine dernière. (We saw our friends last week.)

Le match a eu lieu dimanche dernier. (The game took place last Sunday.)

For 'next Saturday' – Samedi prochain

The most common and direct way to say 'next Saturday' in French is samedi prochain.

This phrase follows a simple and consistent pattern in French: [Day of the Week] + prochain. The adjective prochain (meaning 'next' or 'coming') follows the noun.

You can apply this rule to any day of the week. For instance, 'next Monday' is lundi prochain, and 'next Friday' is vendredi prochain.

It's important to distinguish samedi prochain from ce samedi. Ce samedi means 'this Saturday.' While they are often used interchangeably, samedi prochain unambiguously refers to the Saturday of the upcoming week, avoiding confusion.

The word prochain is also used for other units of time, such as le week-end prochain (next weekend), le mois prochain (next month), and l'année prochaine (next year).

💡 * On va dîner au restaurant samedi prochain.

Tu es libre mardi prochain pour un café ?

Je pars en vacances la semaine prochaine.

Le festival commence le mois prochain.

1. The descriptive 'the day before Sunday' – La veille du dimanche

In French, instead of always saying 'le jour avant' (the day before), there's a more elegant and common noun: la veille. It literally translates to 'the eve' or 'the day before' and is used to specify the day immediately preceding a particular event or date.

The structure is simple and consistent: la veille de + [the event]. For days of the week or masculine nouns starting with a consonant, this becomes du (a contraction of de + le). This is why 'the day before Sunday' is expressed as la veille du dimanche.

This term isn't just for days of the week. It's widely used for holidays, appointments, and significant events. You'll often hear expressions like la veille de Noël (Christmas Eve), la veille d'un examen (the day before an exam), or la veille de son départ (the day before his/her departure).

To expand your vocabulary, know that the day after an event is called le lendemain. So, while Saturday is la veille du dimanche, Monday is le lendemain du dimanche. The term for 'two days before' is l'avant-veille.

💡 * Nous sommes allés au restaurant la veille de son anniversaire.

J'ai terminé mon projet la veille de la date limite.

La veille du match, les joueurs se sont bien reposés.

Qu'as-tu fait la veille du Nouvel An ?

The 'Saturday night' – Samedi soir

The direct French translation for 'Saturday night' is samedi soir. It is composed of the word for Saturday, samedi, and the word for evening, soir.

Similar to English-speaking cultures, samedi soir holds a special place in the week for French people. It's the quintessential time for social activities, such as going out with friends, dining at a restaurant, attending a party, or going to the cinema. It marks the peak of the weekend's social life.

When used to refer to Saturday nights in general, it is preceded by the article le, as in le samedi soir. When referring to a specific, upcoming Saturday night, no article is needed. For example, Qu'est-ce que tu fais samedi soir ? (What are you doing Saturday night?).

💡 * Qu'est-ce que tu fais samedi soir ? (What are you doing Saturday night?)

Nous avons prévu un dîner entre amis pour samedi soir. (We have planned a dinner with friends for Saturday night.)

Le samedi soir, les rues du centre-ville sont très animées. (On Saturday nights, the downtown streets are very lively.)

Elle préfère rester à la maison et regarder un film le samedi soir. (She prefers to stay home and watch a movie on Saturday nights.)

The 'start of the weekend' – Le début du week-end

The 'start of the weekend' – Le début du week-end

This is a straightforward and literal translation. Le début means 'the start' or 'the beginning,' and le week-end is a direct loanword from English, used universally in French.

This phrase is the most common and direct way to refer to the beginning of the weekend, typically encompassing Friday evening and Saturday morning. It's used in everyday conversation without any special nuance.

Just as you have le début du week-end, you can also talk about its opposite: la fin du week-end (the end of the weekend), which refers to Sunday evening.

💡 * J'adore l'ambiance du début du week-end.

Que fais-tu pour le début du week-end ?

Le début du week-end est parfait pour se détendre.

On se retrouve vendredi soir pour fêter le début du week-end.

1. Le Jour du Repos: The Day of Rest

The French phrase le jour du repos literally translates to 'the day of rest.' It is the classic and most understood term for a designated day off from work, school, or other duties, dedicated to relaxation and personal time.

Historically, le jour du repos is strongly associated with Sunday (dimanche). This tradition stems from religious observance but is now a deeply ingrained secular aspect of French culture. Even today, many businesses in France close on Sundays, preserving its status as a day for family, leisure, and rest rather than commerce.

In contemporary French, while Sunday is still the default jour du repos, the term can be used for any day of the week that serves as one's day off. For instance, someone working in retail might say, "Mon jour de repos est le mardi" (My day of rest is Tuesday). You will also frequently hear the more general term jour de congé (day off).

💡 * Le dimanche, c'est le jour du repos pour la plupart des Français.

J'ai besoin d'un jour de repos après cette semaine de travail intense.

Quel est ton jour de repos cette semaine ?

Traditionnellement, les magasins sont fermés le jour du repos.

Are there other ways to say 'Saturday' in French?

While samedi is the standard and universal term for 'Saturday' across the French-speaking world, the language is full of expressions that give the day context. Unlike words with many synonyms, 'Saturday' is more about the phrases it's used in rather than alternative names.

You'll often hear the day discussed as part of a larger concept, like le week-end. The most common variation you'll encounter is samedi soir (Saturday night), a culturally significant time for socializing and entertainment in France.

To discover related vocabulary, try searching online for 'que faire ce week-end à Paris' or 'idées de sortie pour samedi'. This will show you how native speakers naturally incorporate the word samedi into their plans for leisure, shopping, and relaxation.

Pay close attention when you watch French films or listen to French music. How do people talk about their Saturdays? You'll quickly learn that it's a day for la grasse matinée (sleeping in), visiting le marché (the market), or spending time with family.

If you want to explore more vocabulary related to days, dates, and planning, a great resource is a French calendar or agenda. You can also use online dictionaries like WordReference to see samedi used in various example sentences.

I hope this guide has helped you see that learning a word is also about learning its cultural rhythm. There may only be one word for 'Saturday,' but there are endless ways to enjoy it. Passe un bon samedi! (Have a good Saturday!)

'9 ways to say "Saturday" in French'