You likely already know that mardi is the way to say "Tuesday" in French. But what if you want to talk about something happening on a Tuesday, or every Tuesday? The French have specific phrases for these situations that don't always translate directly from English. Learning these variations is a simple way to make your French sound more authentic and fluent. Let's explore nine different ways to talk about Tuesday, so you can schedule your plans like a true native speaker!

The standard 'Tuesday' – Mardi

Mardi is the direct and most common French word for 'Tuesday'. It is used in all contexts, formal and informal, to refer to the third day of the week.

The name mardi has roots in Latin. It comes from Martis dies, which means 'Day of Mars', named after the Roman god of war. This provides a memorable link to its meaning, similar to other days of the week in French.

A crucial rule for English speakers to learn is that days of the week in French are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence. You will always write mardi, not Mardi, in the middle of a sentence.

The use of an article before mardi changes its meaning.

• mardi (without an article) refers to a specific, single Tuesday, usually the next one. Ex: Je te vois mardi. (I'll see you on Tuesday.)
• le mardi (with the article le) indicates a recurring habit or event that happens every Tuesday. Ex: Le mardi, nous avons cours de français. (On Tuesdays, we have French class.)

The most famous cultural reference involving mardi is Mardi Gras, which literally translates to 'Fat Tuesday'. It is the celebratory day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, showing how the word is embedded in cultural and religious traditions.

💡 * On se retrouve au café mardi prochain ? (Shall we meet at the café next Tuesday?)

• Le marché a lieu tous les mardis matin. (The market takes place every Tuesday morning.)
• J'ai un rendez-vous chez le médecin mardi. (I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday.)
• Le mardi, je fais du sport après le travail. (On Tuesdays, I play sports after work.)
• Mardi dernier, il a plu toute la journée. (Last Tuesday, it rained all day.)

For recurring events, 'on Tuesdays' – Le mardi

When you want to describe an action that happens regularly on a specific day of the week, such as 'on Tuesdays,' the French rule is simple and consistent: use the definite article le followed by the day of the week.

Using le before the day transforms its meaning from a single instance to a recurring event. Therefore, le mardi doesn't mean 'the Tuesday' in a specific sense, but rather 'every Tuesday' or 'on Tuesdays,' indicating a habit or a routine.

This is crucially different from talking about a single, non-recurring event. If something is happening just once on the upcoming Tuesday, you would omit the article and simply say mardi. For instance, Je vois le médecin mardi means 'I'm seeing the doctor on Tuesday' (just this one time).

The grammatical pattern is straightforward: le + [day of the week]. This formula is your key to correctly expressing any weekly routine in French, and it applies to all seven days.

A frequent mistake for English speakers is to pluralize the day, saying les mardis. While not entirely incorrect in some rare contexts, the standard, natural, and overwhelmingly common way to express 'on Tuesdays' is with the singular masculine article: le mardi.

To summarize the essential point: for any action that repeats weekly on the same day, use le (e.g., le samedi). For a one-off event, use the day's name alone (e.g., samedi).

💡 * Le mardi, je vais à la piscine.

• Le restaurant est fermé le lundi.
• Nous avons cours de yoga le jeudi soir.
• Elle travaille de la maison le vendredi.

To specify 'this Tuesday' – Ce mardi

To specify a particular Tuesday, such as the one occurring in the current or immediately following week, you use the phrase Ce mardi. This directly translates to 'this Tuesday' and serves to pinpoint a single, specific instance of the day.

The word ce is a masculine singular demonstrative adjective in French, meaning 'this' or 'that'. When you place it before a day of the week, it isolates that day from any other, removing ambiguity about which Tuesday you're referring to.

It's important to distinguish ce mardi (this Tuesday) from le mardi (on Tuesdays). Le mardi implies a recurring action or habit, while ce mardi refers to a one-time event on a specific Tuesday.

In French, all days of the week are masculine nouns. This is why you always use the masculine adjective ce. For example, it's le mardi, le samedi, etc. You will never use the feminine form cette for a day of the week.

This simple and useful pattern can be applied to any day of the week. For example: ce lundi (this Monday), ce mercredi (this Wednesday), ce vendredi (this Friday), and ce week-end (this weekend).

💡 * On se voit ce mardi pour le déjeuner ? (Are we meeting this Tuesday for lunch?)

• J'ai un rendez-vous important ce vendredi. (I have an important appointment this Friday.)
• Ce week-end, nous allons à la campagne. (This weekend, we are going to the countryside.)
• La réunion aura lieu ce jeudi après-midi. (The meeting will take place this Thursday afternoon.)

For 'next Tuesday' – Mardi prochain

The most direct and common way to say "next Tuesday" in French is Mardi prochain. This phrase mirrors the English structure, placing the adjective prochain (next) after the day of the week.

In French, adjectives of time like prochain (next) and dernier (last) typically follow the noun they modify. This rule applies to all days of the week, so you would say Lundi prochain (next Monday), Samedi prochain (next Saturday), and so on.

Be careful not to confuse Mardi prochain with ce Mardi. While both relate to a future Tuesday, ce Mardi means "this Tuesday" (the one coming up in the current week), whereas Mardi prochain refers to the Tuesday of the following week.

A common colloquial alternative you might hear is Mardi en huit. This literally translates to "Tuesday in eight (days)" and is used to mean "a week from Tuesday." It's a very natural-sounding phrase used in everyday conversation.

💡 * On se voit mardi prochain pour déjeuner ? (See you next Tuesday for lunch?)

• Le projet doit être terminé pour vendredi prochain. (The project must be finished by next Friday.)
• Je ne suis pas libre ce mardi, mais mardi prochain, c'est possible. (I'm not free this Tuesday, but next Tuesday is possible.)
• Mon vol pour Paris est mardi en huit. (My flight to Paris is a week from Tuesday.)

For 'last Tuesday' – Mardi dernier

To express the concept of 'last Tuesday' in French, you use the phrase Mardi dernier. This is the most common and direct way to refer to the Tuesday of the previous week.

This phrase follows a simple and consistent pattern in French: [Day of the week] + dernier. The adjective dernier means 'last' and is placed after the noun (the day) in this context.

Placing dernier after the day is crucial. Mardi dernier refers to the most recent Tuesday that has passed. If you were to say le dernier mardi (with the article and dernier before the noun), it would mean 'the last Tuesday' of a specific period, like a month or a year, which is a different concept.

This rule isn't just for Tuesdays. You can apply it to any day of the week. For instance, 'last Friday' is Vendredi dernier, and 'last Sunday' is Dimanche dernier.

So, whenever you want to talk about the specific day that just passed, simply name the day and add dernier right after it. No article (like 'le' or 'la') is needed.

💡 * Je suis allé au marché mardi dernier.

• Qu'as-tu fait samedi dernier ?
• Nous avons vu ce film lundi dernier.
• Elle a terminé le projet mercredi dernier.

1. The famous 'Fat Tuesday' – Mardi Gras

The phrase Mardi Gras is French for 'Fat Tuesday'. This name directly reflects the tradition of indulging in rich, fatty foods on the last day before the Lenten season of fasting begins.

The 'Mardi' refers to the specific day of the celebration: the Tuesday immediately preceding Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar, a period of 40 days of prayer and fasting leading up to Easter Sunday.

The 'Gras' part comes from the culinary tradition. Historically, people would use up all the fat, eggs, and milk in their homes before the ascetic Lenten period. This led to the creation of rich pastries and dishes, making it a 'Fat Tuesday' of feasting and indulgence.

While famously associated with massive parades and celebrations in places like New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro (where it's part of Carnaval), Mardi Gras is rooted in European Catholic traditions. It represents the climax of the Carnival season, a final day of revelry before a period of religious observance and solemnity.

💡 * On mange des crêpes et des beignets pour Mardi Gras.

• Le défilé de Mardi Gras est le plus grand événement de l'année en ville.
• Joyeux Mardi Gras à tous !
• Mardi Gras est le dernier jour avant le Carême.

As a farewell, 'See you Tuesday' – À mardi

The phrase À mardi is a common and straightforward way to say 'See you Tuesday' in French. It's a simple farewell used when you have a definite plan to see someone on the upcoming Tuesday.

This expression is built with the preposition à followed by a day of the week. In this context, à essentially means 'until' or 'to,' indicating a future meeting. For example, mardi means Tuesday.

You can easily adapt this formula for any day. For instance, 'See you Monday' is À lundi, 'See you Friday' is À vendredi, and 'See you tomorrow' is À demain. This makes it a very versatile and useful structure for everyday goodbyes.

💡 * Je dois y aller, à mardi ! (I have to go, see you Tuesday!)

• N'oublie pas notre rendez-vous. À jeudi ! (Don't forget our appointment. See you Thursday!)
• Bon week-end ! À lundi ! (Have a good weekend! See you Monday!)

Descriptively, 'the day after Monday' – Le jour après lundi

The phrase le jour après lundi literally translates to “the day after Monday.” This is a descriptive and slightly formal way to refer to Tuesday, focusing on its position relative to Monday.

You won't hear this used commonly instead of mardi (Tuesday). It appears in specific contexts, such as for clarification, storytelling, or when emphasizing the sequence of events. For example, if Monday's events were just discussed, this phrase creates a smooth transition.

This is a useful grammatical pattern you can adapt for any day. The structure is always le jour après + [day of the week]. So, “the day after Wednesday” would be le jour après mercredi (Thursday).

For everyday, practical French, stick to the standard names for the days of the week. Recognizing this descriptive phrase is good for comprehension, but using it too often in casual conversation might sound unnatural or overly dramatic.

💡 * Le paiement sera effectué le jour après lundi, c'est-à-dire mardi.

• Je suis tombé malade le jour après dimanche et j'ai manqué l'école.
• La réunion est prévue pour le jour après vendredi, donc nous avons tout le week-end pour nous préparer.

Referring to Days by Order: 'Le deuxième jour de la semaine'

Besides using the specific name of the day, you can also refer to a day by its order within the week. This is common in more formal or descriptive contexts and uses a straightforward structure with ordinal numbers (like 'first', 'second', 'third').

The direct translation for 'the second day of the week' in French is le deuxième jour de la semaine. This phrase is constructed literally:

• Le - The
• deuxième - second
• jour - day
• de la semaine - of the week

It's crucial to know that in France and many European countries, the week begins on Monday (lundi). Therefore, le deuxième jour de la semaine refers to Tuesday (mardi). Similarly, le premier jour (the first day) is Monday, and le septième jour (the seventh day) is Sunday.

While grammatically correct, using phrases like le deuxième jour de la semaine is less common in casual, everyday conversation. People typically just say the name of the day, like mardi. This ordinal phrasing is more likely to be found in formal writing, legal contexts, or when you need to be very specific about the sequence of days.

💡 * En France, le deuxième jour de la semaine est le mardi.

• La réunion aura lieu le troisième jour du mois.
• Le dimanche est considéré comme le septième jour de la semaine.
• Le premier jour de l'école est toujours excitant.

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

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

While mardi is the standard, universal word for 'Tuesday' in French, you might wonder about slang or alternative terms. Unlike abstract nouns, days of the week don't really have synonyms. However, there are many essential expressions that modify how you refer to the day.

The key is mastering phrases around mardi. For instance, use le mardi to describe a recurring event (Le mardi, j'ai mon cours de français. — On Tuesdays, I have my French class). You will constantly hear and use mardi prochain (next Tuesday), mardi dernier (last Tuesday), and mardi en huit (a week from Tuesday).

Pay attention to cultural terms that include the day, like the famous Mardi gras ('Fat Tuesday'). Understanding these references is a great way to deepen your cultural fluency and see how a simple day of the week can carry significant meaning.

As you listen to French speakers, watch movies, or read, notice how they schedule appointments and talk about their past or future plans. This real-world context is the best way to internalize the usage of mardi and other days of the week.

If you want to explore more expressions or see example sentences, online dictionaries like Larousse or WordReference are excellent resources. Searching for mardi will give you a list of common phrases and their uses.

I hope this guide was helpful! Mastering the days of the week is a fundamental step toward sounding natural in French. While there's only one word for 'Tuesday', the ways you can use it are numerous. Keep practicing, and soon it will be second nature!