Are days and months capitalized in French?

No. Both stay lowercase: je te vois lundi, elle est née en octobre. The only exception is a date used as the name of a holiday, where the month takes a capital: le 14 Juillet for Bastille Day, as opposed to le 14 juillet for the date itself.

Is français capitalized?

It depends on the job it's doing. Lowercase as an adjective (un fromage français) and as the name of the language (je parle français). Capitalized only when it's a noun meaning a French person: un Français, les Françaises.

Why isn't je capitalized in French?

Because there's no reason for it to be. English capitalizes I for historical reasons to do with medieval handwriting, where a lone lowercase i was easy to lose. French je behaves like tu, il, and nous, and takes a capital only at the start of a sentence.

Should capital letters have accents in French?

Yes. États-Unis, Égypte, À demain. The habit of dropping accents on capitals comes from old typewriters and street signs, and the Académie française treats it as an error. Leaving them off can also create genuine ambiguity: UN INTERNE TUÉ means an intern who was killed, while UN INTERNE TUE means an intern is killing.

How do I capitalize a French book title?

Capitalize the first word, and if it's an article, capitalize the noun that follows it as well: Le Rouge et le Noir, La Peste, Une vie. Everything after that first block stays lowercase, unlike English, which capitalizes most words in a title.

French grammar · Beginner

French Capitalization: What Takes a Capital Letter and What Doesn't

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

French capitalizes far less than English. Days, months, languages, religions, and adjectives of nationality all stay lowercase, and je is only capitalized at the start of a sentence. The nouns that do take a capital are proper names, inhabitants of a place, and the specific word inside a longer name.

Le lundi 3 mars, un journaliste français a interviewé une Anglaise.

On Monday 3 March, a French journalist interviewed an English woman.

What it is

English capitalizes whole categories of words: weekdays, months, languages, nationalities, religions, the pronoun I. French treats almost all of those as ordinary common nouns and adjectives, so they stay lowercase. The rule underneath is that a capital marks a unique individual, not a class.

Il est né un mardi de janvier, il parle italien et il vit au Portugal. — He was born on a Tuesday in January, he speaks Italian and he lives in Portugal.

How to spot it

Ask whether the word names one specific thing or describes a type. Names of people, cities, and countries are individuals and take a capital; the language, the day, and the adjective describing where you're from are types and don't.

un roman espagnol — a Spanish novel (adjective, lowercase)
un Espagnol — a Spaniard (inhabitant, capital)
Je parle espagnol. — I speak Spanish. (language, lowercase)
Nous partons en Espagne mercredi. — We're leaving for Spain on Wednesday.

The same word can appear three ways: espagnol as an adjective, l'espagnol as a language, and un Espagnol as a person. Only the person is capitalized.

Capitalization Quick Reference

Lowercase in French, capitalized in English

Category	French	English
Days of the week	lundi, samedi	Monday, Saturday
Months	janvier, août	January, August
Languages	le français, l'arabe	French, Arabic
Nationality adjectives	une voiture allemande	a German car
Religions and believers	le bouddhisme, un catholique	Buddhism, a Catholic
The pronoun I	je	I
Job titles before a name	le docteur Blanc	Doctor Blanc
Inhabitants (capitalized)	un Parisien, les Belges	a Parisian, the Belgians

Common Capitalization Examples in French

The categories that trip English speakers up, one by one:

Dates Stay Lowercase

Le concert a lieu vendredi 12 avril.: The concert is on Friday 12 April.
Elle arrive au début du mois de septembre.: She arrives at the beginning of September.
Nous sommes fermés en août.: We're closed in August.
Il travaille tous les samedis.: He works every Saturday.

Seasons are lowercase too: le printemps, l'été, l'automne, l'hiver.

Nationality: Noun vs. Adjective

C'est une actrice italienne.: She's an Italian actress. (adjective)
C'est une Italienne.: She's an Italian. (noun, a person)
la cuisine marocaine: Moroccan cooking (adjective)
les Marocains: Moroccans (people)

If the word is the noun and means a person from that place, capitalize it. Everywhere else, don't.

Names With a Generic Word Attached

la mer Méditerranée: the Mediterranean Sea
l'océan Atlantique: the Atlantic Ocean
la rue de la Paix: rue de la Paix
le boulevard Saint-Germain: boulevard Saint-Germain

The generic noun (mer, océan, rue, avenue, place) stays lowercase and the distinguishing word takes the capital. English capitalizes both.

Titles and Roles

le président de la République: the President of the Republic
Bonjour, madame.: Good morning, madam.
Madame, Monsieur,: Dear Sir or Madam, (opening a letter)
J'ai vu le docteur Lambert.: I saw Doctor Lambert.

Monsieur and Madame take a capital when you're addressing the person, especially in a letter, and when abbreviated as M. and Mme.

How French Capitalization Works

Five habits cover almost every decision you'll have to make, and they all come from the same instinct about naming.

A Capital Marks an Individual, Not a Category

France is one country, so it takes a capital. French is a language, one of many, so it doesn't. Once you frame it as individual versus category, the days, months, and languages stop looking arbitrary.

En France, on parle français.

In France, people speak French.

One-of-a-kind → capital.

Adjectives Never Take a Capital

No matter what it derives from, an adjective is lowercase: un vin italien, la littérature russe, une entreprise canadienne. This holds even when the adjective comes from a proper name.

Elle a un accent québécois très marqué.

She has a strong Québécois accent.

Adjective → lowercase, always.

Je Is an Ordinary Word

English capitalizes I everywhere, which is a historical accident of handwriting. French je only takes a capital where any other word would: at the start of a sentence.

Demain, je vais à Lyon.

Tomorrow I'm going to Lyon.

je, not Je, mid-sentence.

In a Compound Name, Only the Specific Word Is Capitalized

Names that contain a common noun keep that noun in lowercase: le mont Blanc, le lac Léman, la place de la Concorde. The capital falls on the part that identifies which one.

Nous avons visité le château de Versailles.

We visited the Palace of Versailles.

generic noun + Capital name.

A Colon Doesn't Start a New Sentence

After a colon, French continues in lowercase, because what follows is part of the same sentence. Only a full stop, a question mark, or an exclamation mark resets the capital.

Une seule question : pourquoi maintenant ?

Just one question: why now?

Colon → lowercase continues.

Common Mistakes with Capitalization

Incorrect: Je pars Lundi matin. — I'm leaving Monday morning.

Correct: Je pars lundi matin. — I'm leaving Monday morning.

Days and months are common nouns in French. Lundi means a Monday, one of many, so nothing marks it out for a capital.

Incorrect: J'apprends le Français depuis deux ans. — I've been learning French for two years.

Correct: J'apprends le français depuis deux ans. — I've been learning French for two years.

Language names are lowercase. The capitalized Français exists, but it means a French person: j'ai rencontré un Français.

Incorrect: Hier, Je suis allée au marché. — Yesterday I went to the market.

Correct: Hier, je suis allée au marché. — Yesterday I went to the market.

Only English capitalizes its first-person pronoun everywhere. In French, je takes a capital only when it opens the sentence.

Incorrect: Nous avons visité la Tour Eiffel et la Rue de Rivoli. — We visited the Eiffel Tower and rue de Rivoli.

Correct: Nous avons visité la tour Eiffel et la rue de Rivoli. — We visited the Eiffel Tower and rue de Rivoli.

Tour and rue are the generic nouns; Eiffel and Rivoli are what identify them. French capitalizes the identifying word only.

The Cases Worth Learning Separately

Three areas have their own conventions, and they're the ones where even confident writers hesitate.

Titles of books and films

Capitalize the first word. If that first word is an article, the following noun takes a capital too, along with any adjective in front of it. Everything after that stays lowercase.

Les Misérables: Les Misérables
Le Petit Prince: The Little Prince
À la recherche du temps perdu: In Search of Lost Time
Une vie tranquille: A Quiet Life

Compare with English, which capitalizes every significant word in a title. French only marks the beginning.

Holidays, events, and periods

Named holidays and historical periods take a capital on their distinguishing word, and a date used as the name of a holiday capitalizes the month.

Joyeux Noël et bonne année.: Merry Christmas and happy new year.
le 14 Juillet: Bastille Day (the holiday)
le 14 juillet 1789: 14 July 1789 (the date)
la Seconde Guerre mondiale: the Second World War

The pair le 14 Juillet and le 14 juillet is the clearest case in French of a capital carrying meaning on its own.

Accents on capital letters

Capitals keep their accents. Dropping them is a typing habit, not a rule, and it can change or obscure a word.

les États-Unis: the United States
À bientôt.: See you soon.
Élodie habite en Égypte.: Élodie lives in Egypt.
UN ÉLÈVE ÉTRANGER: A FOREIGN PUPIL

The Académie française is explicit about this: the accent has full orthographic value, including on capitals.

Capitalization FAQs

Are days and months capitalized in French?: No. Both stay lowercase: je te vois lundi, elle est née en octobre. The only exception is a date used as the name of a holiday, where the month takes a capital: le 14 Juillet for Bastille Day, as opposed to le 14 juillet for the date itself.
Is français capitalized?: It depends on the job it's doing. Lowercase as an adjective (un fromage français) and as the name of the language (je parle français). Capitalized only when it's a noun meaning a French person: un Français, les Françaises.
Why isn't je capitalized in French?: Because there's no reason for it to be. English capitalizes I for historical reasons to do with medieval handwriting, where a lone lowercase i was easy to lose. French je behaves like tu, il, and nous, and takes a capital only at the start of a sentence.
Should capital letters have accents in French?: Yes. États-Unis, Égypte, À demain. The habit of dropping accents on capitals comes from old typewriters and street signs, and the Académie française treats it as an error. Leaving them off can also create genuine ambiguity: UN INTERNE TUÉ means an intern who was killed, while UN INTERNE TUE means an intern is killing.
How do I capitalize a French book title?: Capitalize the first word, and if it's an article, capitalize the noun that follows it as well: Le Rouge et le Noir, La Peste, Une vie. Everything after that first block stays lowercase, unlike English, which capitalizes most words in a title.