How do you capitalise a French book title?

If it begins with le, la, or les, capitalise the article, any adjective, and the first noun: Le Petit Prince, Les Trois Mousquetaires. If it begins with anything else, capitalise only the first word: À la recherche du temps perdu, Voyage au bout de la nuit.

Why is it Le Rouge et le Noir with two capitals?

Because the title is built on two balanced terms joined by et, and neither is subordinate to the other. Parallel pairs are both capitalised, which also gives La Belle et la Bête and Guerre et Paix.

Should monsieur and madame be capitalised?

Capitalise them when you are addressing the person or writing to them: bonjour, Monsieur; Chère Madame. Use lower case when talking about them in running text: j'ai vu monsieur Legrand. The abbreviations M., Mme, and Mlle always take a capital.

Are French days and months capitalised?

No. Lundi, mardi, janvier, and février are ordinary common nouns and stay lower case, even in a date: nous partons le samedi 5 juillet. The same applies to language names and to seasons.

Why is président lower case but République capitalised?

Because French capitalises institutions rather than the people who run them. The office is a common noun, so le président de la République, le ministre de la Culture, le pape. The Republic, the ministry, and other named bodies are proper nouns and keep their capitals.

French grammar · Intermediate

Capitalization of French Titles: Books, Films, and Forms of Address

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

French capitalises as little as possible in a title. If the title begins with le, la, or les, you capitalise the article, the first noun, and any adjective in front of that noun. If it begins with anything else, only the first word takes a capital. Personal titles such as monsieur and président stay lower case in running text.

J'ai relu Le Petit Prince cet été.

I reread The Little Prince this summer.

What it is

English title case capitalises almost every word, which is why The Little Prince And The Fox looks unremarkable in English and wrong in French. French treats a title as a piece of ordinary text with one exception carved out for the opening, so most of the words in a French title keep the same lower-case form they would have in a sentence.

Le Petit Prince, but À la recherche du temps perdu — The Little Prince, In Search of Lost Time

How to spot it

Look at the very first word. A definite article triggers the longer rule; anything else means you capitalise the first word and stop.

Les Trois Mousquetaires — The Three Musketeers (article, so adjective and noun follow suit)
Un amour de Swann — Swann in Love (indefinite article, so first word only)
Voyage au bout de la nuit — Journey to the End of the Night (noun first, so first word only)
La Belle et la Bête — Beauty and the Beast (two parallel nouns, so both)

Proper nouns are capitalised wherever they appear, so the Swann of Un amour de Swann keeps its capital regardless.

Capitalization of Titles Quick Reference

What to capitalise, by how the title opens

The title begins with	Rule	Example	English
a definite article	the article and the first noun	Le Rouge et le Noir	The Red and the Black
article plus adjective	the adjective as well	La Grande Illusion	The Grand Illusion
two parallel nouns	both nouns	La Belle et la Bête	Beauty and the Beast
an indefinite article	the first word only	Un long dimanche de fiançailles	A Very Long Engagement
a preposition	the first word only	À la recherche du temps perdu	In Search of Lost Time
a complete sentence	the first word only	La vie est un long fleuve tranquille	Life Is a Long Quiet River
anything, with a name inside	the name, always	Le Tour de France	the Tour de France

Common Capitalization of Titles Examples in French

Real titles, capitalised the French way:

Beginning With Le, La, or Les

Le Petit Prince: The Little Prince
Les Trois Mousquetaires: The Three Musketeers
La Peste: The Plague
Le Deuxième Sexe: The Second Sex

The capital stops at the first noun. Anything after it, however important it looks, stays lower case.

Beginning With Anything Else

À la recherche du temps perdu: In Search of Lost Time
Voyage au bout de la nuit: Journey to the End of the Night
Un amour de Swann: Swann in Love
Sans famille: Nobody's Boy

One capital and no more. This covers titles opening with a preposition, an indefinite article, a verb, or an adverb.

Personal and Professional Titles

le docteur Martin: Doctor Martin
le président de la République: the President of the Republic
madame la ministre: the minister (addressing a woman)
M. et Mme Dupont: Mr and Mrs Dupont

The job is lower case and the institution is capitalised, which is why République has a capital and président does not.

Things French Never Capitalises

lundi 3 mars: Monday 3 March
au mois de janvier: in January
Je parle français et italien.: I speak French and Italian.
un écrivain français: a French writer

Days, months, languages, and nationality adjectives are all lower case. Only a nationality used as a noun for a person takes a capital: un Français.

How French Title Capitalisation Works

The whole system is designed to capitalise the smallest number of words that still marks where the title begins.

The Default Is Lower Case

Start from the assumption that nothing is capitalised, then add capitals only where a rule demands one. This is the opposite of the English instinct, which starts from title case and removes capitals from small words.

Le journal s'appelle Le Monde diplomatique.

The paper is called Le Monde diplomatique.

Capitalise the minimum.

A Definite Article Pulls the First Noun With It

When le, la, or les opens the title, the capital extends as far as the first noun, taking any adjectives in between. Le Petit Prince capitalises three words; Le Château de ma mère stops after Château.

Il a vu La Grande Illusion au cinéma.

He saw La Grande Illusion at the cinema.

Article, adjective, first noun.

Anything Else Gets One Capital

An indefinite article, a preposition, a verb, or an adverb at the start means you capitalise that word and nothing more. This is why À la recherche du temps perdu has a single capital in six words.

Elle relit Voyage au bout de la nuit chaque hiver.

She rereads Voyage au bout de la nuit every winter.

First word only.

Parallel Terms Are Both Capitalised

When a title consists of two balanced nouns joined by et or ou, both are capitalised, along with their articles. La Belle et la Bête and Le Rouge et le Noir work this way, because neither half is subordinate to the other.

Guerre et Paix est un roman russe.

War and Peace is a Russian novel.

Balanced pair, two capitals.

Jobs Are Lower Case, Institutions Are Not

A function held by a person stays lower case, while the body they belong to takes a capital. That gives le ministre de l'Éducation nationale, where the person is small and the ministry is large.

Le président a reçu le ministre de la Culture.

The president received the Minister for Culture.

Person small, institution large.

Common Mistakes with Capitalization of Titles

Incorrect: Le petit Prince — The Little Prince

Correct: Le Petit Prince — The Little Prince

When an adjective stands between the article and the first noun, the capital extends over it. The capital runs from the article to the noun without gaps.

Incorrect: À La Recherche Du Temps Perdu — In Search of Lost Time

Correct: À la recherche du temps perdu — In Search of Lost Time

This is English title case applied to French. Because the title opens with a preposition rather than a definite article, only the first word is capitalised.

Incorrect: Je parle Français depuis dix ans. — I've spoken French for ten years.

Correct: Je parle français depuis dix ans. — I've spoken French for ten years.

Language names are common nouns in French and stay lower case. The capital appears only when the word means a person: un Français.

Incorrect: Le Président de la république a parlé. — The President of the Republic spoke.

Correct: Le président de la République a parlé. — The President of the Republic spoke.

The capitals are the wrong way round. The office held by a person is lower case, while the institution is a proper noun and takes the capital.

Personal Titles and Forms of Address

The rules for people are separate from the rules for works, and they turn on whether you are speaking to someone or about them.

Monsieur, madame, mademoiselle

Capitalised when you are addressing the person directly or writing to them, lower case when you are talking about them.

Bonjour, Monsieur.: Good morning, sir.
Cher Monsieur, je vous écris au sujet de…: Dear Sir, I am writing to you about…
J'ai croisé monsieur Legrand ce matin.: I ran into Mr Legrand this morning.
M. et Mme Dupont sont arrivés.: Mr and Mrs Dupont have arrived.

The abbreviations always take a capital and no full stop on Mme or Mlle, since the last letter of the full word is present.

Job titles and honorifics

The function is lower case; the institution, ministry, or order it belongs to keeps its capital.

le président de la République: the President of the Republic
le ministre de la Justice: the Minister for Justice
le professeur Dubois: Professor Dubois
Sa Sainteté le pape: His Holiness the Pope

Forms of respect such as Sa Sainteté, Son Excellence, and Sa Majesté are capitalised in full.

Days, months, languages, nationalities

All lower case. The one capital is a nationality used as a noun to mean a person of that country.

Nous partons le jeudi 12 avril.: We're leaving on Thursday 12 April.
J'apprends le japonais.: I'm learning Japanese.
C'est un film italien.: It's an Italian film.
Deux Italiens et une Belge.: Two Italians and a Belgian woman.

The same word can go either way: un Anglais is an Englishman, un thé anglais is English tea.

Capitalization of Titles FAQs

How do you capitalise a French book title?: If it begins with le, la, or les, capitalise the article, any adjective, and the first noun: Le Petit Prince, Les Trois Mousquetaires. If it begins with anything else, capitalise only the first word: À la recherche du temps perdu, Voyage au bout de la nuit.
Why is it Le Rouge et le Noir with two capitals?: Because the title is built on two balanced terms joined by et, and neither is subordinate to the other. Parallel pairs are both capitalised, which also gives La Belle et la Bête and Guerre et Paix.
Should monsieur and madame be capitalised?: Capitalise them when you are addressing the person or writing to them: bonjour, Monsieur; Chère Madame. Use lower case when talking about them in running text: j'ai vu monsieur Legrand. The abbreviations M., Mme, and Mlle always take a capital.
Are French days and months capitalised?: No. Lundi, mardi, janvier, and février are ordinary common nouns and stay lower case, even in a date: nous partons le samedi 5 juillet. The same applies to language names and to seasons.
Why is président lower case but République capitalised?: Because French capitalises institutions rather than the people who run them. The office is a common noun, so le président de la République, le ministre de la Culture, le pape. The Republic, the ministry, and other named bodies are proper nouns and keep their capitals.