Thursday in French
Jeudi in English: Thursday
Updated May 2026
jeudi = Jovial = Jupiter. Reference card with native audio, IPA, Latin etymology, and naturalistic sentence examples.
Etymology
Jupiter
Latin: dies Jovis = “Day of Jupiter (Jove)”
Jeudi comes from Latin dies Jovis, the day of Jupiter (Jove), king of the Roman gods and god of sky and thunder. His alternate name Jove survives in the English adjective 'jovial', literally meaning 'born under Jupiter and therefore cheerful'. English Thursday is Thor's day, the Norse equivalent of Jupiter as a thunder-king deity.
English cognates: jovial, Jupiter
Pronunciation
Jeudi opens with /ʒ/, the same sound as the 's' in English 'measure', 'vision', or 'treasure'. It is voiced (vocal cords vibrating) and made in the same mouth position as English 'sh'. The 'eu' is a rounded front vowel /ø/: round your lips as if saying 'oo' but try to say 'e'.
Common mistake
Pronouncing the 'j' like English 'j' in 'jet' or like 'y' in 'yes'
Correct: Use the 's' from English 'measure': zh-uh-dee
Sentence Examples
Real-world usage drawn from CNRTL attested corpora and naturalistic everyday French. Tap any sentence to hear it spoken.
Jeudi prochain, j'ai un rendez-vous.
Next Thursday, I have an appointment.
Prochain after day name.
Le Jeudi Saint precede le Vendredi Saint.
Maundy Thursday precedes Good Friday.
Jeudi Saint capitalised here as part of a proper religious-name compound.
On va au cinema jeudi soir.
We are going to the cinema Thursday evening.
Bare-day reference to this Thursday.
Jeudi Saint
Jeudi Saint (Maundy Thursday) is the Thursday before Easter in the Catholic liturgical calendar. It commemorates the Last Supper. When the day name appears as part of this proper religious-name compound, both words are capitalised, breaking the usual French lowercase day-name rule. The same applies to Vendredi Saint (Good Friday) and Lundi de Paques (Easter Monday).
Related Days
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