mai
/mɛ/
In French, the word for the month of May is mai.
The word mai is used to refer to the fifth month of the Gregorian calendar. It is also used in several common expressions, such as Les beaux jours de mai (the beautiful days of May) and Le pont du 8 mai, which refers to a long weekend often created by the public holiday on May 8th.
Meaning: have permission to (verb)
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/mɛ/
When do people say it?
In France, there is a tradition related to the expression Le muguet du 1er mai, which refers to offering sprigs of lily-of-the-valley on May 1st as a symbol of good luck and happiness.
Did you know?
- While mai is the month, the French word for 'may' in the sense of permission is pouvoir, which also means 'to be able to'.
- The term faire le pont in le pont du 8 mai literally means 'to make the bridge', describing the act of taking a Friday or Monday off to create a long holiday.
- In France, the custom of giving lily-of-the-valley on le 1er mai was officially started by King Charles IX in 1561.
Examples in context
- Nous sommes en mai.It's May.This sentence shows how to state the current month using mai.Tatoeba #9129572 by Julien_PDC, translation #10191136 by sundown
- Je viendrai le 23 mai.I'll come on May 23rd.This sentence demonstrates how to use mai when specifying a particular date.Tatoeba #497355 by Bruno, translation #497917 by FeuDRenais
- C'est-à-dire le 10 mai.That is to say, on May 10th.This sentence shows how to use mai to clarify a date.Tatoeba #8485862 by Aiji, translation #39772 by AlanF_US
- On se voit en mai!See you in May!
- 214 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas is asking his boss for a day off.
- LucasEst-ce que je mai prendre Vendredi ?May I take Friday off?
- ManonOui, vous mai le faire.Yes, you may do that.
- LucasMerci, mai je sortir plus tôt demain ?Thanks, may I leave earlier tomorrow?
- ManonNon, vous ne mai pas.No, you may not.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mai, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
