Ways to say it
| French | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| jour férié | /ʒuʁ fe.ʁje/ | masculine |
| fête légale | feminine | |
| fête | /fɛt/ (France) /fɛːt/ |
feminine |
This term refers to a national or regional holiday from work on a specific day. Use un jour férié when discussing the legal non-working status of a day, such as when banks or government offices are closed. You can ask Est-ce que c'est un jour férié? to inquire if a specific day is a public holiday. If you want to ask more generally if a specific day is a day off, you can say Est-ce que c'est un jour de congé? instead.
Which one should you use?
While jour férié refers specifically to the legal status of a day off, fête refers to the celebration or the event itself.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, Canada, congé férié is a common way to say public holiday.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of public holidays is les jours fériés.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʒuʁ fe.ʁje/
Did you know?
- In France, the term faire le pont (to make the bridge) describes taking an extra day off when a jour férié falls on a Tuesday or Thursday.
- The word férié comes from a Latin root meaning 'idle', which describes the state of a person rather than the day itself.
- A jour férié in France does not automatically guarantee a day off from work, as some private sector contracts require employees to work these days.
Examples in context
- C'était un jour férié.It was a public holiday.This sentence is useful for stating that a specific day was a public holiday.Tatoeba #9035970 by carlosalberto, translation #9035944 by carlosalberto
- Je pars en vacances pendant les jours fériés.I'm going on vacation during the public holidays.
- Demain est un jour férié.Tomorrow is a public holiday.
Example conversation
Chloé and Hugo are discussing their work schedule for the upcoming week.
- ChloéEst-ce que demain est un jour férié ?Is tomorrow a public holiday?
- HugoOui, c'est un jour férié.Yes, it is a public holiday.
- ChloéSuper, je ne travaille pas !Great, I am not working!
- HugoMoi non plus, je vais me reposer.Me neither, I am going to rest.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “public holiday” translations and entries jour férié, fête, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries férié, fête, jour, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
