date
/dat/
The French word for the English 'date' (as in a point in time) is date.
In French, date refers specifically to a calendar date or a specific point in time.
Meaning: point in time (noun)
Which one should you use?
While date refers to a calendar date, use rendez-vous to refer to a social or romantic date/appointment.
How do you pronounce it?
/dat/
Did you know?
- If you are in a French bakery and want to buy a 'date' as a fruit, you would actually ask for une datte instead of une date.
- The French date is inherited from the Late Latin data, which is the feminine form of the Latin datus meaning 'given'.
- French uses the phrase à date as a direct borrowing from English in Quebec, though this is considered an anglicism and is avoided in France.
Examples in context
- Choisis une date !Pick a date.This sentence is useful for practicing the command to pick a date.Tatoeba #4625966 by sacredceltic, translation #2249760 by CK
- Tom vérifia la date.Tom checked the date.This sentence shows how to use date when someone is checking a specific day.Tatoeba #5348100 by Aiji, translation #1026701 by CK
- Écris toi-même la date.Write in the date yourself.This sentence demonstrates how to use date when writing a day down.Tatoeba #1340236 by sacredceltic, translation #281155 by CK
- J'ai un rendez-vous galant ce soirI have a date tonight.
- C'était notre première rencontreIt was our first date.
- Je vais enfin avoir un rencard avec luiI'm finally going on a date with him.
- J'ai un rendez-vous ce soir avec ma copine.I have a date tonight with my girlfriend.
- Je vais enfin avoir un rencard avec Thomas.I'm finally going on a date with Thomas.
- 80 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Manon and Nathan are organizing a meeting.
- ManonQuelle date te convient pour le rendez-vous ?Which date works for you for the appointment?
- NathanLe 12 octobre serait parfait pour moi.October 12th would be perfect for me.
- ManonC'est noté, je retiens cette date.Noted, I'll keep that date.
- NathanSuper, on se voit à ce moment-là.Great, we'll see each other then.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry date, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries date, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
