What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui ? literally translates to "Which day are we today?" because it uses the verb être (to be) in the first-person plural nous (we).
Which one should you use?
While Quel jour… often asks for the day of the week, Quelle est la date aujourd'hui ? specifically asks for the numerical date. There are also several ways to phrase the question depending on the setting: Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui ? and Pouvez-vous me dire quel jour on est aujourd'hui? are formal, while On est quel jour aujourd'hui? and C'est quel jour aujourd'hui? are informal. For very casual daily conversation, you can use the shortened colloquial version On est quel jour ?
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui ? is a formal way to ask the question. You can also use the more polite Pouvez-vous me dire quel jour on est aujourd'hui? in formal situations. In informal settings, you might say On est quel jour aujourd'hui? or C'est quel jour aujourd'hui?, where the subject-verb inversion is dropped for a more direct word order. The phrase On est quel jour ? is considered a colloquial, everyday version.
How does it change in a sentence?
A common grammatical variation of this question uses the impersonal pronoun on instead of nous, resulting in Quel jour est-on aujourd'hui ?
When do people say it?
When answering this question, a standard response is to use the structure Nous sommes followed by the day of the week, such as Nous sommes lundi (It is Monday).
Did you know?
- The word aujourd'hui is a linguistic fossil that literally means 'on the day of today'. It is a combination of au, jour, de and the archaic word hui, which meant 'today'.
- While English uses the impersonal 'it' for dates, French uses the first-person plural nous (we). This shifts the perspective from a neutral observation of time to a shared human experience.
Examples in context
- Aujourd'hui, c'est lundi.Today, it is Monday.
- Pardon, quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui ?Excuse me, what day is it today?
- Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui ? Je suis perdu.What day is it today? I am lost.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Emma are sitting in a cafe.
- GabrielQuel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui ?What day is it today?
- EmmaNous sommes jeudi, Gabriel.It is Thursday, Gabriel.
- GabrielAh, d'accord. Merci Emma !Ah, okay. Thanks Emma!
- EmmaDe rien.You're welcome.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aujourd'hui, jour, quel, CC BY-SA 4.0.
