The Seasons in French With Audio Recordings

How do you say the 4 seasons in French? Should you use Au or En ? Learn about the French season vocabulary as well as typical sentences used to talk about the seasons in French.

First, let’s learn the names of the four seasons and their correct French pronunciation.

What Are The Names Of The 4 Seasons in French?

Let’s learn the names for spring, summer, fall and winter in French:

This free French lesson – like many on French Today’s blog – features audio recordings. Click on the link next to the headphones to hear the French pronunciation.

Note the seasons are all masculine singular in French.

Au / En For Seasons in French ?

Although all the seasons are masculine in French, to translate “in + season’s name”, we use two different prepositions: “au” and “en”.

1. Au printemps
2. En été
3. En automne
4. En hiver

Why Is It Au Printemps in French But En Hiver, En Été, En Automne?

Why do we use “au + season” or “en + season” in French? The preposition changes because of the sound: specifically the vowel (or silent h, hence vowel) which starts “été, automne, hiver”.

Try saying “au été”, “au automne”, “au hiver”… It’s not easy on the mouth!
So at one point, the “au” became “en”…

With the strong liaison with the N of the “en” to start the vowel sound, it’s much easier to pronounce.

Listen to the audio recording again and repeat out-loud to see for yourself.

1. Au printemps
2. En été
3. En automne
4. En hiver

This is what I call a lazy mouth rule !

7 Examples of Sentences Using the Seasons in French

Now let’s see some sentences commonly used to talk about the seasons in French:

1. Mardi, c’était le premier jour du printemps
   Tuesday was the first day of spring.
2. Quelle est votre saison préférée ?
   What’s your favorite season?
3. Ma saison préférée est l’été
   My favorite season is summertime.
4. Quel temps fait-il en France au printemps ?
   What’s the weather like in France in the spring?
5. En été, je nage souvent dans la mer.
   In summer, I often swim in the sea.
6. Mon chien adore se rouler dans les feuilles en automne.
   My dog loves rolling in the leaves in the fall.
7. En hiver, il neige rarement en Bretagne.
   In winter, it seldom snows in Brittany.

Famous Saying About the Seasons in French

Here is a famous French saying about the seasons:

“En avril, ne te découvre pas d’un fil.
Mais en mai, fais ce qu’il te plaît”

In April, don’t take a thread off (= don’t take your clothes of because it could still be cold).
But in May, do whatever you’d like. (Dress light if you want because it should be warm enough)

And now for a fun practice, I invite you to listen to my recording and explanation of a French poem about Spring.

*Main picture: The 4 Seasons by Mucha. I love it, don’t you?