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French Vocabulary Mnemonics: Remember Greetings, Numbers and Days

French spelling can make words look harder than they sound. Mnemonics help because they skip the spelling and anchor the sound. This guide covers three sets every beginner needs — greetings, numbers and days of the week — and shows how a single route keeps them in order.

By Khang Nguyen · Updated October 14, 2026 · 7 min read

Why sound-first works for French

Many French words end in letters you don’t say. Trois is said roughly “trwah,” and deux is roughly “duh.” If you learn French only from the page, the spelling can get in the way of the sound. Keyword mnemonics give you an English sound to hold on to, and the spelling can come later through reading.

As always, the hook is only an approximation. Listen to a native recording and copy that sound. The hook’s job is to bring the word back to mind, not to teach pronunciation.

Greetings at the front door

Put greetings at the entrance of your palace, where people naturally say hello, thank you and goodbye.

  1. bonjour (hello) — BONE + SHORE: a dog drops its BONE on the SHORE and barks hello at every walker.
  2. bonsoir (good evening) — BONE + SWAN: at dusk a SWAN glides past your door with a BONE in its beak, honking good evening.
  3. merci (thank you) — MERCY: a king grants a knight MERCY, and the knight bows: thank you!
  4. oui (yes) — WE: asked who wants cake, WE all nod yes at once.
  5. au revoir (goodbye) — OH + REVERSE: your friend cries OH and waves goodbye as the car REVERSES down the drive.

Numbers one to five in the kitchen

Numbers are abstract, so the trick is to make the scene show the quantity. Count the objects in each image out loud.

  1. un (one) — AN: you hold up AN apple, alone in your palm: just one.
  2. deux (two) — DOUGH: a baker tears the DOUGH into two equal balls.
  3. trois (three) — TRAY: a waiter balances three glasses on a wobbly TRAY.
  4. quatre (four) — CAT: a CAT steps in paint and leaves four paw prints across the table.
  5. cinq (five) — SINK: you drop five spoons into the SINK, one from each finger.

The days of the week follow the planets

Here is a gift: most French weekdays are named after the Moon and the planets, so their mnemonics line up with real history. Lundi comes from the Moon, mardi from Mars, mercredi from Mercury, jeudi from Jupiter, and vendredi from Venus. When a mnemonic matches a real word origin, it tends to last.

Place the seven days along one wall of your palace, left to right, so the order is part of the memory.

  1. lundi (Monday) — LUNAR: a LUNAR rocket blasts off toward the moon every Monday morning.
  2. mardi (Tuesday) — MARS: every Tuesday a red MARS rover rolls into your backyard.
  3. mercredi (Wednesday) — MERCURY: the MERCURY in the thermometer climbs to the middle mark — midweek.
  4. jeudi (Thursday) — JUDO: every Thursday night you flip your partner onto the mat at JUDO. (Or use Jupiter, the real origin.)
  5. vendredi (Friday) — VENUS: every Friday night you point up at VENUS, the brightest point in the sky.
  6. samedi (Saturday) — SAND + DAY: on Saturday you spend the whole DAY building SAND castles.
  7. dimanche (Sunday) — MANSION: every Sunday the family drives to Grandma’s MANSION for lunch.

Test, then use the words together

Walk the route and say each word in French before you check the meaning. Then flip it: stand at the kitchen sink and ask yourself for “five” — cinq. Notice that the order of numbers and days is built into the route, so you can also recite them in sequence.

Finally, combine the sets into tiny phrases: “Bonjour ! Deux cafés, merci.” or “À samedi !” (See you Saturday!). Words you use together reinforce each other, and the palace becomes a place you visit less and less.

Research sources

These sources support the learning principles described above. Results vary by learner, material, and practice.

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