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French Phrase

Hier, c'était quel jour ?

/jɛʁ se.tɛ kɛl ʒuʁ/
Meaning"Yesterday, what day was it?"
💡

Meaning

A straightforward question asking for the day of the week that yesterday corresponded to. It’s used when you missed a date, need to confirm a schedule, or simply didn’t hear the day mentioned earlier.

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When to use

Use this phrase in casual conversation after a weekend, a holiday, or any situation where you’re unsure which day yesterday fell on. It works well in both spoken and written French, especially in informal contexts.

✦Grammar Breakdown

Hier,c'étaitqueljour?

1

Hier

Adverb of time meaning ‘yesterday’; placed at the beginning for emphasis.

2

c'était

Imperfect of être (to be) used for identification in the past; contraction of ‘ce était’.

3

quel

Interrogative adjective meaning ‘which’; agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.

4

jour

Masculine noun ‘day’; does not take an article in this interrogative construction.

5

Question format

French often uses a declarative clause followed by an interrogative word (c'était + quel jour) rather than inversion.

🗨In Conversation

A

Hier, c'était quel jour ?

Yesterday, what day was it?

C'était mardi.

It was Tuesday.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Hier, c'est quel jour ?

    ‘c’est’ is present tense; the sentence refers to the past, so you need the imperfect ‘c’était’.

  • Hier, quel jour était hier ?

    Missing the ‘c’était’ makes the sentence sound incomplete; French prefers the ‘c’était + quel jour’ pattern.

  • Quel jour hier était‑c' ?

    Incorrect word order and misplaced inversion; the natural order is ‘c’était quel jour hier’.

↔Alternatives

  • Quel jour était‑ce hier ?

    Which day was it yesterday?

  • Hier, c'était quel jour de la semaine ?

    Yesterday, what day of the week was it?

  • C'était quel jour hier ?

    What day was it yesterday?

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Cultural Tip

In French, days of the week are never capitalized, unlike in English. The construction ‘c'était + quel + noun’ is very common for asking about past facts. For a more formal tone you can invert the subject and verb: ‘Quel jour était‑ce hier ?’. In everyday speech, the simpler ‘C'était quel jour hier ?’ is also perfectly natural.