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Talking about seasons with 'en' and 'au'

When you talk about things happening during a specific season, English makes it very easy. You just use the word "in" for all of them: in summer, in autumn, in winter, and in spring. In French, you cannot translate "in" with a single word every time.

You need to pay attention to the first letter of the season to choose the correct preposition. For été, automne, and hiver, you will use en. But for printemps, you need a different word entirely. Let us look at how to master this small but important detail so you can talk about your seasonal plans naturally.

Word list
automnemA1 autumn en automne = in autumn étémA1 summer en été = in summer hivermA1 winter en hiver = in winter printempsmA1 spring au printemps = in spring
Vowels and the silent H

Three of the four seasons in French start with a vowel sound. These are été, automne, and hiver. You might notice that hiver starts with a consonant letter, but because the letter H is always silent in French, the word begins with a vowel sound.

Because these three words start with a vowel sound, they pair with the preposition en. This sounds smooth when spoken aloud and prevents two vowel sounds from clashing awkwardly. When you say en été, en automne, or en hiver, you will link the final N of en to the first vowel of the season.

Il fait très chaud en été.
(It is very hot in summer.)
Il pleut souvent en automne.
(It often rains in autumn.)
Je fais du ski en hiver.
(I go skiing in winter.)
The exception for spring

The word for spring is printemps. Because it starts with a pronounced consonant, French uses the preposition au instead of en. The word au is a mandatory contraction of à and le.

Saying en printemps is a very common mistake for beginners, so try to remember this special case from the start. You will use this whenever you are talking about things that happen during the spring in a general sense.

Les fleurs reviennent au printemps.
(The flowers return in spring.)
Nous aimons nous promener dans le parc au printemps.
(We like to take walks in the park in spring.)
Watch out for specific seasons

The rules above apply when you are talking about seasons generally, like saying that it snows in winter or that flowers bloom in spring. If you want to say "this winter" or "this spring", the pattern changes. You drop the preposition completely and use the pointing words ce or cet directly before the season.

Cet hiver, nous restons ici.
(This winter, we are staying here.)
Je voyage à Paris ce printemps.
(I am traveling to Paris this spring.)

Additionally, if you add a specific year or a descriptive adjective, you might see other combinations. For example, French speakers often say à l'été 2025 to mean "in the summer of 2025", or au printemps dernier for "last spring". For everyday general statements, however, just remember your basic en and au.

Summary

When talking about seasons in general, pay attention to the first letter. Use en for seasons that start with a vowel sound (en été, en automne, en hiver). Use au for the only season that starts with a consonant (au printemps).