How to Say Planet Names and ‘Mercury Retrograde’ in French

[Updated 2025]

How to say the planet names in French

MVTMJSUNP… No, I didn’t fall asleep on my keyboard!

MVTMJSUNP (« mon vieux tu m’as jeté sur une nouvelle planète » meaning “Buddy, you threw me on a new planet”) is the French mnemonic to remember the planet names in order starting from closest to the sun (le soleil) and going outward.

Mercure
Vénus
la Terre
Mars
Jupiter
Saturne
Uranus
Neptune
Pluton

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What is Mercury Retrograde?

Due to the planet Mercury moving slower, it appears to move backwards, so it’s called Mercury Retrograde (or Mercure Rétrograde in French) and it happens four times a year.

The metaphysical phenomenon is known to cause miscommunication, traffic jams, plans to fall through, and other unpleasant occurrences.

People who practice astrology believe this is a time of high intuition and a time to reflect and rewind.

The catchy “Be Kind. Rewind.” slogan from the American video rental store, Blockbuster, came to mind when I learned of the 2025 Mercury Retrograde dates: March 14 to April 6; July 17 to August 11; and November 9 to 29, 2025 (starting dates depend on where you are located on La Terre.)

During these periods of Mercury Retrograde (and every day, really), we need to:

• practice self-compassion
• pause a moment and “rewind” what you said or heard before responding, or ask for clarification to reduce miscommunication and misunderstandings
• allow extra time to finish tasks or travel to reduce missed deadlines or late arrivals
• resist frustration when you find your internet slow or spotty

Very humbling revelation for me: Just as people were needing to switch to virtual working or remote learning at the start of the pandemic, I was surprised to learn that many households in big cities did not have internet!

In short, heed that video store’s slogan and let’s “be kind” to ourselves and each other. ❤️