One of your beginning English lessons will include the question “What day is it?” Answering this question seems simple, but it’s important to get it right to avoid confusion. Follow this guide to the days of the week in English and how to use them in writing and conversations in English. You’ll also learn where words like Wednesday come from!
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The English days of the week
Even though there are only seven days of the week in English, they can be a little tricky—even for native English speakers. Take a look at these English words, how to pronounce them, and how to abbreviate (shorten) them in writing or on a calendar.
| Day of the Week | Pronunciation | Abbreviation |
| Monday | MUHN-dey | Mon. |
| Tuesday | TOOZ-dey | Tues. |
| Wednesday | WENZ-dey | Wed. |
| Thursday | THURZ-dey | Thurs. |
| Friday | FRAHY-dey | Fri. |
| Saturday | SAT-er-dey | Sat. |
| Sunday | SUHN-dey | Sun. |
You may also see the days of the week abbreviated with one letter, such as M for Monday or W for Wednesday. But watch out for Tuesday and Thursday. Since they both start with T, they’re typically abbreviated as T (Tuesday) and Th (Thursday). Saturday and Sunday are typically abbreviated together as SS.
How to use English days of the week in writing
Using the days of the week in English means you’ll need to learn a few grammar rules. Follow these usage tips to avoid making common mistakes and to use these words correctly in writing and in spoken conversation.
Treat them like proper nouns
The days of the week in English are proper nouns. This means you will capitalize them every time you write them (including in abbreviations).
- Incorrect: Today is tuesday.
- Correct: Today is Tuesday.
However, don’t use English articles like a, an, or the before each day.
- Incorrect: Today is the Tuesday.
- Correct: Today is Tuesday.
You might also see the days of the week used as plural nouns with an -s at the end. This usually happens when you’re talking about events that take place over multiple weeks. For example, “I go running on Wednesdays” means that you go running every Wednesday, not just this Wednesday.
Use ‘on’ instead of ‘in’
A common mistake that beginner English learners make is using in instead of on when talking about the days of the week. In English, you use the English preposition on to describe something that happens on a certain day.
- Incorrect: My birthday is in Saturday.
- Correct: My birthday is on Saturday.
- Incorrect: Are you working in Monday?
- Correct: Are you working on Monday?
English learners often make this mistake because we use the preposition in when talking about months and years. For example, “John visited me in January” is correct because you’re discussing a month. When you change it to a day of the week in English (as in “John visited me on Thursday“) you use the preposition on.
Write out the full name in writing
Abbreviating the days of the week in English can be a very helpful way to save space in your notes or planner. But when you’re writing full sentences or speaking about the days of the week, use the whole word not the abbreviation.
- Incorrect: The party is on Mon.
- Correct: The party is on Monday.
- Incorrect: Is today Sat. or Sun.?
- Correct: Is today Saturday or Sunday?
When you’re texting or sending informal messages about a day of the week, feel free to use the abbreviation along with other informal language. “See you Mon!” is a common, casual way to say “See you on Monday!”
Clarify which day of the week you mean
Since the English days of the week repeat every seven days, make sure you’re clear about which day you mean. Use the word this to talk about the day that’s coming up the soonest (this week). You don’t use on in these sentences as you can see below.
- Incorrect: Grandma is arriving on this Friday.
- Correct: Grandma is visiting this Friday.
Use the word next when you’re talking about a day in the very next week.
- Incorrect: I’m working on next Monday.
- Correct: I’m working next Monday.
When you’re talking about the most recent day of the week that has passed, use the word last. For example, “My car broke down last Tuesday.” For days that are more distance, use the date and the word on (My car broke down on Tuesday the 6th).
Use the day of the week + time of day
Get even more specific when talking about the time on the day of the week in English! Adding the words morning, afternoon, evening, or night after the day of the week gives a listener more details about when something will occur. You don’t need to use this or next if you’re adding the time of day.
- Incorrect: Our team is meeting on this Thursday afternoon.
- Correct: Our team is meeting on Thursday afternoon.
- Incorrect: Nick and Mia get brunch on the Saturday mornings.
- Correct: Nick and Mia get brunch on Saturday mornings.
In the last example, note that the -s went after morning instead of Saturday. That shows that Nick and Mia get brunch every Saturday morning, not just one Saturday morning. Saturday becomes an adjective in English when used before a noun like mornings.
Other ways to talk about days in English
The English days of the week are helpful for talking about plans and schedules. But if you need to talk about time in another way, use these common English phrases to discuss when something is going to happen.
- today: the day that’s happening right now
- tonight: the night at the end of today
- yesterday: the day that happened before today
- tomorrow: the day that will happen after today
- the day after tomorrow: the day that will happen two days from now
- the day before yesterday: the day that happened two days ago
- the weekend: Saturday and Sunday
- weekdays: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Origins of the days of the week in English
One of the reasons English can be hard to learn is that it uses words from many different languages, including in its words for the days of the week. These names come from the ancient Babylonian practice of naming the days after the seven astronomical bodies they could see (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, plus the moon and the sun). But why does English use words like Tuesday when there’s no planet called Tues?
Let’s look at the origin of the days of the week in English and how they’re similar to German days of the week (including the English word day and the German word Tag). You’ll also see how they relate to the days of the week in Latin-based Romance languages like Spanish, even though Wednesday and miércoles don’t sound the same at all!
Monday
The name Monday comes from the word moon, which comes from the Old English word mona. It’s the day of the week named after the moon (the moon’s day). It also looks a lot like the German word Montag, which isn’t surprising because English is a Germanic language.
In Latin, Monday is also named after the moon, or luna. That’s why it’s called lunes in Spanish, Lunedi in Italian, and lundi in Italian. Monday is also the first day of the week according to ISO 8601, the international standard for dates and times.
Tuesday
Tuesday is named after the planet Mars, which looks confusing unless you know Roman and Norse mythology. Mars is the Roman god of war, and in Norse mythology, the god of war is Tyr or Tiu in Old English. That’s why we call it Tuesday, or “Tiu’s day!”
Romance languages also name this day after the god of war. Martes in Spanish, mardi in French, and martedì all sound a lot like the name for the god (and planet) Mars.
Wednesday
Wednesday is named after the Norse god Odin, known as Woden in Old English (Woden’s day). That sounds pretty different from the planet Mercury, which is the basis of the day’s name in Romance languages (miércoles in Spanish, mercoledì in Italian, and mercredi in French).
It’s also different from the German name for the day, Mittwoch (which translates to “mid-week”). However, the day’s name in Dutch, another Germanic language, is Woensdag, which does look a lot like Wednesday!
Thursday
Thursday is an easy one to guess if you’re familiar with Norse mythology. It’s named after the Norse god of thunder, Thor (“Thor’s day”). The German word for Thursday is
Donnerstag, after the Germanic god of thunder, Donar.
Romance languages also name this day of the week after the god of thunder, Jupiter! In Spanish, the day is jueves, while in French, it’s jeudi. In Italian, the word for Thursday is giovedì.
Friday
The English day of the week Friday is named after Frigg (also known as Freya) the Norse goddess of love (“Frigg’s day”). You can see the connection to the German word Freitag.
In languages based on Latin, the name also reflects the goddess of love, Venus. It’s viernes in Spanish, venerdì in Italian, and vendredi in French.
Saturday
Saturday is the only English day of the week that sounds like the Roman planet it’s named after! Saturday is “Saturn’s day,” named after the Roman god of agriculture and time. It has a similar origin to the Dutch Zaterdag.
Romance languages base this day of the week on the Latin word Sabbatum, meaning “Sabbath.” This is the Jewish day of rest but is related to the early Christian church, too. That’s why it’s called sábado in Spanish, sabato in Italian, and samedi in French. The German word for Saturday is Samstag, which is also based on the Latin origin.
Sunday
Sunday is named after the final celestial body that Babylonian’s could see: the sun. It’s the “sun’s day” in English and Sonntag in German. In Latin, this day is known as Dominicus, “the Lord’s day.” That’s why it’s domenica in Italian, domingo in Spanish, and dimanche in French.
Sunday is known as the first day of the week in the Christian calendar, but the last day of the week according to international standards.
Track today, tomorrow, and yesterday on an English calendar
Once you know the days of the week in English, you’ll be able to make plans with friends, schedule your work days, and ask people about what they did on the weekend (which is a very common English conversation topic!). Keep your English learning journey going with a lesson on numbers in English, and learn more about how Rosetta Stone works for learning English or any other language.
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