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Can you name the days of the week?

Imagine that you’ve just met a new friend. Excited to practice your English, you trade numbers and make a plan to meet up at a coffee shop. You arrive at the right time, but your friend doesn’t show up. What happened?

Horror of horrors, you’ve come on the wrong day!

Whether you’re making social plans or working toward important dates at work or in school, you need to know the days of the week in English. It’s important to learn the names for the days and how to use them in conversation to avoid any confusion.

That’s why, in this guide, you’ll learn not just the days of the week, but how English speakers talk about them.

Let’s start with the names of the days, how they’re pronounced, and the most common abbreviations for the days of the week.

Your most pressing days of the week questions, answered

How did we get seven days of the week?

English-speaking countries follow a seven-day week, originating from Jewish and Babylonian calendars.

When people say “the days of the week,” they mean all the different days, Monday to Sunday, that make up a week – the seven days of the week.

But wait! What are weekdays?

It’s easy to get confused between days of the week and weekdays.

In English, weeks are broken into two parts. Weekdays are the five days that people traditionally go to work at offices, meaning the days from Monday to Friday. You’ll also hear people refer to this time period as the “work week” or “school week” and say things happen “during the week,” meaning within this range.

The weekend – Saturday and Sunday – are days for rest and recreation.

Is Sunday the first day of the week?

Historically, Sunday is the first day of the week in English. However, many also accept Monday as the first day as it marks the start of the work week.

This can also vary by country. For example, the UK and US begin the week on Monday while Israel begins on Sunday.

You’ll often see English calendars that start the week with Sunday, but English speakers will generally start with Monday when looking at or talking about a week.

What is the best way to remember the days of the week?

The best way to remember the days of the week in English is to associate them with what they're named after. Name origins from English days of the week come from Roman, Norse, and Anglo-Saxon mythology.

Sunday

Origin: Sunday is named after the sun.

Did you know? Sunday is Christianity’s holy day of rest and worship, established as the first day of the week by Roman Emperor Constantine I in 321 A.D. Even today, some restaurants and businesses close on Sundays.

Monday

Origin: Monday is named after the moon just like in other Romance languages (lundi, lunes). The similar sounds of “Mon-” and “moon” make it easy to remember.

Did you know? You might have heard the English expression, “a case of the Mondays.” This comes from the 1999 movie “Office Space” and refers to a bad mood brought on by the start of the work week. It’s not how you want to start your week!

Tuesday

Origin: Tuesday is named after Tiu, the Anglo-Saxon name of Tyr, Norse god of war. Tyr is one of the sons of Odin and is also known as Mars in Roman mythology.

Did you know? Tuesday has a wide variation of pronunciation depending on the area where you live. Some dialects pronounce this “TOOS-day” while others pronounce it “TYOOZ-dee”.

Wednesday

Origin: Wednesday is named after Odin, also known as Woden or Wotan. Odin is known for ruling with a spear and is famous for giving one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom.

Did you know? Wednesday is nicknamed “hump day” because it’s the middle of the work week and can be difficult to get over, like the top of a hill. You’re at the summit, it’s all downhill from here!

Thursday

Origin: The name Thursday comes from Thor’s Day. Thor, God of Thunder, is also a son of Odin and known for using a powerful hammer in battle.

Did you know? “Throwback Thursday” is a social media trend of people posting old photos of themselves on Thursdays. You’ll also sometimes see bars and restaurants offer weekly drink specials on Thursdays, called “Thirsty Thursdays.” Getting closer to the weekend!

Friday

Origin: Friday is named after Frigg, the wife of Odin. Frigg represents beauty, love, and the earth in Norse mythology and is also known as Venus.

Did you know? Friday the 13th, that is, a Friday that falls on the 13th day of the month, is considered unlucky. You’ve already had a long week already, let’s hope you don’t have any bad luck today!

Saturday

Origin: Saturday is named after Saturn, the Roman god and planet with rings.

Did you know? Saturday is often considered the seventh day of the week, originating from Judaism’s Sabbath, as the final day and day of rest in the week. Think of it like this: you made it through the week, so Saturday is for treating yourself!

Using English days of the week in a sentence: 3 top tips

While many languages ask, “What day are we?”, in English we ask, “What day is it?” or “What day is today?”. When responding, you should say, “It’s Monday” or, “Today is Monday”, instead of “We are Monday”. Here are some other tips to help you use the days of the week correctly in English.

1. They are always capitalised

Are days of the week capitalized? Yes! Here’s why.

Days of the week are proper nouns and should always be spelled with capital letters in English. For instance, write “Saturday”, instead of “saturday”.

2. They rarely require articles

While some languages use an article before days of the week, you rarely use articles before days in English.

However, there are a few exceptions. You can use the article “the” to emphasize a particular date, such as “the Sunday before last,” or the article “a” to mean a general date, such as “a Monday in June.”

3. Learn the meanings of these helpful phrases

To avoid confusion, there are some phrases worth understanding – and learning.

This Tuesday…

“This Tuesday” means the immediate next Tuesday.

Last Tuesday…

“This Tuesday” means the immediate past Tuesday.

On Tuesday…

Saying “on Tuesday” could mean the immediate past Tuesday or the immediate next Tuesday. You will need to look at the context and sentence tense for clues.

On Tuesdays…

By adding an 's' to make the day plural, you change the meaning from just one Tuesday to every Tuesday.

For example:

“On Tuesdays, I make my weekly trip to the library.”

You can also say “each Tuesday” or “every Tuesday” for the same meaning.

Fun fact: Here’s a rule some native English speakers struggle with: it’s a common mistake to add an apostrophe when making a day of the week plural. Incorrect example: Wednesday’s Correct example: Wednesdays

For example:

That’s Emily’s favorite lunch. She eats it on Fridays.

That’s = contraction of “that” + “is”
Emily’s = it belongs to Emily
Fridays = just a plural, no apostrophe required!

Incorrect: Friday’s
Correct: Fridays

And now you know all about the days of the week!

You’ve learned the names of the days of the week in English, their pronunciations and abbreviations, their origins, and some great tips for how English speakers use the days of the week in conversation. You’ve got all the information you need to never get the day of the week wrong on a deadline or coffee date.