Days of the week in Spanish with 75 simple examples - LangBox (2023)

Hold onto.

I know the days of the week is probably something you learn pretty early on in your Spanish studies.

But memorizing them is one thing and really knowing how to use them properly is another.

Especially considering certain differences between English and Spanish.

Another reason I chose this particular topic is because of itusefulness. This is something I always tell my students, especially in the lower grades: "learn the words you're going to use or you'll forget them".

Like the time I decided to learn the names of 30 different species of trees. Now I can barely remember maybe 5.

But days of the week? You will use them all the time!

To make appointments, plan meetings, invite friends, make travel plans or itineraries, talk about important dates and so on and so forth.

Our lives - I'm sure you will agree - are packed with activities that may happen every Friday or will happen next Tuesday or like we used to do on Sunday mornings.

With that in mind, today you will learn about days of the week in Spanish:

• Basic vocabulary and spelling rules (capitalization and accents)
• their gender and related articles (the difference betweenAndAndIs)
• how to pluralize them (which tags don't change their form in the plural)
• The most common abbreviations and how to use them in real life
• additional words and phrases (next tuesday, last thursday, etc)
• Examples of using days of the week in a different context

Days of the week in spanish

I know you said you learned the days of the week in Spanish a long time ago, but it doesn't take too much practice, so let's review it, shall we?

🇪🇸Montag– 🇩🇪Montag
🇪🇸martes– 🇩🇪Tuesday
🇪🇸Wednesday– 🇩🇪Wednesday
🇪🇸Thursday– 🇩🇪Thursday
🇪🇸Freitag– 🇩🇪Freitag
🇪🇸Saturday– 🇩🇪Saturday
🇪🇸Domingo– 🇩🇪Sunday

As you can see, two of them –WednesdayAndSaturday– have accents. Not only are they important for spelling reasons, they also determine pronunciation. In these two words, the stress is on the first syllable.

What is the question you ask in Spanish when you need to know what day it is?

You use one of thebasic question words:The?

🇪🇸What day is today?
🇩🇪What day is today?

🇪🇸Today is Tuesday.
🇩🇪Today is Tuesday.

You can also ask someone about their favorite day or their least favorite day.

🇪🇸What's your favorite day of the week?
🇩🇪What is your favorite day of the week?

🇪🇸Which day of the week do you like the least?
🇩🇪What day of the week do you like the least?

🇪🇸What day of the week is your birthday this year?
🇬🇧 What day of the week is your birthday this year? (literally: on which day it "falls")

4 rules to remember about the days of the week in Spanish

If you want to talk about the days of the week in a larger context, you need to follow a few rules:

1. Days of the week are not capitalized in Spanish unless of course they are the first word of a sentence.

The confusion between words that should and shouldn't be capitalized is one of themCommon mistakes native English speakers make in Spanish.

Check out these 3 examples:

🇪🇸Today is Monday.
🇩🇪Today is Monday.

🇪🇸Yesterday was Sunday.
🇩🇪Yesterday was Sunday.

🇪🇸Tomorrow will be Tuesday.
🇩🇪Tomorrow will be Tuesday.

See? All days of the week use lower case letters.

2. Spanish weekdays are masculine. Therefore, if necessary, they will be accompanied by the articleIs orAnd.

Ouch!

I know articles can be confusing and they're not what we like most about Spanish.

But please bear with me. I will do my best to explain how they work with days of the week.

The rule of thumb is:

• If you just focus on the name of the day (e.g. what day it is or your favorite day of the week) –no itemsis necessary. You can look at the examples above to make sure.
• If you are talking about a specific day, use the article Is.

🇪🇸IsThursday of this week is a public holiday.
🇩🇪Thursday is a holiday this week.

🇪🇸Take careIsSaturday at eight.
🇩🇪See you on Saturday at 8. (It is understood that it will be this Saturday)

🇪🇸 IsWe have a test next Monday.
🇩🇪We have a test next Monday.

• The itemAnd, on the other hand is used when you refer to itevery day of a certain kind.

Look at the following examples:

🇪🇸ErasAndrainy and sad Monday
🇩🇪It was a rainy, sad Monday.

🇪🇸MakeAndSaturday during quarantine?
🇩🇪What to do on a Saturday during lockdown?

🇪🇸AndA Sunday without activities can be very boring.
🇩🇪A Sunday without work can be very boring.

🇪🇸
A: When can we meet?
B: how about itAndMonday at noon?
🇩🇪
A: When can we see each other?
B: How about a Monday, noon?

3. In the plural form is the article you need to use with days of the weeklos.

Since all days of the week are masculine grammar, the article they require in the plural is,los, just like in the following sentences:

🇪🇸I love herlosSaturdays because we have paella for lunch.
🇩🇪I love Saturdays because they have paella at lunchtime.

🇪🇸LosSundays are always very stressful for me.
🇩🇪Sundays are very stressful for me.

🇪🇸LosI always get depressed on Mondays.
🇩🇪I always feel blue on Mondays.

🇪🇸LosFriday I go out with my friends.
🇩🇪I go out with my girlfriends on Fridays.

4. The days of the week ending in an “s” do not change form in the plural.

OnlySaturday(Saturday) AndSunday(Domingo) change their plural form by adding an “s”.

a saturday -losSaturdayS

a sunday -losDomingoS

However, the other days of the week remain unchanged in the plural.

a Monday – Mondays

a tuesday – tuesdays

a wednesday – wednesdays

thursday – thursdays

a friday – fridays

Now pay attention to how it looks in examples:

🇪🇸I don't like Mondays.
🇩🇪I don't like Mondays.

🇪🇸I have a tango class on Fridays.
🇩🇪I have tango lessons on Fridays.

🇪🇸The cleaning lady comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
🇩🇪The cleaning lady comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

🇪🇸There is a direct flight from Lima to London only on Wednesdays.
🇩🇪There is a non-stop flight from Lima to London on Wednesdays only.

2 ways to abbreviate the days of the week

With you! –(See you on Tuesday)

Mon, June 3rd

Fri to Sun

Abbreviations are common in our racing world. They are designed to save us time and get our message across as quickly as possible.

Or should I say ASAP? 😉

Days of the week in Spanish are also provided with possible abbreviations. Two sentences, to be exact.

The first type - based on the first 3 letters - is commonly used to schedule meetings, text friends, etc.

The second type, using only the first letter of each day of the week, is mainly found in calendars. OnlyWednesdayuses 2 letters to differentiatemartes.

Here is a complete list of these abbreviations:

How to use the Spanish days of the week precisely

In real life things happen not only on certain days but also at certain times of the day.

We say things like: Monday morning, Friday afternoon, etc.

We make plans for next Sunday, or we talk about what we did last Tuesday.

If you want to add a touch of precision to your days of the week in Spanish, here is a set of vocabulary you will need:

🇪🇸Wednesday mornings
🇩🇪Wednesday mornings

🇪🇸Friday afternoon
🇩🇪Friday afternoon

🇪🇸Saturday night
🇩🇪Saturday night

🇪🇸next Thursday
🇩🇪next Thursday

🇪🇸next Monday
🇩🇪next Monday

🇪🇸the following Friday
🇩🇪2 Fridays from now on

🇪🇸Last Tuesday
🇩🇪Last Tuesday

🇪🇸the sunday before
🇩🇪Sunday before last

And here are a few examples of how to use these expressions in sentences:

🇪🇸I leave on Friday morning and come back on Sunday evening.
🇩🇪I leave on Monday morning and come back on Sunday evening.

🇪🇸I was ill last Sunday.
🇩🇪I was ill last Sunday

🇪🇸The doctor is busy next Monday. How about the following Monday?
🇩🇪The doctor is busy next Monday. How about two mondays from now?

🇪🇸My birthday party is next Saturday.
🇩🇪My birthday party is next Saturday.

If you have some official business to attend to in Spanish-speaking countries or are negotiating delivery terms with a Spanish-speaking partner, you will probably hear the following two expressions more than once:

🇪🇸calendar days
🇩🇪Calendar days (including Sat and Sun)

🇪🇸working days
🇩🇪Working days (Mon to Fri)

So for example:

🇪🇸It takes 15 business days to process your visa.
🇩🇪Your visa processing takes 15 business days (3 weeks)

🇪🇸You have to wait 30 calendar days for the delivery of your products.
🇩🇪You have to wait 30 calendar days for the delivery of your products.

5 ways to use days of the week in a context

Now that we've got all our basics covered, let's see what everyday situations of the days of the week in Spanish can come in handy.

1. UseGreetings in spanish

Check out the following examples to see how different days of the week can be used:

🇪🇸Have a good weekend!
🇩🇪Have a good weekend!

🇪🇸Good Monday guys!
🇩🇪(Have) a nice Monday, boys!

🇪🇸We will meet on Thursday.
🇩🇪We will meet on Thursday.

🇪🇸How was your Sunday?
🇩🇪How was your Sunday?

🇪🇸Until Tuesday!
🇩🇪See you on Tuesday!

2. Promotions or activities taking place on a specific day of the week

This is actually a bit tricky. The Spanish language doesn't need a preposition to say what day of the week something happens.

Remember, a literal translation is includedthe most common mistakes people make when learning Spanish, and some things lose their meaning when you try to translate them word for word.

With that in mind, never say:
„on Monday“,"Sunday", or "next tuesday“. ❌

You just say:
„on Monday“, „Sundays" or "Next Tuesday“. ✅

See for yourself! There is no translation forANin these sentences:

🇪🇸I'm going to Madrid on Tuesday.
🇩🇪I'm traveling to Madrid on Tuesday.

🇪🇸We have Spanish classes on Mondays and Thursdays.
🇩🇪We have Spanish classes on Mondays and Thursdays

🇪🇸It was my birthday last Sunday.
🇩🇪It was my birthday last Sunday.

🇪🇸Your flight leaves on Monday 15th October.
🇩🇪Your flight leaves on Monday 15th October.

Diploma? When you need to say something is happeningAna specific day, just use that day's name with the articleIs.

3. Use the days of the week in Spanish to talk about recurring activities

I have lessons with Becky every Tuesday and Thursday.

On Mondays I teach English at a local kindergarten.

We visit our in-laws every other weekend.

See how the days of the week help me explain my routines?

Of course it's the same in Spanish.

The keywords here are:

🇪🇸every Monday
🇩🇪all mondays

🇪🇸every Wednesday
🇩🇪every / every Wednesday

🇪🇸every Sunday
🇩🇪every second Sunday

Here are some examples that show you how to use these expressions:

🇪🇸Every Saturday we have lunch at my mother's.
🇩🇪Every Saturday we have lunch at my mother's.

🇪🇸The board meeting is every Monday at 9 am.
🇩🇪The board meeting is every Monday at 9 am.

🇪🇸My grandmother goes to church every Sunday.
🇩🇪My grandmother goes to church every Sunday.

🇪🇸When I was a kid, we ate fish for lunch every other Friday.
🇩🇪When I was a girl, we ate fish for lunch every other Friday.

4. Invitations and Arrangements

Do you have Spanish speaking friends?

Or business partners?

If you do, you've probably seen more than one occasion that you need to make arrangements with them. Meetings, gatherings, parties, study sessions.

Using the Spanish days of the week in this context is quite natural, isn't it?

🇪🇸Let's meet this Friday at 6.
🇩🇪Let's meet this Friday at 6.

🇪🇸How about we meet at our office next Thursday?
🇩🇪¿How about a meeting next Thursday at our office?

🇪🇸On Wednesday the 18th Mr. Gonzalez arrives in Boston. You want to talk about your sales plan for this year.
🇩🇪Mr. Gonzalez is coming to Boston on Wednesday the 18th. He wants to talk about his sales plan for this year.

🇪🇸The teacher scheduled a test for the first Monday after spring break.
🇩🇪The teacher scheduled a test for the first Monday after spring break.

🇪🇸I have to make my appointment with Dr. Move Gimenez. Can we run it for next Monday?
🇩🇪I have to reschedule my appointment with Doctor Gimenez. Can we move it to next Monday??

🇪🇸Your flight to Madrid has been brought forward. It is now scheduled for Monday 15th morning.
🇩🇪Your flight to Madrid has been brought forward. It is now scheduled for the 15th Monday morning.

🇪🇸Guys, I'm going to celebrate my birthday this Sunday. You are all invited.
🇩🇪Guys, I'm celebrating my birthday this Sunday. You are all invited.

(I learned my Spanish in Chile, so I useOfinstead ofOf. If you want others to knowDifferences between Latin American Spanish and Spanish from Spainsee my article on this topic).

5. Mon to Fri - how to talk in Spanish over a range of days

The last situation I want to present is when we need to mention a specific set of days.

This can be, for example, the opening hours of a shop or the duration of a journey.

Whenever you would say in Englishfrom ... to…, go for the Spaniardsfrom ... to ... or from ... to ...

These two terms are quite interchangeable.

🇪🇸I will be taking a short vacation from Thursday to Sunday.
🇩🇪I will be taking a short vacation from Thursday to Sunday.

🇪🇸The library will be closed from Monday to Wednesday next week.
🇩🇪The library will be closed from Monday to Wednesday next week.

🇪🇸I will be out of the country from tomorrow until Friday the 12th.
🇩🇪I will be out of the country from tomorrow until Friday the 12th.

🇪🇸Our shop is open from Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
🇩🇪Our shop is open from Monday to Friday (from Monday to Friday) from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

17 hours?!