Spanish Days of the Week
The role of Spanish Language in the Current World
Spanish is a major language spoken in 21 countries around the world, spoken by more than 577 million people, according to the Spanish newspaper El País and a report that gathered information from the Cervantes Institute’s published records.
Of those, 480 million people are native speakers of the Spanish language.
The language has taken hold in a number of non-native speaking countries, including the United States. According to Professor David Fernández Vítores of the University of Alcalá, there were 40 million Spanish speakers registered inside the United States of America in 2017.
If the growth tendency continues, in ten years more people will speak Spanish in the United States of America than they do in Spain!
For anyone considering learning a language, Spanish is and will continue among the most valuable in terms of both career and travel advantages.
What are the Days of the Week in Spanish?
Learning the Spanish days of the week is an easy entry point to the Spanish language because even though there are different spoken accents in each territory, these seven words remain unchanged through Spanish speaking nations.
| ENGLISH | SPANISH |
| Monday | Lunes |
| Tuesday | Martes |
| Wednesday | Miércoles |
| Thursday | Jueves |
| Friday | Viernes |
| Saturday | Sábado |
| Sunday | Domingo |
Other basic words and phrases related to Spanish days of the week:
| ENGLISH | SPANISH |
| Day | Día |
| Week | Semana |
| Month | Mes |
| Year | Año |
| Calendar | Calendario |
| Weekday | Entre semana |
| Weekend | Fin de semana |
| Next week | Siguiente semana |
Days in Spanish and their Latin roots
Spanish is a Romance Language along with French and Italian, derived from Vulgar Latin. Hence there are many Latin roots across a wide range of Spanish vocabulary. Look at the following common word examples taken from the Dictionary of the Real Academy of the Spanish Language (Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua Española).
| ENGLISH | SPANISH | LATIN ROOT |
| Book | Libro | Liber |
| Apple | Manzana | Mattiāna |
| Door | Puerta | Porta |
| Write | Escribir | Scribĕre. |
| Eat | Comer | Comedĕre. |
| Open | Abrir | Aperīre |
The table below shows the Latin words, either from Classic Latin or Vulgar Latin, from which the names for the days of the week in the Spanish language are derived.
| ENGLISH | SPANISH | LATIN ROOT |
| Monday | Lunes | Dies Lunis |
| Tuesday | Martes | Dies Martis |
| Wednesday | Miércoles | Dies Mercŭris |
| Thursday | Jueves | Dies Lovis |
| Friday | Viernes | Dies Venĕris |
| Saturday | Sábado | Dies Sabbătum |
| Sunday | Domingo | Dies Dominĭcus |
Days of the Week in Spanish and the Romance Languages
As you may know, Romance languages belong to the Italic line of the Indo-European branch in the language family tree.
Therefore, if you already are a native speaker of French, Romanian or Italian or you have learnt some of these as a second language you will have an advantage over those who haven’t.
Take note of the next comparison table showing the days of the week in five Romance languages: Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan, and Romanian.
| SPANISH | FRENCH | ITALIAN | CATALAN | ROMANIAN | CELESTIAL BODY |
| Domingo | Dimanche | Domenica | Diumenge | Duminică | Sun |
| Lunes | Lundi | Lunedi | Dilluns | Luni | Moon |
| Martes | Mardi | Mertedi | Dimarts | Marţi | Mars |
| Miércoles | Mercredi | Mercoledi | Dimecres | Miercuri | Mercury |
| Jueves | Jeudi | Giovedi | Dijous | Joi | Jupiter |
| Viernes | Vendredi | Venerdi | Divendres | Vineri | Venus |
| Sábado | Samedi | Sabato | Dissabte | Sâmbătă | Saturn |
The Roman Calendar and the Days in Spanish
There is a striking resemblance between the names for the days of the week in various Romance languages.
This is due to the fact that, during the span of the Roman Empire, the Latin language was spread across the conquered lands.
Vulgar Latin, from which French, Italian, and Spanish were formed, was actually spoken by soldiers, slaves, and common people.
Ancient Romans named the days of the week after the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets that were visible to them when they looked at the sky.
Interestingly enough, Sunday was originally derived from the “Sun’s Day,” although was later changed to the “Lord’s Day” once Christianity took hold.
Months of the Year in Spanish
Knowing the days in Spanish and the calendar months is very important for anyone learning the language.
The chart below highlights the similarities between the English and Spanish languages, along with the Latin root of the words from which they originated.
You may wish to use these relationships as cues to memorize the words in Spanish or at least to guess them if you spot them in writing.
| ENGLISH | SPANISH | LATIN ROOT | MEANING | |
| January | Enero | Lanuarius | Month of the God Janus | |
| February | Febrero | Fe- | Februarius | Month of expiration/purgation |
| March | Marzo | Mar- | Martius | Month of Mars |
| April | Abril | A- | Aprīlis | Month of Apru/Aphrodite |
| May | Mayo | May- | Maius | Month of Maia |
| June | Junio | Jun- | Lunius | Month of Juno |
| July | Julio | Jul- | Lulius/Julius | Julius Caesar |
| August | Agosto | A- | Augustus | Augustus Caesar |
| September | Septiembre | Sept- | Septem | Seven |
| October | Octubre | Oct- | Octōber | Eight |
| November | Noviembre | Nov- | Novem | Nine |
| December | Diciembre | D- | Decem | Ten |
Expressions that include the days of the week in Spanish
The following are informal expressions that include the days of the week in Spanish used in some Spanish speaking countries, so that you can say them today! (hoy, in Spanish, not yesterday! (ayer).
Saying each day (el día) in singular form and plural form:
Los Domingos
El Domingo
El Lunes
Los Lunes
El Martes
Los Martes
El Miércoles
Los Miércoles
El Jueves
Los Jueves
El Viernes
Los Viernes
El Sábado
Los Sábados
The following are informal expressions that include the days of the week in Spanish used in some Spanish speaking countries.
México
SPANISH: Aplicó el “San lunes”.
ENGLISH: To apply the “San lunes.” Since Monday is the first day of the week, this phrase is used when someone skips a commitment such as turning up at work the day after a Bank Holiday or when a person lets you down the day you need them the most.
- SPANISH: ¡Ya es “juebebes”!
- ENGLISH: It is already Thurs-drinks-day! Because it is almost the weekend it is appropriate to have a drink. The word is formed combining the words jueves and bebes.
- SPANISH: Salió con su domingo siete.
- ENGLISH: She/he came out with her/his Sunday seven. It is intended to be malicious when referring to someone that has disappointed you.
Colombia and Venezuela
- SPANISH: ¡Miércoles! Olvidé llamar a mi madre.
- ENGLISH: Sh*t! I forgot to call my mother. The meaning of this one is pretty obvious.
Spain
- SPANISH: Dar a alguien con la del martes.
- ENGLISH: Even though there is no direct translation it means to cause moral or physical damage to another person.
- SPANISH: Cosa del otro jueves.
- ENGLISH: That happened on a prior Thursday. It is used to denote an extraordinary event or something that happened a long time ago.
Beyond learning the days of the week in Spanish
Whether you’re looking to travel to a Spanish-speaking country, give your professional resume a boost, or just take up a new challenge, learning Spanish is a smart move.
In fact, the British Council noted that Spanish is the most important foreign language to learn for residents of the United Kingdom.
Spanish opens the door to an array of cultures around the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
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