Who else remembers that catchy “days of the week” song from kindergarten? *Raises hand*. Now, get ready to experience the same burst of childhood nostalgia, but this time, let's set the stage for Spanish. In this article, we’ll guide you through effective strategies that will help you master the days of the week in Spanish.
Let's start from the top: the days of the week in Spanish, one by one.
[loo-nes]
“Lunes” or Monday marks the start of the week in most Spanish-speaking countries. The 'u' is pronounced as in “rude” while “es” sounds like “ace.”
[mar-tays]
Martes (Tuesday) continues as the second day of the workweek. The pronunciation resembles “mar-tays.”
[myair-coh-lays]
The Spanish word for Wednesday, “Miércoles” might seem a bit challenging at first. It is pronounced as “myair-coh-lays.”
[who-ay-vays]
Jueves, or Thursday, has a unique pronunciation: “who-ay-vays.”
[vee-air-nays]
Viernes, meaning Friday, is pronounced as “vee-air-nays.”
[sah-bah-doh]
The weekend begins with “Sábado” or Saturday. The pronunciation is “sah-bah-doh.”
[doh-ming-go]
The week ends with “Domingo” (Sunday), pronounced as “doh-ming-go.”
The Spanish days of the week, like those in many other languages, are firmly embedded in the ancient cultures of Rome and Latin-speaking peoples. The days were typically named after celestial bodies and the gods and goddesses of mythology, many of whom had their counterparts in Roman and Greek pantheons.
Let's take a look at the specific examples:
“Lunes” (Monday) derives from “Luna,” the Latin term for “moon.” The Roman goddess Luna was associated with the moon, matching the English tradition where “Monday” means “Moon's day.”
“Martes” (Tuesday) is named after Mars, the Roman god of war, who is akin to the Greek god Ares.
“Miércoles” (Wednesday) pays homage to Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, travel, and thievery, and messenger of the gods. He equates to the Greek god Hermes.
“Jueves” (Thursday) stems from “Jove” or “Jovis,” another name for Jupiter, the king of the Roman gods, and is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Zeus.
“Viernes” (Friday) is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, who is equivalent to the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Unlike in English, the days of the week in Spanish do not start with capital letters unless they start a new sentence.
To make the days of the week plural in Spanish, add an “s” to the end of the word — pretty simple!
The Spanish verb “ser” is most often used with days of the week. For instance, “today is Monday” would translate to “hoy es lunes.” To express that an event happens on a particular day, you must use the preposition “el” before the day of the week. For example, “I have a meeting on Monday,” translates to “Tengo una reunión el lunes.”
But, unlike in English, when speaking about regularly recurring events you don't need to use any prepositions. For example, if you have Spanish classes every Monday, you would say, “Tengo clases de español los lunes.” In this case, “los” indicates a habitual action that takes place every Monday.
To say “Today is…” in Spanish, use “Hoy es…” followed by the day of the week. For example, “Hoy es lunes” means “Today is Monday.”
For “Tomorrow is…”, you would say “Mañana es…” For instance, “Mañana es martes” translates to “Tomorrow is Tuesday.”
The phrase “Pasado mañana” means “the day after tomorrow.” You might say, “Pasado mañana es jueves,” meaning “The day after tomorrow is Thursday.”
To say “Yesterday was...,” use “Ayer fue…” plus the day of the week. For instance, “Ayer fue domingo” translates to “Yesterday was Sunday.”
If you want to say, “The day before yesterday was...,” use “Anteayer fue…” along with the day of the week. For instance, “Anteayer fue sábado” would mean “The day before yesterday was Saturday.”
Prefer to see it side-by-side? We’ve got you covered:
So, now that you know the right words to say, how can they become second nature in your vocabulary? Practice, practice, and then practice some more! Here are some helpful tips to reinforce your memory and understanding of the Spanish days of the week.
The best way to practice the Spanish days of the week is to incorporate them into everyday conversations. Even if it's just telling someone what day it is today or what your plans are for tomorrow, frequent use will cement these words into your memory.
Creating a calendar is a tangible way to see and use the days of the week in your everyday life. It helps you remember each day and allows you to practice other vocabulary and grammar points, like activities and time expressions. Here’s a simple one to get you started:
Everyone learns differently, so using mnemonic devices can be an effective memorization strategy if “traditional” forms of learning aren’t your preference. Here are some techniques you can test out:
Association: Try to associate the Spanish days of the week with something familiar. For example, associate “lunes” (Monday) with the moon (or “luna” in Spanish) since “lunes” sounds similar to “luna.”
Visual Imagery: Visualize an image that reminds you of the word. For example, you could picture a martian on Tuesday for “martes,” or a jewel on Thursday for “jueves.”
Word Chains: Create a story or a chain of words where each word represents a day of the week. It could be an adventure that starts on “lunes” (Monday) and ends on “domingo” (Sunday).
Rhymes and Songs: Remember learning the English days of the week to a song in kindergarten? Why not use rhymes or songs to remember the days of the week in Spanish? A great tune to try is “Oh My Darling, Clementine.”
Analogies: Think of analogies where each day of the week corresponds to something familiar. For instance, “viernes” (Friday) could be associated with “victory,” as it often marks the end of the workweek — a small victory in itself.
Flashcards: We can’t forget good old flashcards. Write each day of the week in Spanish on one side of a flashcard and the English translation on the other. Put them somewhere where you’ll see them often.
iTranslate is the leading tool for practicing the Spanish days of the week. Its easy-to-use interface makes learning Spanish fun and accessible.
Don't be discouraged if you make mistakes along the way — that's how we learn! Practice makes perfect, so keep trying, and before you know it, you'll be using the Spanish days of the week with ease.
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