{"id":173638,"date":"2023-05-26T19:32:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T23:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/english-days-of-the-week\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T23:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T04:00:10","slug":"english-days-of-the-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/english-days-of-the-week\/","title":{"rendered":"English Days of the Week (and Related Vocabulary)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Talking about the English days of the week seems<\/em> simple, but getting it wrong can cause some serious scheduling confusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this post, we will tell you everything you need to know about the English days of the week.\u00a0Specifically, we will talk about origins, abbreviations, related expressions, vocabulary and how to use the days of the week (among other tips).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Note that the etymologies<\/em>\u00a0(word origins) for all words below are based on this\u00a0Live Science<\/em> article<\/a> and confirmed with the Merriam-Webster dictionary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

English Days of the Week Explained<\/h2>\n

1. Monday<\/h3>\n

Abbreviation:\u00a0<\/strong>Mon.<\/p>\n

Origin:\u00a0<\/strong>You could say that Monday is “<\/strong>The Moon Day.” In Old English, m\u014dna<\/em>\u00a0was the name for the moon,\u00a0and from this we get the name Monday<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Related Expressions:\u00a0<\/strong>In English, you might hear people talking about a \u201cMonday morning feeling.\u201d This is a popular idiom that means feeling down about starting a new workweek.<\/p>\n

You may also hear someone tell you that they have the \u201cMonday morning blues.\u201d Again, this means they feel tired or annoyed about having to get up early and go back to work. You might want to offer them a cup of coffee!<\/p>\n

2. Tuesday<\/h3>\n

Abbreviation: <\/strong>Tue. or Tues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Origin:\u00a0<\/strong>In Ancient Rome, this day of the week was named after Mars, the god of war. This is how we get mardi<\/em>\u00a0in French or martes<\/em> in Spanish. But in English, the name comes from the Norse god Tyr (also spelled Tiw or Tiu).<\/p>\n

Related Expressions: <\/strong>If somebody warns you that you can say something \u201cfrom here to next Tuesday,\u201d they mean that even if you keep repeating yourself, that somebody will not listen. For example, \u201cYou can tell Max from here to next Tuesday that he needs to wash his car, but he will never do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Wednesday<\/h3>\n

Abbreviation: <\/strong>Wed.<\/p>\n

Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0This is one of the stranger days of the week. Rather than being pronounced \u201cWed-nes-day\u201d as the spelling suggests, you pronounce it as \u201cwens-day.\u201d In English, this day is named after Woden, the Norse god of wisdom. You can use this to help you remember because \u201cwise\u201d and \u201cWednesday\u201d begin with the same letter.<\/p>\n

Related Expressions: <\/strong>Sometimes English speakers will refer to Wednesday as \u201cHump Day.\u201d This is a common piece of slang<\/a> that refers to Wednesday being the “hump” or the middle point of the workweek. For example, somebody might say, \u201cIt is Hump Day again, but that means it will be Saturday in two days.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Thursday<\/h3>\n

Abbreviation: <\/strong>Thu., Thur. or Thurs.<\/p>\n

Origin: <\/strong>If you have seen any of the Marvel “Avengers” films<\/a>, you know the superhero Thor<\/a> and his magic hammer. He is the powerful Norse god of thunder, and also where we get the word \u201cThursday\u201d (\u201cThor\u2019s day\u201d) from.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related Expressions: <\/strong>A popular hashtag English speakers use on Instagram is #throwbackthursday. In English, a \u201cthrowback\u201d reminds you of something that happened in your past. So, this hashtag is used to share memories such as holiday photos or baby pictures.<\/p>\n

5. Friday<\/h3>\n

Abbreviation: <\/strong>Fri.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Origin:\u00a0<\/strong>Friday is a chance to unwind<\/em> (relax) after a week of work, go out with friends and spend time with family. It is therefore fitting<\/em> (appropriate) that its English name comes from the Norse goddess Frigg, who represented love, marriage and wisdom.<\/p>\n

Related Expressions: <\/strong>\u201cThat Friday feeling\u201d is a popular English expression. Unlike \u201cMonday morning blues,\u201d\u00a0it means feeling excited about the end of the workweek.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet that Friday feeling\u201d is a phrase you may encounter in advertisements. It means a product is supposed to make you feel the same sense of happiness and excitement on a Friday.<\/p>\n

6. Saturday<\/h3>\n

Abbreviation: <\/strong>Sat.<\/p>\n

Origin: <\/strong>Saturday is named after the Roman god Saturn. He was the god of time, but he was also the god of new beginnings. Since Saturday is the day most people relax to prepare for another week ahead, it is appropriate that this day is named after him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related Expressions: <\/strong>One expression you will often hear that uses Saturday is\u00a0“Saturday night fever.”\u00a0It is not a disease, though: it is the energy and excitement you feel on a Saturday night\u2014especially when you are doing something like partying and dancing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

7. Sunday<\/h3>\n

Abbreviation: <\/strong>Sun.<\/p>\n

Origin: <\/strong>In many cultures and religions, the sun was considered sacred<\/em> (holy or divine). Since Sunday is also a sacred day in many places, it makes sense that it is called “Sunday” or “day of the sun.”<\/p>\n

Related Expressions: <\/strong>If somebody asks you to come dressed in your \u201cSunday best,\u201d they want you to wear your nicest clothes. Christians often wore their best clothes to church on Sundays, after all.<\/p>\n

Perhaps one of the weirdest English expressions is \u201cit will never happen in a month of Sundays.\u201d This does not mean that all the days of that month are Sundays. Rather, this means that something is never, ever going to happen\u2014like a month that only has Sundays!<\/p>\n

Useful Vocabulary for Talking About Days of the Week<\/h2>\n

Now that you know about the days of the week, your next step is to talk about them in relation to each other. I will also discuss a handful of other phrases related to the English days.\u00a0<\/p>\n