{"id":61174,"date":"2020-01-27T06:49:09","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T11:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/days-of-the-week-in-portuguese\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T22:36:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T03:36:07","slug":"days-of-the-week-in-portuguese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/portuguese\/days-of-the-week-in-portuguese\/","title":{"rendered":"The Days of the Week in Portuguese [with Audio Pronunciation]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that every day of the week in Portuguese was named for a day of rest?<\/p>\n

In this post, we’ll learn how to say the days of the week in Portuguese, how they got these names, how to use them in conversation and much more.
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The Basics: The Portuguese Days of the Week<\/h2>\n

Let’s begin with a basic list of all the days of the week, starting with what’s typically considered the first day, Sunday:<\/p>\n

Sunday \u2014 Domingo<\/em><\/p>\n

Monday \u2014 Segunda-feira<\/em><\/p>\n

Tuesday \u2014 Ter\u00e7a-feira<\/em><\/p>\n

Wednesday \u2014 Quarta-feira<\/em><\/p>\n

Thursday \u2014 Quinta-feira<\/em><\/p>\n

Friday \u2014 Sexta-feira<\/em><\/p>\n

Saturday \u2014 S\u00e1bado<\/em><\/p>\n

A Brief History of the Portuguese Week<\/h2>\n

Domingo <\/i>(Sunday)<\/h3>\n

In Portuguese\u2014as well as several other Romance languages\u2014the week begins with d<\/strong><\/em>omingo<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n

The word domingo<\/i> comes from the Latin Dies Dominica, <\/i>which literally translates to “the day of the Lord.”<\/p>\n

This name was incorporated into the week in 325 AD by the First Council of Nicaea<\/a> and Roman Emperor Constantine I. This day was set apart as a day of rest from work, instead dedicated to God and the remembrance of Easter.<\/p>\n

The Council of Nicaea also standardized the celebration of Easter, which would further influence the Portuguese week about two centuries later.<\/p>\n

As Feiras<\/em> (The Work Week)<\/h3>\n

Before the 6th century AD, weekdays in Portuguese were very similar to other Romance languages. They were named in pagan Latin after Roman Gods.<\/p>\n

However, when Archbishop Martin of Braga<\/a> rose to power in the middle of the 6th century, he changed Catholicism and the Portuguese language forever.<\/p>\n

Martin of Braga (<\/em>Martinho de Dume) <\/em>emphasized the importance of Easter and the observation of the Semana Santa,<\/em> or Holy Week.<\/p>\n

This week was a week of rest before Easter Sunday, and the days of this week were named first through seventh feria<\/em>,<\/strong><\/em> which in Liturgical Latin meant a day of rest<\/b>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martin of Braga disagreed with referring to pagan Roman Gods for weekdays and decided to use the names for the days in the Holy week instead.<\/p>\n

Saturday and Sunday were the only days that weren’t named after these Gods, and therefore kept their names.<\/p>\n

Here’s a little cheat sheet of Monday through Friday showing the transition from archaic Portuguese through Liturgical Latin to Modern Portuguese:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
English<\/th>Ancient Portuguese<\/th>Liturgical Latin<\/th>Modern Portuguese<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Monday<\/td> Lues <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Prima feria <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Segunda-feira <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tuesday<\/td> Martes <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Secunda feria <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Ter\u00e7a-feira <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wednesday<\/td> M\u00e9rcores <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Tertia feria <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Quarta-feira <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thursday<\/td> Joves <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Quarta feria <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Quinta-feira <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Friday<\/td> Vernes <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Quinta feria <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td> Sexta-feira <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Note: <\/b>These days are almost all just the ordinal numbers in Portuguese<\/a>, followed by -feira.<\/em> The only exception is ter\u00e7a-feira,<\/em> as the word for “third” in Portuguese isn’t ter\u00e7a,<\/em> but terceira.<\/em><\/p>\n

S\u00e1bado <\/i>(Saturday)<\/h3>\n

The final day of the week is s<\/strong><\/em>\u00e1bado<\/b><\/em>,<\/em> <\/b>or Saturday.<\/p>\n

This day comes from the Latin Sabbatum<\/em>,<\/em> which originally comes from the Hebrew Sabbath.<\/em><\/p>\n

What does it mean? You guessed it: Sabbath<\/em> translates to day of rest.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

So basically what we’ve learned is that domingo<\/i> is a day off work, s<\/em>egunda-feira <\/i>to s<\/em>exta-feira <\/i>are all feiras,<\/em> or days of rest, and s<\/em>\u00e1bado<\/i> is also a day of rest.<\/p>\n

If you weren\u2019t already convinced to learn Portuguese, you should be now. It gives you an excuse to relax on every day of the week!<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to Use the Days of the Week in Portuguese<\/h2>\n

Dropping the -feira<\/em><\/h3>\n

While the days of the workweek in Portuguese may contain -feira<\/i>,<\/em> in everyday conversations<\/a> most people drop this ending.<\/p>\n

Take this English sentence for example:<\/p>\n

I dance Samba on Fridays.<\/b><\/p>\n

Formally, this would be translated into Portuguese like this:<\/p>\n

Eu dan\u00e7o samba \u00e0s <\/i>sextas-feiras.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

But in everyday speech, you’re more likely to hear:<\/p>\n

Eu dan\u00e7o samba<\/i> \u00e0s <\/i>sextas<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Abbreviations for the Days of the Week<\/h3>\n

In written Portuguese, the days of the week will often be abbreviated for convenience.<\/p>\n

This is especially common during store hours or on flyers and announcements.<\/p>\n

The most common abbreviations are:<\/p>\n

Domingo<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 1\u00aa \/ dom.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Segunda-feira<\/i> \u2014 2\u00aa \/ seg.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ter\u00e7a-feira\u00a0<\/i>\u2014 3\u00aa \/ ter.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Quarta-feira<\/i> \u2014 4\u00aa \/ qua.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Quinta-feira<\/i> \u2014 5\u00aa \/ qui.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sexta-feira<\/i> \u2014 6\u00aa \/ sex.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

S\u00e1bado<\/i> \u2014 7\u00aa \/ sab.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Gender<\/h3>\n

Since Portuguese is a gendered language, you’ll need to learn which gender applies to which days of the week.<\/p>\n

S\u00e1bado <\/i>and domingo <\/i>are masculine,<\/strong> while segunda-feira, ter\u00e7a-feira, quarta-feira, quinta-feira<\/em> and sexta-feira<\/em> are all feminine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The easiest way to remember this is by looking at what letter each word ends in.<\/p>\n

If a day ends in -o,<\/em> it’s masculine; if it ends in -a<\/em>, it’s feminine.<\/b><\/p>\n

Prepositions and Determiners<\/h3>\n

Days of the week in Portuguese almost always require a determiner.<\/p>\n

This determiner changes based on the context:<\/p>\n

\u00c0s <\/i><\/strong>(feminine) or aos <\/i><\/b>(masculine) are the most common determiners and are used when generally speaking about dates.<\/p>\n

\u00c0<\/strong><\/em>s <\/i><\/b>quartas-feiras<\/strong> eu como p\u00e3o de queijo.<\/i><\/i> \u2014 On Wednesdays I eat cheesy bread.<\/p>\n

A<\/strong><\/em>os <\/i><\/b>s\u00e1bados<\/strong> eu jogo futebol<\/i><\/i>.<\/em> \u2014 On Saturdays I play Soccer.
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

However, when referring to specific days, the preposition em <\/i><\/b>(on) must be used<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And since\u00a0em<\/em> combines\u00a0with the definite article o<\/i><\/b> or <\/b>a<\/i> when it comes before,<\/b>\u00a0em<\/em> becomes <\/b>no<\/i><\/b> or <\/b>na<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Eu vou ver um filme <\/i>na<\/i><\/b> sexta-feira.<\/i><\/b><\/i> \u2014 I’m going to watch a movie on Friday.<\/p>\n

Ela vai cantar <\/i>no d<\/i>omingo.<\/i><\/i> \u2014 She’s going to sing on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Note: <\/b>In colloquial Portuguese, speakers often use Nos<\/i> or Nas<\/i> instead of Aos<\/i> or As<\/i> when speaking about days of the week.<\/p>\n

Finally, em<\/i> can be combined with demonstrative pronouns<\/a> esse<\/i><\/b> and essa<\/i><\/b> to create nesse<\/i><\/b> and nessa<\/b><\/em>,<\/em> <\/b>or este<\/i><\/b> and esta<\/i><\/b> to create neste<\/i><\/b> and nesta<\/i><\/b>:<\/b><\/p>\n

Nesta<\/i><\/b> segunda-feira <\/i><\/b>eu tenho uma aula de portugu\u00eas.<\/i><\/i> \u2014 This Monday, I have a Portuguese class
\n<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Eu vou pro Brasil <\/i>neste<\/i><\/b> s\u00e1bado!<\/i><\/b><\/i> \u2014 I am going to Brazil this Saturday!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Capitalization<\/h3>\n

It’s important to note that in Portuguese, the days of the week are never capitalized unless they come at the beginning of a sentence.<\/p>\n

Talking About Last Week<\/h3>\n

To speak about last week<\/a>, we use the words passado\/passada.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Na<\/i><\/strong> <\/i>quinta-feira <\/i><\/b>passada<\/i><\/b> eu comi pamonha.<\/i> \u2014 Last Thursday I ate pamonha.
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

N\u00f3s <\/i>fomos ao parque <\/i>no <\/i>domingo <\/i>passado.<\/i><\/i> \u2014 We went to the park last Sunday.<\/i>
\n<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Talking About Next Week<\/h3>\n

On the other hand, to speak about next week, we use …<\/b>que vem<\/i><\/b>, <\/b>or no pr\u00f3ximo\/na pr\u00f3xima.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Na pr\u00f3xima<\/i><\/b> ter\u00e7a-feira <\/i><\/b>vou visitar minha irm\u00e3.<\/i><\/i> \u2014 Next Tuesday, I am going to visit my sister.
\n<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Eu tenho uma partida de v\u00f4lei <\/i>no <\/i><\/strong>domingo <\/i><\/b>que vem.<\/strong><\/i><\/i> \u2014 I have a volleyball game next Sunday.
\n<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

More Vocabulary to Learn with the Days of the Week<\/h3>\n

Here are some other words that you’ll definitely want to know in conjunction with the days of the week:<\/p>\n

Week \u2014 Semana<\/em><\/p>\n

Month \u2014 M\u00eas<\/em><\/p>\n

Day \u2014 Dia<\/em><\/p>\n

Today \u2014 Hoje<\/em><\/p>\n

Tomorrow \u2014 Amanh\u00e3<\/em><\/p>\n

Yesterday \u2014 Ontem<\/em><\/p>\n

Weekend \u2014 Fim de semana<\/em> \/<\/i> Final de semana<\/em><\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> In colloquial use, there’s no real difference between fim<\/i><\/b> and final de semana<\/i><\/b>.<\/b> It’s also common among younger generations to refer to the weekend as fds<\/b><\/em>,<\/em> <\/b>especially in text conversations.<\/p>\n

How to Practice the Portuguese Days of the Week<\/h2>\n

If you’re relatively new to Portuguese\u2014or haven\u2019t gotten around to learning the days of the week yet\u2014one excellent way to practice is to start planning your schedule in Portuguese.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether that means getting a daily planner in Portuguese<\/strong> (uma agenda di\u00e1ria)<\/em> or simply writing out your schedule for the week,<\/strong> this convenient practice will keep you organized and familiarize you with the week’s days in no time.<\/p>\n

Another way to practice the days of the week is by listening to native speakers use them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hearing these words used with context and a story around them can help you learn them quicker.<\/p>\n

You can find videos that use them throughout conversations on the Easy Language YouTube channel<\/a> in their Portuguese section.<\/p>\n

Another place to find videos with native speakers using these is on FluentU<\/a>. You can also use this program to practice these words through customized quizzes and flashcard decks.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Click here to check out the website<\/a> or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\n

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