día de la semana
/dia de la semana/from spelling rules
The English phrase "day of the week" is translated into Spanish as día de la semana.
This phrase is used to refer to any one of the seven days in a week. For context, you may find these related phrases useful: Hoy es… (Today is…), Mañana es… (Tomorrow is…), and Ayer fue… (Yesterday was…).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of día (day), de (of), la (the) and semana (week).
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural to mean "the days of the week," change día to días to get los días de la semana. In this plural form, la semana remains singular because you are referring to the days within a single week.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the preposition en to mean "on" when talking about a day (such as "on Monday"). In Spanish, you should instead use the definite article, such as el lunes or no preposition at all.
Did you know?
- When talking about a specific día de la semana like lunes (Monday), Spanish speakers do not capitalize the first letter unless it begins a sentence.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, the first día de la semana is considered Sunday rather than Monday.
- The word día is not a relative of the English word 'day' but instead descends from a root meaning 'heaven' or 'sky'.
Examples in context
- ¿En qué día de la semana naciste?What day of the week were you born on?This sentence uses día de la semana to ask about a birth date.Tatoeba #10093272 by manufrutos, translation #10069741 by ddnktr
- El primer día de la semana es lunes.The first day of the week is Monday.This sentence uses día de la semana to identify the first day of the week.Tatoeba #1864223 by marcelostockle, translation #11485519 by carlosalberto
- El jueves es el cuarto día de la semana.Thursday is the fourth day of the week.This sentence uses día de la semana to identify the fourth day of the week.Tatoeba #12121852 by Shishir, translation #12119377 by sundown
- Hoy es martes.Today is Tuesday.
- Mañana es miércoles.Tomorrow is Wednesday.
- Ayer fue lunes.Yesterday was Monday.
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Elena are discussing their work schedule.
- Daniel¿Cuál es tu día de la semana favorito?What is your favorite day of the week?
- ElenaMe gusta el viernes.I like Friday.
- DanielYo también, porque el fin de semana empieza.Me too, because the weekend starts.
- ElenaEs verdad, Daniel.That's true, Daniel.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, día, la, semana, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
