How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, the names of the days of the week are masculine. When you want to say "on [day]", such as "on Monday", use the singular definite article el before the day (for example, el lunes). To express that something happens every week on a specific day, such as "on Mondays", use the plural form of both the article and the day (for example, los lunes). When referring to the days of the week in a general sense, the definite article los is often used before the phrase los días de la semana. Note that unlike in English, the names of the days of the week in Spanish are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the preposition en to say "on Monday" (en lunes). Instead, you should use the definite article el.
Did you know?
- Spanish names for the days are actually derived from celestial bodies. Lunes comes from 'Luna' (the Moon), martes from 'Marte' (Mars), and miércoles from 'Mercurio' (Mercury).
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, the work week is traditionally viewed as starting on lunes rather than domingo, which affects how calendars are printed.
- The word semana comes from the Latin word for 'seventh', because the week is defined by the seventh day.
Examples in context
- Voy a visitar a mi abuela el domingo.I'm going to visit my grandmother on Sunday.
- Nos vemos el jueves para tomar un café.Let's meet on Thursday to have coffee.
- No recuerdo los días de la semana en español.I don't remember the days of the week in Spanish.
- ¿Cuáles son los días de la semana?What are the days of the week?
- Escribo los días de la semana en mi cuaderno.I write the days of the week in my notebook.
Example conversation
Lucía is helping Daniel study for his Spanish class.
- LucíaDaniel, ¿sabes decir los días de la semana?Daniel, do you know how to say the days of the week?
- DanielNo, Lucía, son muy difíciles.No, Lucía, they are very difficult.
- LucíaNo te preocupes, yo te ayudo.Don't worry, I will help you.
- DanielMuchas gracias, eres muy amable.Thank you very much, you are very kind.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, la, semana, CC BY-SA 4.0.
