How to Say "Last Monday" in Japanese

先週の月曜日

senshū no getsuyōbi

In Japanese, "last Monday" is expressed as 先週の月曜日 (senshū no getsuyōbi).

The phrase is used to refer specifically to the Monday of the previous week.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of 先週 (senshū, last week), の (no, possessive particle) and 月曜日 (getsuyōbi, Monday).

In casual conversation, the final syllable of 月曜日 (getsuyōbi) is often dropped to become 先週の月曜.

senshū no getsuyōbi

The word for Monday, 月曜日, literally means 'moon day'. In Japanese, every day of the week is named after a celestial body or a natural element, such as fire for Tuesday and water for Wednesday.
The character 月 in 月曜日 is a pictograph that originally resembled a crescent moon, which evolved into the modern simplified form used in the phrase.
While 先週の月曜日 specifically means the Monday of the previous week, using the word この (this) before a day of the week can be ambiguous, often referring to either the coming day or the one that just passed.

先週の月曜日って、ここにいた？
Were you here last Monday?
This sentence is useful for asking if someone was in a specific location on the form 先週の月曜日.
Tatoeba #8692074 by small_snow, translation #6898656 by CK
先週の月曜日って、忙しかった？
Were you busy last Monday?
This sentence is useful for asking about someone's activity level on the form 先週の月曜日.
Tatoeba #8804790 by bunbuku, translation #6898652 by CK
先週の月曜日の午後、忙しかった？
Were you busy last Monday afternoon?
Tatoeba #8692222 by small_snow, translation #6713278 by CK
6 more sentences on Tatoeba

Misaki and Yota are talking about a meeting.

陽太 Yota

先週の月曜日は、会議がありましたか？
Senshuu no getsuyoubi wa, kaigi ga arimashita ka?
Was there a meeting last monday?
美咲 Misaki

はい、先週の月曜日は朝からありました。
Hai, senshuu no getsuyoubi wa asa kara arimashita.
Yes, there was one from the morning last monday.
陽太 Yota

大変でしたね。
Taihen deshita ne.
That must have been tough.
美咲 Misaki

ええ、とても忙しかったです。
Ee, totemo isogashikatta desu.
Yes, it was very busy.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏