The days of the week in Italian (with examples)
Learn the names of the days of the week in Italian, the origins of their names and examples for using them in conversation.
Learning a list of names is always a little daunting however, learning the days of the week in Italian can be fun, if you know where their names come from!
I strongly believe that knowing fun facts about a word, such as where it comes from, is a great way to aid memory.
The facts work like a hook, so even when sheer memory fails, chances are you can retrieve the word you are looking for without too much effort.
Today, we will look at the names of the days of the week in Italian, their origin and meaning and we will also look at sample expressions and phrases with these names in use.
The days of the week in Italian = I giorni della settimana in Italiano
This article is part of our series ‘Learn Italian’ – click here for all our free lessons
Italian names of the days of the week chart
| Italian day of the week | Pronunciation | English name |
| Lunedi’ | Loo-neh-di’ | Monday |
| Martedi | Mar-teh-di’ | Tuesday |
| Marcoledi’ | Mer-co-leh-di’ | Wednesday |
| Giovedi’ | Jo-veh-di’ | Thursday |
| Venerdi’ | Ve-nehr-di’ | Friday |
| Sabato | Sah-bah-toh | Saturday |
| Domenica | Do-meh-nee-cah | Sunday |
Days of the week song: a funny way to learn the days of the week in Italian is to listen to this old and silly (yet catchy!) song from 1864 ‘Sabato Sera‘.
Italian names of the week- structure of the word
As you can maybe see from the chart above, the name of weekdays in Italy follow a pattern similar to those in English.
Days from Monday to Friday end with ‘di’+ this is Italian for day and it is the same as the English -day (Mon-day = Lune=di’)
The first part of the word is less immediate but it also has similarities with English.
The days are often named from Roman Gods and Goddesses such as Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus.
This is something Wnglish has retained for instance in the word Monday = the day of the Moon.
Lunedi’ – Monday
Lunedi’ is the Italian for Monday and it translates, literally as: the day of the Moon.
Luna=Moon in Italian.
The word Monday is grammatically masculine and singular. It takes the article il and the preposition ‘di’.
Examples of use:
Quest’anno, Natale cade di lunedi’ – this year, Christmas falls on a Monday
Chiuso il lunedi’– closed on Mondays
Lunedi, com’e’ triste il lunedi’ senza te (Song): Monday, how sad are Mondays without you
Martedi – Tuesday
Martedi’ is Italian for Tuesday and literally translated: the day of Mars (Mars=Marte in Italian)..
In grammatical terms, the word martedi’ is masculine and singular. It takes the article il and the preposition ‘di’.
Examples:
La visita al Colosseo e’ martedi’ – the visit to the Colosseum is on Tuesday
Se vieni di martedi’ c’e’ il mercato – of you come on a Tuesday, there is the market
Arriviamo di martedi’ e ripartiamo di domenica – we arrive on a Tuesday and leave on a Sunday
Martedi’ com’e’ vuoto il martedi’ senza te (song) – Tuesday, how empty are Tuesdays without you.
Mercoledi’ – Wednesday
Mercoledi’ is Italian for Wednesday and literally means Days of Mercury (Mercury is Mercurio in Italian).
In grammatical terms, the world mercoledi’ is masculine and singular. It takes the article il and the preposition ‘di’.
Examples:
Arriviamo in albergo mercoledi’ -we arrive to out hotel on Wednesday
Vorrei prenotare un tavolo per mercoledi’ alle sette – I’d like to book a table for Wednesday at severn
Il mercoledi’ siamo chiusi a pranzo – On Wednesdays, closed at lunchtime
Giovedi’ – Thursday
Giovedi’ is the Italian word for Thursday and it literally means ‘Day of Jupiter (Jupiter=Giove in Italian).
In grammatical terms, giovedi’ is masculine and singular: it takes the article ‘il’ and preposition ‘di’.
Examples:
Viaggiamo di giovedi’ per evitare la folla del weekend: we travel on a Trursday to avoid the weekend rush
Arriviamo giovedi’: we arrive on Thursday
Venerdi – Friday
Venerdi’ is Italian for Driday and literally means ‘the day of Venus’ (Venus= Venere in Italian)
Grammatically, Venerdi’ is masculine and singular; it takes the article ‘il’ and preposition ‘di’.
Il venerdi’ e’ sempre pieno: on Fridays, it is always fool (a restaurant, for instance)
Se arrivi di venerdi’ trovi l’autobus diretto= if you arrive on a Friday you can get the direct bus
Sabato – Saturday
Sabato is Italian for Saturday. This day of the week has a name that comes from shabbat / sabbaton / sabbatun and its original meaning is ‘day of rest’.
In grammatical terms, Sabato is masculine and singular and takes the article ‘Il’ and preposition ‘di’.
Examples:
L’ufficio e’ chiuso il sabato = the office is closed on Saturdays
Il sabato del villaggio (Poem): Saturday in the village
Sabato Grasso: the Saturday before Mardi Gras (Carnival)
Domenica – Sunday
Sunday in Italian is Domenica, a term that literally means ‘Day of the Lord’ (Dominus=Lord in Latin).
This is the only day of the week in Italian that is grammatically feminine and its article is ‘la’.
Examples:
La domenica, i negozi sono chiusi = Shops are closed on Sundays
Di domenica rischi di trovare traffico = On Sunday, you may find a lot of traffic
Domenica di Pasqua = Easter Sunday
I hope you enjoyed this brief lesson about the days of the week in Italian and it helped you with your studying. Happy learning!
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Marta Correale
Marta Correale is an Italian mama of two. Born and raised in Rome, Marta has a passion for travel and especially enjoys showing off Italy to her kids, who are growing up to love it as much as she does! A classics graduate, teacher of Italian as a second language and family travel blogger, Marta launched Mama Loves Italy as a way to inspire, support and help curious visitors to make the most of a trip to Italy and learn about Italian culture on the way.
