Are you teaching your students or children the Spanish words for days of the week?
Well, this post is here to help you out!
In today’s post, you can learn the Spanish words for days of the week, their pronunciation and fun activities to do in the classroom or at home.
Then, at the end of this post, you can subscribe to receive a free printable with Spanish words for days of the week. Blow this up and hang it as a poster in your classroom, or cut it out and use it on a rotating calendar. You decide!
Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s get learning the días de la semana.
SPANISH NAMES OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK
Below is a table with the English and Spanish days of the week as well as the phonetic pronunciation in Spanish.
| English | Spanish | Pronunciation |
| Monday | lunes | [loon-es] |
| Tuesday | martes | [mar-tes] |
| Wednesday | miércoles | [mee-air-co-les] |
| Thursday | jueves | [hweh-ves] |
| Friday | viernes | [vee-air-nes] |
| Saturday | sábado | [sah-bah-doh] |
| Sunday | domingo | [do-meen-go] |
RULES FOR SPANISH WORDS FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK
1. Forget about doing something ON a day.
Spanish speakers do not use the word on to describe something that will happen on a particular day. Instead, they use definite article el or los.
Thus, while you might be tempted to use the word en to describe something you will do on a specific day, don’t!
Here are some example sentences:
Did you go to school on Monday?
¿Fuiste a la escuela el lunes?
Do you play soccer on Saturday?
¿Juegas fútbol los sábados?
I have an appointment on Wednesday
Tengo una cita el miércoles.
2. The Spanish days of the week are masculine
The Spanish words for days of the week are masculine.
You might have picked that up when I mentioned that we use the masculine articles el and los to talk about singular and plural days of the week.
3. Plural versions of the Spanish words for days of the week
If you notice, all of the Spanish words for days of the week are already in singular and plural form except for the weekend days sábado and domingo. If plural, add an S to those days.
El lunes / los lunes
El martes / los martes
El miércoles / los miércoles
El jueves / los jueves
El viernes / los viernes
El sábado / los sábados
El domingo / los domingos.
4. Days of the week in Spanish do not get capitalized
The English days of the week use capital letters. In Spanish, they do not. Likewise, with days of the month.
One example of when Spanish words for days of the week are capitalized is when they are at the top of a letter:
Martes, 10 de Noviembre de 2022
Tuesday, November 10 2022
The days of the week are also capitalized if they are part of a proper name or holiday, for example, Sábado Santo.
5. The first day of the week starts with Monday
Unlike in the English-speaking world where you will see many days that start with Sunday, in the Spanish language, the week starts with lunes.
6. Use the verb ser to talk about the days of the week.
When talking about the days of the week in Spanish, use the word ser. Below are a few examples of Spanish sentences:
¿qué día es hoy?
Hoy es lunes
Tengo clase el viernes
mañana es sábado
Ayer fue domingo
El 10 de noviembre será un martes.
6. Abbreviating the days of the week in Spanish
Like in English, the days of the week in Spanish have words that start with the same letter, so there is a method to figuring out which day is which when abbreviated.
Furthermore, there are different methods of abbreviating the Spanish words for days of the week. You can use one, two, or three-letter abbreviations.
One letter abbreviation of the days of the week in Spanish
In one-word abbreviations, notice that for miércoles the abbreviation is X. This is to avoid communication with martes.
One letter abbreviations
| lunes | L |
| martes | M |
| miéroles | X |
| jueves | J |
| viernes | V |
| sábado | S |
| domingo | D |
Two letter abbreviation of the days of the week in Spanish
| lunes | Lu |
| martes | Ma |
| miéroles | Mi |
| jueves | Ju |
| viernes | Vi |
| sábado | Sa |
| domingo | Do |
Three letter abbreviation of the days of the week in Spanish
| lunes | Lun |
| martes | Mar |
| miéroles | Mié |
| jueves | Jue |
| viernes | Vie |
| sábado | Sáb |
| domingo | Dom |
Etymology for the Spanish words for days of the week
How did the days in the week in Spanish get their names?
According to as.com, the etymology of the Spanish words for days of the week go back to Ancient Roman times and the Hellenic tradition of naming the days of the week after stars and planets that represented their gods.
These heavenly bodies were:
the moon (lunes-la luna)
Mars (martes- marte)
Mercury (miércoles- Mercurio)
Jupiter (jueves- Júpiter)
Venus (viernes -Venus)
Saturn (sábado-Saturno)
Sun (Domingo (means day of the sun)– el sol.)
Ways to teach kids the Spanish words for days of the week
In the next section, I want to offer a few ideas and resources that you can use to teach your students the Spanish words for days of the week.
1. Start by teaching the Spanish vocabulary words for days of the week.
The first thing to do is to teach your children the vocabulary words and how to pronounce them. Examine the letters in each word and the accents that are on miércoles and sábado.
Show them how the days of the week fall on the calendar.
Related: Weather Worksheets and Flashcards in Spanish for Preschoolers
Then talk about different days such as holidays and birthdays and ask your students which day the date falls on.
To encourage communication, ask your students what they do on different days of the week.
2. Use videos to learn the days of the week in Spanish
An easy way to teach the Spanish words for days of the week to your child or students, I recommend putting on a catchy YouTube video. This will help with memorization and help them with pronunciation. Below I will list a few videos that children might enjoy.
Related: YouTube Channels in Spanish for Kids
The following video by Doremi has a fun, upbeat tune that goes into the days of the week. It also compares the beginning letter of the day with another word or activity that starts with the same letter as well as coincides with something that might be done on that day. For example, sábado de saltar y el domingo para dormir más.
In the following video by Canta Con Jess, native speaker Jess offers a bilingual song that will help with the pronunciation of the day of the week in Spanish and English.
Below is another catchy song by Pinkfong. It quickly repeats the Spanish words for days of the week and invites the watcher to learn them too.
Lastly, we have a video by Luna Creciente. with our favorite little reader, el Mono Sílabo who teaches the watcher the days of the week in Spanish and things that can be done on each day.
3. Put the days in order
The best way for your children to learn the order of the days in the week is by playing a put the words in order game.
Print off several different copies of the free printable days of the week in Spanish (keep reading to the end of this post.)
Have your students cut out the days. Once the days are cut out, have them scramble the words. Then have your students put the days in the correct order, starting with lunes.
To make this activity even more fun, you could put a time limit on it.
4. Wall run
A fun way to learn the days of the week is to do a wall run. Download and print off the free printable Spanish words for days of the week (See the end of the post). Cut out the pieces and hang them on different walls in the room.
At random, pick a day of the week and have your student run to the correct word on the wall.
To make this competitive. If a child runs to the wrong day of the week word, they are eliminated from the game.
Speed up this game and see who is the last student standing.
5. Use books to learn the days of the week in Spanish
Another great way of teaching Spanish words for days of the week to your child is by reading books. Below I will mention two picture books about days in Spanish that you might want to add to your Spanish library.
Make reading interactive by having your student or child call out or raise his hand when they hear the day of the week mentioned in the book.
El Domingo: Un Libro de los Días de la Semana
In this picture book learn about the days of the week and what happens on different days.
Poemas Familiares Para Cada Dia de la Semana
In this bilingual collection, read a different poem for each day of the week. It will also teach children on how the seven days of the week came to be. This book is perfect for older children ages 7-12.
More Picture Books in Spanish for kids:
Free Printable Spanish words for days of the week
Now that you know a little bit more about the days of the week, I want to give you a free printable PDF graphic of the days of the week in Spanish.
You can use this as a poster in your classroom, or even cut out and laminate the individual days to use on a rotating calendar.
You decide!
DOWNLOAD NOW
If you’re already part of our subscriber community, head over to the Free Spanish Printable Library (FSPL) and input the seasonal, case-sensitive password provided in each email I send your way!
New to Lorena & Lennox, Bilingual Beginnings, or simply haven’t subscribed yet? You can easily join us by entering your email address at the end of this post. By subscribing, you’ll not only gain exclusive access to this printable but also 100+ engaging seasonal and holiday-themed printables for kids in Spanish!
Once you’re subscribed, please ensure to check your inbox for a confirmation email. In case it’s not there, glance at your junk or spam folder as sometimes it accidentally ends up there. After confirming your subscription, a welcome email will follow, containing the passcode to unlock the FSPL.
Terms of use
- This free printable is for personal use and personal classroom use (to share this resource, please direct others to this post to grab their free copy)
- This free printable may NOT be sold, hosted, reproduced, or stored on any other site (including blog, Facebook, Dropbox, etc.)
- All materials provided are copyright protected. Please see Terms of Use.
- The Graphics that I use are purchased and used with permission.
- I make free printables for my readers and my family. Your frequent visits to my blog & support purchasing through affiliates links and ads help support my blog! ¡Gracias!
Keep Reading:
- Spanish Numbers 1-30: Free Printable Flashcards for Kids
- FREE Printable ABC Flashcards in Spanish for Preschoolers
- 23 Spanish Children’s Picture Books To Learn the Alphabet
- Learning Body Parts in Spanish: Vocabulary + Free Printable Worksheet & Flashcards for Kids
