Spanish Days of the Week: lunes, martes, miércoles & More — Never Capitalize Days? Click for the Secret Rules!
What day is it?
If you're learning Spanish, sooner or later, you'll need to answer that question.
Whether you're talking about your work schedule, making weekend plans, booking a class, describing your routine, or simply telling someone what you did yesterday, the days of the week are some of the most useful Spanish vocabulary you can learn.
And while there are only seven of them, Spanish has a few interesting rules that make this topic more than just a vocabulary list.
For example, English speakers are used to writing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday with capital letters. In Spanish, however, you'll normally see:
lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo
Notice anything?
They're all lowercase.
And what about those little accent marks in miércoles and sábado? Do they really matter?
Yes.
What about the pronunciation of jueves? Why doesn't the Spanish j sound like the English letter J?
And here's another useful distinction: what's the difference between el lunes and los lunes?
By the end of this guide, you'll know all seven Spanish days, how to pronounce them, how to use them in sentences, how to avoid the most common spelling mistakes, and exactly when Spanish days should — and shouldn't — be capitalized.
Let's get started.
What Are the Days of the Week in Spanish?
The Spanish expression for “days of the week” is:
días de la semana
Here are all seven days:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| lunes | Monday |
| martes | Tuesday |
| miércoles | Wednesday |
| jueves | Thursday |
| viernes | Friday |
| sábado | Saturday |
| domingo | Sunday |
A useful thing to notice is that the Spanish week begins with lunes, Monday.
Now let's look at each day individually, including pronunciation and examples.
1. lunes — Monday
lunes means Monday.
Pronunciation
LOO-nes
🎧 Listen to the pronunciation
Example
El lunes trabajo.
Meaning: I work on Monday.
Another useful sentence is:
El lunes estudio español.
Meaning: I study Spanish on Monday.
Notice that lunes is written with a lowercase l when it appears in the middle of a sentence.
So:
✅ El lunes trabajo.
Not:
❌ El Lunes trabajo.
We'll come back to this capitalization rule later because it is one of the most common differences English speakers notice.
2. martes — Tuesday
martes means Tuesday.
Pronunciation
MAR-tes
🎧 Listen to the pronunciation
There is a surprisingly common spelling mistake with this word.
Some learners write:
❌ marrtes
But the correct spelling is:
✅ martes
There is only one r.
Example
El martes estudio español.
Meaning: I study Spanish on Tuesday.
You can also turn this into a weekly routine:
Los martes estudio español.
Meaning: I study Spanish on Tuesdays.
That little change from el to los is important, and we'll look at it in more detail below.
3. miércoles — Wednesday
Now we come to one of the Spanish days that deserves extra attention:
miércoles
Meaning: Wednesday
Pronunciation
MYER-koh-les
🎧 Listen to the pronunciation
And don't forget the accent.
The correct spelling is:
✅ miércoles
Not:
❌ miercoles
The accent mark belongs on the é.
This is a good word to practice in writing because it is very easy to remember the letters but accidentally leave out the accent.
Example
El miércoles tengo una clase.
Meaning: I have a class on Wednesday.
You could also say:
El miércoles trabajo desde casa.
Meaning: I work from home on Wednesday.
If you're creating your own Spanish vocabulary notebook, make sure you write the accent from the beginning. Learning the correct spelling is easier than trying to correct a bad habit later.
4. jueves — Thursday
Thursday is:
jueves
Pronunciation
HWEH-ves
🎧 Listen to the pronunciation
This is an especially useful word for practicing the Spanish j.
The Spanish letter j is generally pronounced with a breathy sound similar to the English h, although the exact sound can vary between Spanish-speaking regions.
So don't pronounce the beginning as the English “j” sound found in words like job or jump.
Example
El jueves voy al gimnasio.
Meaning: I go to the gym on Thursday.
Another useful sentence:
El jueves tengo una reunión.
Meaning: I have a meeting on Thursday.
Once you've learned this pronunciation pattern, you'll encounter it in many other Spanish words too.
5. viernes — Friday
Now we're getting closer to the weekend.
viernes means Friday.
Pronunciation
VYER-nes
🎧 Listen to the pronunciation
Don't try to make the Spanish pronunciation sound like the English word “Friday.” Treat viernes as its own vocabulary item.
Example
El viernes salgo con mis amigos.
Meaning: I go out with my friends on Friday.
And here's one sentence almost everyone can use:
¡Es viernes!
Meaning: It's Friday!
You can also say:
Los viernes descanso.
Meaning: I rest on Fridays.
That plural form is useful when you're describing something you regularly do every week.
6. sábado — Saturday
Weekend time!
sábado means Saturday.
Pronunciation
SAH-bah-doh
🎧 Listen to the pronunciation
Just like miércoles, this word has an accent mark.
Correct:
✅ sábado
Incorrect:
❌ sabado
The accent belongs on the á.
Example
El sábado descanso.
Meaning: I rest on Saturday.
Or:
El sábado voy al cine.
Meaning: I go to the cinema on Saturday.
You can also talk about your regular Saturday routine:
Los sábados voy al mercado.
Meaning: I go to the market on Saturdays.
7. domingo — Sunday
And finally, we have:
domingo
Meaning: Sunday
Pronunciation
doh-MEEN-goh
🎧 Listen to the pronunciation
Unlike miércoles and sábado, domingo doesn't have an accent mark.
Example
El domingo visito a mi familia.
Meaning: I visit my family on Sunday.
You can also say:
Los domingos descanso.
Meaning: I rest on Sundays.
And just like that, you've completed the Spanish week.
The Seven Spanish Days at a Glance
Here's your quick-reference chart:
| Spanish | English | |
|---|---|---|
| lunes | Monday (No accent) | |
| martes | Tuesday (One r) | |
| miércoles | Wednesday (Accent on e) | |
| jueves | Thursday (Spanish j sound) | |
| viernes | Friday (No accent) | |
| sábado | Saturday (Accent on a) | |
| domingo | Sunday (No accent) |
Why Doesn't Spanish Capitalize the Days?
Here's one of the most important rules to remember.
In English, we capitalize the days:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
In Spanish, days of the week are normally written in lowercase:
lunes
martes
miércoles
jueves
viernes
sábado
domingo
So you would normally write:
El lunes trabajo.
Not:
El Lunes trabajo.
And:
El viernes tengo una reunión.
Not:
El Viernes tengo una reunión.
This can feel strange at first because English has trained us to automatically capitalize these words.
But after writing a few Spanish sentences, the lowercase style starts to feel natural.
Never Capitalize Spanish Days? Here's the Secret Rule!
The word “never” in the title is the fun part.
Spanish days are normally lowercase, but saying they can never be capitalized isn't quite accurate.
Why?
Because the normal rules of capitalization still apply.
If a day appears at the beginning of a sentence, it can naturally begin with a capital letter.
For example:
Lunes es mi día favorito.
Here, Lunes begins with a capital letter because it starts the sentence.
The capitalization isn't happening because lunes is a day of the week.
It's happening because it is the first word of the sentence.
That's the distinction to remember.
The real rule
Days of the week are normally lowercase in Spanish unless another capitalization rule requires a capital letter.
So don't memorize:
“Spanish days are never capitalized.”
Instead, remember:
“Spanish days normally stay lowercase.”
That is a much safer rule.
El lunes vs. los lunes
Now let's look at a small grammar difference that you'll see everywhere.
Compare:
el lunes
with:
los lunes
When you use el lunes, you're generally talking about a particular Monday.
For example:
El lunes tengo una entrevista.
Meaning: I have an interview on Monday.
But when you use los lunes, you're talking about Mondays in general or something that happens every Monday.
For example:
Los lunes tengo una clase de español.
Meaning: I have a Spanish class on Mondays.
Compare the two:
El lunes estudio.
I study on Monday.
Los lunes estudio.
I study on Mondays.
This is a small grammatical detail, but learning it early will help you create more natural sentences.
How to Say “Every Monday”
If you want to talk about a recurring weekly habit, Spanish commonly uses the plural form of the day.
For example:
Los lunes trabajo.
I work on Mondays.
Los martes voy al gimnasio.
I go to the gym on Tuesdays.
Los miércoles estudio español.
I study Spanish on Wednesdays.
This is a great way to practice the days because you're connecting vocabulary with your real life.
Try creating seven sentences based on your own weekly schedule.
For example:
Los lunes...
Los martes...
Los miércoles...
Keep going until Sunday.
By the time you finish, you've practiced every day without simply memorizing a list.
A Simple Pronunciation Practice Routine
Want to make these words stick?
Try this three-step method.
Step 1: Listen
Play your recording for each word.
Don't rush. Listen carefully to the rhythm and vowel sounds.
Step 2: Repeat
Say the word aloud immediately after hearing it.
Try to copy the rhythm rather than focusing only on individual letters.
Step 3: Use it
Put the day into a complete sentence.
For example:
El lunes trabajo.
Then create your own sentence.
This is where your pronunciation recordings can become especially valuable. Your readers aren't just reading a pronunciation guide — they're listening to an actual human voice and then copying it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Let's quickly review some of the mistakes beginners often make.
Mistake 1: Capitalizing every day
❌ El Lunes trabajo.
✅ El lunes trabajo.
Spanish normally uses lowercase days.
Mistake 2: Forgetting the accent in miércoles
❌ miercoles
✅ miércoles
The accent matters.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the accent in sábado
❌ sabado
✅ sábado
Again, keep the accent.
Mistake 4: Adding an extra r to martes
❌ marrtes
✅ martes
Only one r.
Mistake 5: Pronouncing the j in jueves like English “j”
The Spanish j has a different sound.
Listen to your recording and imitate it rather than relying on English pronunciation rules.
Test Yourself: Can You Remember All Seven?
Cover the English translations and see if you can answer these:
lunes = ?
martes = ?
miércoles = ?
jueves = ?
viernes = ?
sábado = ?
domingo = ?
Now try the reverse:
Monday = ?
Tuesday = ?
Wednesday = ?
Thursday = ?
Friday = ?
Saturday = ?
Sunday = ?
If you can answer all seven without looking, you're off to a great start.
Quick Accent Challenge
Which two Spanish days contain accent marks?
The answer is:
miércoles and sábado
Remember:
miércoles → é
sábado → á
These are worth memorizing exactly as written.
Mini Fill-in-the-Blank Quiz
Ready for a slightly harder challenge?
Complete each sentence with the correct Spanish day.
El ______ trabajo.
MondayEl ______ estudio español.
TuesdayEl ______ tengo una clase.
WednesdayEl ______ voy al gimnasio.
ThursdayEl ______ salgo con mis amigos.
FridayEl ______ descanso.
SaturdayEl ______ visito a mi familia.
Sunday
Answers
- lunes
- martes
- miércoles
- jueves
- viernes
- sábado
- domingo
How many did you get right?
Your Final Spanish Days Cheat Sheet
Before you leave, memorize this list:
lunes — Monday
martes — Tuesday
miércoles — Wednesday
jueves — Thursday
viernes — Friday
sábado — Saturday
domingo — Sunday
And remember these four rules:
1. Spanish days are normally lowercase.
2. miércoles has an accent.
3. sábado has an accent.
4. martes has only one r.
Once you've learned these seven words, don't stop at memorizing them. Use them to talk about your actual week.
Tell someone what you do el lunes.
Describe your routine on los martes.
Make plans for el viernes.
Talk about what you usually do los domingos.
That's how vocabulary becomes active Spanish.
And if you're ready to tackle another pair of Spanish words that causes plenty of confusion, continue with Por vs. Para — Can You Get All of Them Right?.
Because Spanish becomes much easier when you stop trying to memorize isolated rules and start seeing how the language works in real sentences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Spanish days of the week capitalized?
Normally, no. Spanish days are generally written in lowercase: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo.
They may begin with a capital letter when normal capitalization rules require it, such as when the word starts a sentence.
What is Wednesday in Spanish?
Wednesday is miércoles. Remember the accent mark on the é.
What is Saturday in Spanish?
Saturday is sábado. Remember the accent mark on the á.
Which Spanish days have accents?
The days miércoles and sábado have accent marks.
How do you say “on Monday” in Spanish?
A common expression is el lunes.
For example:
El lunes trabajo.
“I work on Monday.”
How do you say “on Mondays” in Spanish?
A common expression is los lunes.
For example:
Los lunes estudio español.
“I study Spanish on Mondays.”
What is the Spanish word for “days of the week”?
días de la semana means “days of the week.”
Is martes spelled with two r's?
No. The correct spelling is martes, with only one r.
One Last Challenge
Without looking back, write the seven Spanish days in order.
Then add the accents.
Then write one sentence about your own routine for each day.
Finally, read all seven sentences aloud using the pronunciation recordings as a guide.
If you can do all of that, you haven't just memorized the Spanish days of the week.
You've started using them.
And that's the real goal of learning a language.
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