The days of the week in German are Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag and Sonntag, and the months run from Januar to Dezember. All of them are masculine (der Montag, der Mai) and written with a capital letter. Say am Montag for on Monday, im Mai for in May, and montags for every Monday.
- Words
- 40: days, months, seasons, time phrases
- Gender
- All days, months and seasons are der
- Dates
- 14.10.2026 = der vierzehnte Oktober
- Level
- A1
40 German calendar words
Every day, month and season is masculine, so they all take der. The phrases at the end (letzte Woche, nächsten Monat) are given in the form you actually use in a sentence. This is the calendar pack from the Contos web app's flashcard review.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Montag | Monday |
| der Dienstag | Tuesday |
| der Mittwoch | Wednesday |
| der Donnerstag | Thursday |
| der Freitag | Friday |
| der Samstag | Saturday |
| der Sonntag | Sunday |
| der Januar | January |
| der Februar | February |
| der März | March |
| der April | April |
| der Mai | May |
| der Juni | June |
| der Juli | July |
| der August | August |
| der September | September |
| der Oktober | October |
| der November | November |
| der Dezember | December |
| der Frühling | spring |
| der Sommer | summer |
| der Herbst | autumn |
| der Winter | winter |
| das Datum | date |
| der Kalender | calendar |
| das Jahrhundert | century |
| das Jahrzehnt | decade |
| die Jahreszeit | season |
| der Nachmittag | afternoon |
| die Mitternacht | midnight |
| die Morgendämmerung | dawn |
| übermorgen | the day after tomorrow |
| vorgestern | the day before yesterday |
| letzte Woche | last week |
| nächsten Monat | next month |
| dieses Jahr | this year |
| der Feiertag | public holiday |
| das Schaltjahr | leap year |
| der Wochentag | weekday |
| vierzehn Tage | fortnight |
Am Montag, im Mai, um acht: which preposition?
German picks the preposition by the size of the time unit. Days and parts of the day take am (an + dem), months and seasons take im (in + dem), and clock times take um. The odd one out is the night: in der Nacht.
| Time | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| day | am | am Freitag |
| part of the day | am | am Morgen, am Nachmittag, am Abend |
| night | in der | in der Nacht |
| date | am | am dritten März |
| month | im | im Dezember |
| season | im | im Sommer |
| clock time | um | um acht Uhr |
| weekend | am | am Wochenende |
For a habit, turn the day into an adverb with a small letter and an -s: montags (on Mondays), sonntags, abends (in the evenings). Days and times of day also join into one word: Montagmorgen, Freitagabend.
Am Dienstagmorgen klopft es.Am Freitag passiert etwas.How do you write and say dates in German?
German writes the day first, then the month, each followed by a full stop: 14.10.2026 or 14. Oktober 2026. When you say a date, the day becomes an ordinal number: der vierzehnte Oktober. Ordinals add -te up to 19 and -ste from 20: der zweite, der zehnte, der zwanzigste, der einunddreißigste. Learn the irregular ones: erste, dritte, siebte, achte.
After am the ending changes to -en: am ersten Mai, am dritten Oktober.
Welches Datum ist heute?
What's the date today?
Der Wievielte ist heute? is the more colloquial way to ask.
Heute ist der vierzehnte Oktober.
Today is the fourteenth of October.
Ich habe am dritten März Geburtstag.
My birthday is on the third of March.
Literally "I have birthday on the third of March".
Mein Bruder ist 1998 geboren.
My brother was born in 1998.
A year on its own takes no preposition. Im Jahr 1998 is also correct; "in 1998" is an English pattern.
Plötzlich sah sie es: Zimmer 7, erster Donnerstag im Monat, derselbe Name.Letzte Woche, nächsten Monat: why the endings change
Time phrases without a preposition are in the accusative. That is why the list says nächsten Monat: der Monat is masculine, and masculine nouns change their ending in the accusative. Feminine and neuter nouns do not.
| die Woche | der Monat | das Jahr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| last | letzte Woche | letzten Monat | letztes Jahr |
| this | diese Woche | diesen Monat | dieses Jahr |
| next | nächste Woche | nächsten Monat | nächstes Jahr |
Words in the list to use with care
- der Wochentag is a day of the week, though an Wochentagen usually means Monday to Friday; in speech, unter der Woche is just as common. A working day is der Werktag, and in German law that includes Saturday.
- vierzehn Tage (fortnight) is everyday German: in vierzehn Tagen is in two weeks. In the same way, in acht Tagen often means in a week.
- die Morgendämmerung (dawn) is mostly written. In speech, people say bei Sonnenaufgang or ganz früh am Morgen.
- der Feiertag is a public holiday. Some are national, such as der Tag der Deutschen Einheit on 3 October; others apply only in some states.
- die Mitternacht usually appears without its article: um Mitternacht.
Offices also count weeks: die Kalenderwoche, written KW. A deadline in KW 42 is in the 42nd week of the year.
Read an A1 German story: many chapters open with a day and a time, and you can tap any word to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
Are German days of the week capitalised?
Yes, because they are nouns: Montag, Dienstag. The adverbs that mean "on Mondays" or "in the evenings" are written in lower case: montags, abends.
Is it der, die or das for months?
Der. All months, days of the week and seasons are masculine: der Januar, der Freitag, der Winter.
How do you say "on Monday" in German?
Am Montag, short for an dem Montag. For every Monday, use montags: Montags gehe ich schwimmen.
What is Sonnabend?
Another word for Saturday, used mainly in northern and eastern Germany. Samstag is understood everywhere and is the more common word overall.