Italian · Vocabulary

Days of the week and months in Italian

The days of the week in Italian are lunedì, martedì, mercoledì, giovedì, venerdì, sabato and domenica, and the week starts on Monday. The months are gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio, giugno, luglio, agosto, settembre, ottobre, novembre and dicembre. Both take a small letter. Lunedì means this Monday; il lunedì means every Monday.

Words
40: days, months, seasons, time
Capital letters
No, for days and months
Variety
Standard Italian
Level
A1

40 Italian words for days, months and time

Days and months are listed without an article, the way you say them in a date. Seasons and other nouns have theirs. The Contos web app uses this pack for flashcard review.

ItalianEnglish
lunedìMonday
martedìTuesday
mercoledìWednesday
giovedìThursday
venerdìFriday
sabatoSaturday
domenicaSunday
gennaioJanuary
febbraioFebruary
marzoMarch
aprileApril
maggioMay
giugnoJune
luglioJuly
agostoAugust
settembreSeptember
ottobreOctober
novembreNovember
dicembreDecember
la primaveraspring
l'estatesummer
l'autunnoautumn
l'invernowinter
la datadate
il calendariocalendar
il secolocentury
il decenniodecade
la stagioneseason
il pomeriggioafternoon
la mezzanottemidnight
l'albadawn
dopodomanithe day after tomorrow
l'altro ierithe day before yesterday
la settimana scorsalast week
il mese prossimonext month
quest'annothis year
il giorno festivopublic holiday
l'anno bisestileleap year
il giorno ferialeweekday
due settimanefortnight

How do you say "on Monday" in Italian?

Italian needs no word for "on". The day on its own means the coming (or most recent) one, and the article turns it into a habit.

ItalianEnglish
lunedì vado a Bolognaon Monday I'm going to Bologna
il lunedì vado in palestraon Mondays I go to the gym
lunedì prossimonext Monday
lunedì scorsolast Monday
la domenicaon Sundays
il fine settimanaat the weekend

All the days are masculine except la domenica. The five ending in -dì (from Latin dies, day) are stressed on the last syllable, written with an accent, and do not change in the plural: i lunedì. The other two have normal plurals: i sabati, le domeniche.

Sabato mattina a Porta Palazzo.
Saturday morning at Porta Palazzo, Turin's big open-air market. No article and no "on": sabato mattina is this Saturday morning.

From The Market of Grudges, chapter 1 (A1)

Nonna Assunta compie ottant'anni sabato prossimo.
Grandma Assunta turns eighty next Saturday. Compiere gli anni is to have a birthday, and prossimo follows the day.

From Grandma Assunta's Secret, chapter 1 (A1)

How do you say and write the date in Italian?

Italian puts il before the number and uses ordinary numbers, not "fourteenth": il 14 ottobre, said il quattordici ottobre. The first of the month is the exception, with the ordinal primo: il primo maggio, written il 1° maggio. In numbers the day comes first: 14/10/2026.

Che giorno è oggi? Oggi è martedì.

What day is it today? Today is Tuesday.

Quanti ne abbiamo oggi?

What's the date today?

An everyday idiom; Che data è oggi? also works.

Il mio compleanno è il tre maggio.

My birthday is on the third of May.

Sono nata nel 1995.

I was born in 1995.

Years take nel (in + il). A man says sono nato.

Torniamo a settembre.

We're coming back in September.

Months take a or in: a settembre and in settembre are both correct.

Margherita guarda la data sul retro: luglio 1968.
Margherita looks at the date on the back: July 1968. The month has a small letter, as it always does in Italian.

From The Letter in the Oven, chapter 2 (A2)

Seasons, holidays and words for time

The seasons are la primavera, l'estate (feminine), l'autunno and l'inverno (both masculine). "In summer" is d'estate or in estate; "in winter" is d'inverno or in inverno.

Read a short Italian story at A1 and spot the days and times: tap any word to see what it means.

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Frequently asked questions

Are days of the week capitalised in Italian?

No. Days and months take a small letter in Italian: lunedì, martedì, gennaio, luglio. They only take a capital at the start of a sentence, as in the story line Sabato mattina a Porta Palazzo.

Which day of the week is feminine in Italian?

Only domenica, Sunday: la domenica, le domeniche. The other six are masculine: il lunedì, il sabato. The name comes from the Latin for "the Lord's day".

How do you say the date in Italian?

Use il and an ordinary number, then the month: il venti marzo, 20 March. For the first of the month, use primo: il primo gennaio. Years take nel: nel 2026.

Does giorno feriale mean a holiday?

No, it means a working day, Monday to Saturday on most timetables. A public holiday is un giorno festivo. The confusion comes from le ferie, which does mean holiday from work.

Learn Italian from stories, not drills

Contos has serialized Italian stories from A1 to B2. Tap any word for its meaning. The first two chapters of every series are free.

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