The 7 Days of the Week in German: Pronunciations & Grammar Rules

The secret to remembering German days of the week

The big secret to mastering these days of the week in German is incorporating them into your daily life. Try labeling your calendar with the German days or mentally noting the day in German each morning. You can also practice using the German days of the week in simple sentences like Am Dienstag habe ich eine Verabredung (On Tuesday, I have an appointment). Regular usage of these terms helps them feel more familiar, so you don’t have to spend as long thinking about which word to use.

You can also make associations between the English and German terms for the days of the week to smooth out the process of memorizing them. Check out these tips to help you associate what you know with what you want to learn:

• Montag (Monday): Look at the first three letters Mon- in both terms. They start the same way, making this one easy to remember.
• Dienstag (Tuesday): Think of the German word Diener (servant). Imagine Dienstag as a day to serve up productivity—it’s when people often get into the flow of the workweek.
• Mittwoch (Wednesday): Mitt means “middle,” and Woch is short for Woche, meaning “week.” This day of the week literally means “mid-week,” so you can remember this term by thinking which day is in the middle of the workweek.
• Donnerstag (Thursday): Picture Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Donner means “thunder” in German, and the English term “Thursday” comes from “Thor’s Day.”
• Freitag (Friday): Imagine that feeling of freedom when it’s almost the weekend. Frei means “free” in German.
• Samstag (Saturday): Associate this day with its root German word samen (together), as Saturday is often used for social gatherings and family relaxation.
• Sonntag (Sunday): This term literally translates to “sun day,” as the word for “sun” in German is Sonne and Tag means “day.” 

Grammar rules for German days of the week

Using the days of the week in German in your writing and conversations involves a few grammar rules that help you structure your sentences properly. The good news is these rules are the same for every day of the week from Montag (Monday) to Sonntag (Sunday), so you’ll only have to learn one set of rules. This is because every German day of the week is considered a masculine noun. These grammatical rules affect articles, adjective endings, and, occasionally, noun endings.

Understanding articles for German days of the week

Days of the week in German are all considered masculine nouns, so they’ll always use versions of the masculine definite article der (the) and the indefinite article ein (a/an). 

• Definite articles refer to specific nouns, like talking about der Donnerstag (the Thursday) you got your gift in the mail. 
• Indefinite articles are used for more general purposes, as in talking about the 12th of May falling on einen Montag (a Monday).

The decision of which article to use depends on whether you’re talking about a specific day or a general day, and which of the four German grammar cases the day of the week is in. 

This chart shows which masculine article to use based on grammatical case:

See sentence examples of each article in action:

• Nominative:
  • Der Montag ist mein Lieblingstag. = Monday is my favorite day.
  • Ein Dienstag ist oft stressig. = A Tuesday is often stressful.
• Accusative:
  • Ich hasse den Freitag. = I hate Friday.
  • Endlich habe ich einen Samstag frei. = I finally have a Saturday off.
• Dative:
  • Ich treffe mich mit meinen Freunden an dem Samstag. = I’m meeting with my friends on Saturday.
  • Wir fahren am Wochenende zu einem Dienstag nach Berlin. = We are traveling to Berlin on a Tuesday.
• Genitive:
  • Trotz des Mittwochs bin ich produktiv. = Despite the Wednesday, I am productive.
  • Wegen eines halben Tages an einem Freitag muss ich länger arbeiten. = Because of a half day on a Friday, I have to work late.

For plural days of the week, like when you’re talking about the recurring business meetings on Mondays, no article is needed: Just add an -s to the end of the German day of the week like in English!

Adjective endings for German days of the week

Adjective endings in German are usually a mess of gender, case, and number. Here’s the secret: Since all days of the week are masculine, there’s a three-step approach you can take to choose which adjective ending is right for a given sentence. 

To select the correct adjective ending, ask yourself the following three questions in order:

1.     Is the day of the week in any grammar case other than nominative? If yes, just add -en!

• Wir haben einen schönen Freitag geplant. = We planned a beautiful Friday.
• Ich bin mit dem kurzen Mittwoch zufrieden. = I’m happy with the short Wednesday.

2.     If the day of the week is in the nominative case, are you talking about a specific day of the week? If so, add the -e ending to your adjective.

• Der lange Montag ist schwer zu überstehen. = The long Monday is hard to get through.
• Der hektische Dienstag ist immer der schlimmste. = The hectic Friday is always the worst.

3.     Are you referring to a general day of the week in the nominative case? Let the adjective shine by adding -er at the end.

• Ein fauler Sonntag ist genau richtig. = A lazy Sunday is just right.
• Ein spannender Mittwoch bringt oft Überraschungen. = An exciting Wednesday often brings surprises.

How to use German days of the week in sentences

Now that you know how to say each of the days of the week in German and how they impact the grammar of the sentence, you can start using them in your daily conversations. 

There are four main ways the days of the week will come up in your day-to-day life. You’ll either talk about a specific day, a general day, something happening on a particular day, or a recurring event on a certain day every week.

Referring to a specific day

When referring to a specific day like der Montag (the Monday), use the definite articles der, den, dem, or des (the) based which of the four German cases are used in the sentence. This also applies if you’re mentioning a day for the first time in a conversation.

• Der Freitag ist mein Lieblingstag. = Friday is my favorite day.

Talking about a non-specific day

If you’re talking about a non-specific day like ein Mittwoch (a Wednesday), use ein (a/an) with the appropriate endings based on the grammatical case.

• Ein Dienstag ist immer produktiv. = A Tuesday is always productive.

Saying something is ‘on’ a specific day

Saying that something happens on a particular day requires the use of the contraction am, which is short for an dem (on the). Am is often used with the dative case.

• Am Montage habe ich frei. = I’m off on Monday.

Talking about recurring events with no article

For regular, recurring events like “on Mondays,” there’s no need for an article. Instead, simply add an -s to the end of the day like you do in English.

• Samstags gehe ich nie ins Büro. = I never go to the office on Saturdays.

Practice the days of the week in German with Rosetta Stone

Knowing the days of the week and how to use them properly is a staple of learning German. If you’re planning to meet with your friends on Samstag (Saturday) or attend that special lunch date on Mittwoch (Wednesday), getting used to the days of the week will make a big difference!

Rosetta Stone’s Live Lessons extend your learning with engaging live language classes about specific topics, like basic vocabulary terms and days of the week. You’ll have the opportunity to hear tricky pronunciations of German terms from a native speaker, expand your cultural knowledge with relevant, real-world topics, and reinforce your reading and writing skills.