Everything You Need to Know About Days of The Week in Portuguese

How good are you at common Portuguese phrases and sayings?

Do you know how to name days of the week in Portuguese?

Whether you are a beginner or way ahead in your language learning, knowing the days of the week is something you simply must know.

Luckily for all of us, there are seven days of the week so there is not much to remember.

Another lucky coincidence is that Portuguese isn't listed as one of the hardest languages to learn and the pronunciation is relatively easy.

However, if you want to learn properly and to pronounce them correctly, you should dedicate some of your time to learning days of the week in Portuguese.

The good thing is we can help you with that, so keep reading to find out a little more about the days of the week in Portuguese and how to use them.

And with help of Portuguese tutors, you can not only practice days of the week but other things, have the time of your life with these amazing people and make learning more fun.

And now, let's dive in.

The Days of the Week in Portuguese

We all know that there are seven days in one week but did you know that the names of the days in Portuguese are all named by how close or far they are to Sunday?

Yes, the days of the week in Portuguese aren't similar to the names of other Romance languages.

The reason probably lies in centuries of influence of other nations and languages, such as Latin,  Hebrew, even Arabic.

Maybe you will understand better if you see how the days of the week are named, so here they are.

To make it clear from the start, we will start with Sunday.

• Domingo — Sunday

• Segunda-feira — Monday

• Terça-feira — Tuesday

• Quarta-feira — Wednesday

• Quinta-feira — Thursday

• Sexta-feira — Friday

• Sábado — Saturday

Domingo (Sunday)

The word 'domingo' comes from the Latin  ‘Dies Dominica,’ which can be translated as 'the day of the Lord.'

This is the day when we usually don't go to work, kids aren't going to school and we spend time with our family at home or with family members gathering for lunch. Or at least this is what families from Portuguese-speaking countries and the Roman world used to do on Sunday.

Working Days: Monday to Friday

Back in ancient times, around the 6th century AD, working days in Portuguese were named by pagan gods.

After this, for Portuguese names of the week, a very important time, Martin of Braga changed his faith to catholicism and along with it, everything changed.

Martin of Braga wasn't satisfied with using the names of the pagan gods, especially since in Christianity Easter and Christmas were two the most vital days to remember and celebrate; he decided to use holy names for the names of the week.

Interestingly, Saturday and Sunday, the weekend days, remained different, that is, not named by holly names.

Here are names of the week in old Portuguese:

• Monday- Lues

• Tuesday- Martes

• Wednesday- Mércores

• Thursday- Joves

• Friday- Vernes

Totally different from modern Portuguese, isn't it?

Sabado (Saturday)

And we've come to the last day of one week, Saturday.

In Portuguese, we say 'sabado.'

The word comes from the Hebrew 'sabbath' which means 'the day of rest.'

How to Properly Use Days of the Week in Portuguese

As you've already learned, the suffix '-feira' is used five from seven days of the week in Portuguese.

That means you can and should also learn its possibilities of using in different sentences.

There are two different situations for using the '-feira.'

You can use it in a sentence as part of the noun which represents the day of the week as in the following example:

Eu danço rumba às segunda-feiras. ( I dance the rumba on Mondays).

Another possibility is to omit the '-feira' and get the same meaning in the sentence like in the following example:

Eu danço rumba às segundas.

Here, the word 'segundas’' has the same meaning as in the previous example, 'segundas-feiras.'

Both nouns mean Monday.

Short Forms of The Days of The Week

Not so in spoken but more in written forms, abbreviations of the days of the week in Portuguese are used.

They are:

• Domingo — dom.

• Segunda-feira — seg.

• Terça-feira — ter.

• Quarta-feira — qua.

• Quinta-feira — qui.

• Sexta-feira — sex.

• Sábado — sab.

Last Week vs. Next Week in Portuguese

Is there a difference between terms and using phrases ‘last week’ and ‘next week’ in Portuguese?

Is it hard to understand and use in real situations like in some languages?

There is a difference between the phrases ‘last week’ and ‘next week’ in Portuguese, but they are way too easy to understand only if you pay attention closely.

To speak about something that happened last week, we use the words ‘passado’ or ‘passada.’

‘Passado’ is used for masculine and ‘passada’ for feminine nouns.

Example: Nós fomos ao parque no segundo-feira passado. — We went to the park last Monday.

When we want to speak about the situations or events that happen or will happen next week, we use ‘no proximo,’ ‘no proxima,’ or ‘que vem.’

Example: Na próxima terça-feira vou visitar minha irmã. — Next Tuesday, I am going to visit my sister.

Other Terms and Phrases Related to The Das of The Week

As much as it’s vital to know the names of the days in one week in Portuguese, it is equally important to know other week-related names and phrases.

Most of the following terms we usually use together with the days themselves.

• Hoje —Today

• Amanhã — Tomorrow

• Ontem —Yesterday

• Dia —Day

• Fim de semana/Final de semana — Weekend

• Semana — Week

• Mês — Month

Final Thoughts

Now that you know everything there is to be known about the days of the week in Portuguese, you can move forward to other phrases, such as Portuguese slang words or even swear words in Portuguese, and not only will you become one of the masters of Portuguese but you can also chit-chat about anything you want with Portuguese tutors making every 1-on-1 lesson like going out for a coffee with a friend.