Days of the Week

Level 2

Arabic days of the week follow a numerical logic starting from Sunday (Day 1). Most names require the definite article الـ (al-) and are grammatically masculine.

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, the days of the week are treated as unique proper nouns. Unlike English, they almost always appear with the definite article.

1. The Numerical Days:
The names for Sunday through Thursday are derived from the roots of cardinal numbers:

  • الأحد (al-Aḥad): Sunday — from 'one' (واحد).
  • الاثنين (al-Ithnayn): Monday — from 'two' (اثنان). Note that this word is morphologically a dual noun.
  • الثلاثاء (ath-Thulāthā’): Tuesday — from 'three' (ثلاثة).
  • الأربعاء (al-Arbi‘ā’): Wednesday — from 'four' (أربعة).
  • الخميس (al-Khamīs): Thursday — from 'five' (خمسة).

2. The Non-Numerical Days:

  • الجمعة (al-Jumu‘a): Friday — from the root 'to gather' (جمع), referring to the day of congregational prayer.
  • السبت (as-Sabt): Saturday — from the root 'to rest' (سبت), cognate with the Sabbath.

3. Grammatical Usage:
Days are usually used in an Idafa construction with the word يوم (day). For example, 'on Monday' is often expressed as يومَ الاثنينِ. When used as an adverb of time (telling when something happens), the word يوم takes the accusative case (yawma).

4. Sun and Moon Letters:
Pay attention to Sun and Moon letters when pronouncing the article. The 'L' is silent in الثلاثاء (ath-Thulāthā’) and السبت (as-Sabt), but pronounced clearly in the others.

Examples (4)

  1. اليوم هو يوم الأحد.

    Today is Sunday.

    Word by Word: The day he day the Sunday.

    This shows the standard way to state the day using the word 'yawm' (day) followed by the specific day name.

  2. سأذهب إلى المكتبة يوم الثلاثاء.

    I will go to the library on Tuesday.

    Word by Word: I will go to the library day the Tuesday.

    When 'yawm' acts as a time adverb, it doesn't need a preposition like 'on' in English; the case ending (fatha) handles the meaning.

  3. الجمعة هو يوم العطلة في معظم الدول العربية.

    Friday is the weekend/holiday in most Arab countries.

    Word by Word: The Friday he day the holiday in most the countries the Arabic.

    Note that while 'al-Jumu'a' ends in a 'ta marbuta', it is often referred to with masculine pronouns because it represents a 'day' (yawm).

  4. المطعم مغلق من السبت إلى الاثنين.

    The restaurant is closed from Saturday to Monday.

    Word by Word: The restaurant closed from the Saturday to the Monday.

    Here, the days follow the preposition 'ila', putting them in the genitive case.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the definite article 'al-' in formal speech.

    سأراك في خميس.
    سأراك يوم الخميس.

    In Modern Standard Arabic, the days are proper nouns that require the article. Without 'al-', 'khamis' just sounds like the number five or a common adjective.

  • Confusing the day name with the cardinal number.

    اليوم هو أربعة.
    اليوم هو الأربعاء.

    While the days are based on numbers, they have specific forms. 'Arba'a' means the number four, while 'al-Arbi'a' means Wednesday.

How It Connects

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Days of the WeekLevel 2

Learn This First

To learn the days of the week, you need to understand how the definite article 'al-' works and how it interacts with different letters (Sun and Moon letters). Additionally, since most weekday names are etymologically linked to numbers, familiarity with the numbers 1-10 provides a helpful mnemonic and linguistic foundation.