Days of the Week

Level 2

The days all end in -diena (day): pirmdiena, otrdiena, trešdiena, ceturtdiena, piektdiena, sestdiena, svētdiena. For on Monday, drop the final -a: pirmdien.

How It Works

1. The seven days.

  • pirmdiena: Monday (the first day)
  • otrdiena: Tuesday (the second day)
  • trešdiena: Wednesday (the third day)
  • ceturtdiena: Thursday (the fourth day)
  • piektdiena: Friday (the fifth day)
  • sestdiena: Saturday (the sixth day)
  • svētdiena: Sunday (the holy day)

They are feminine nouns, like diena (day). Write them with a small letter, unless they start a sentence. See capital letters.

2. On a day. Use the short form, with no preposition: pirmdien, otrdien, trešdien, ceturtdien, piektdien, sestdien, svētdien. Piektdien mēs ejam uz kino. (On Friday we are going to the cinema.) It works like šodien and rīt.

You will also see the locative pirmdienā, especially with a describing word: nākamajā pirmdienā (next Monday), pagājušajā piektdienā (last Friday). See next week and last year.

3. Every week. For a habit, use the locative plural: pirmdienās (on Mondays), svētdienās (on Sundays). Or use katru with the accusative: katru pirmdienu (every Monday). See how long and how often.

4. Naming the day. Kāda šodien ir diena? (What day is it today?) — Šodien ir trešdiena. Here the day is the full noun.

5. From ... to. no pirmdienas līdz piektdienai (from Monday to Friday): no takes the genitive and līdz the dative. The weekend is nedēļas nogale, and days off are brīvdienas.

Examples (6)

  1. Šodien ir trešdiena.

    Today is Wednesday.

    Naming the day uses the full noun.

  2. Pirmdien es sāku jaunu darbu.

    On Monday I am starting a new job.

    Pirmdien is the short form for on Monday.

  3. Sestdien mēs braucam uz jūru.

    On Saturday we are going to the seaside.

  4. Svētdienās veikals ir slēgts.

    The shop is closed on Sundays.

    The locative plural svētdienās means on Sundays, every week.

  5. Es strādāju no pirmdienas līdz piektdienai.

    I work from Monday to Friday.

    No + genitive, līdz + dative.

  6. Tiksimies nākamajā otrdienā.

    We will meet next Tuesday.

    With a describing word, the day takes the locative: nākamajā otrdienā.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the full noun to say on a day.

    Es strādāju pirmdiena.
    Es strādāju pirmdien.

    Pirmdiena is the name of the day. To say when something happens, use the short form pirmdien.

  • Using the short form to name the day.

    Šodien ir pirmdien.
    Šodien ir pirmdiena.

    After ir, the day is a noun: Šodien ir pirmdiena.

  • Writing a day with a capital letter.

    Tiekamies Piektdien.
    Tiekamies piektdien.

    Latvian writes days of the week with a small letter unless they start a sentence.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Days of the WeekLevel 2

Learn This First

Days of the week build on time words.

Words in This Pattern

pirmdienaotrdienatrešdienaceturtdienapiektdienasestdienasvētdienapirmdienotrdientrešdienceturtdienpiektdiensvētdien