у + Weekday (Accusative)

Days of the Week

Level 1Sounds Like u + akuzativ dana

To say that something happens on a specific day of the week, use the preposition у followed by the day in the accusative case (e.g., у понедељак, у суботу).

How It Works

The pattern у + accusative answers the question Када? (When?) and pinpoints an event to a specific day of the week in any timeframe (past, present, or future).

1. Forms by Gender:
Serbian day names belong to two gender patterns:

  • Masculine Inanimate: Under the rules of inanimate masculine accusative, these days do not add any ending:
    • понедељак → у понедељак (on Monday)
    • уторак → у уторак (on Tuesday)
    • четвртак → у четвртак (on Thursday)
    • петак → у петак (on Friday)
  • Feminine in -а: Following feminine accusative singular in -у:
    • среда → у среду (on Wednesday)
    • субота → у суботу (on Saturday)
    • недеља → у недељу (on Sunday)

2. Invariable Preposition:
The preposition у never changes form in Serbian before vowels or consonant clusters (unlike in Russian or Czech). Always write and say у уторак, never *во уторак.

3. Specific vs. Habitual Time:
Use у + accusative for a specific, single occurrence. To say that an action happens repetitively every week (e.g., 'on Mondays'), Serbian uses the bare instrumental without any preposition: понедељком, средом.

4. Note on 'недеља':
The noun недеља means both 'Sunday' and 'week'. The phrase у недељу strictly means 'on Sunday'. To say 'in a week' (duration or future point), say за недељу дана.

Examples (4)

  1. Видећемо се у понедељак.

    We will see each other on Monday.

    Word by Word: We-will-see self on Monday.

    Понедељак is a masculine inanimate noun, so its accusative form matches its nominative dictionary form.

  2. Имам испит у среду.

    I have an exam on Wednesday.

    Word by Word: I-have exam on Wednesday.

    Среда is feminine, so the ending changes from -а to -у in the accusative case after у.

  3. У суботу идемо у биоскоп.

    On Saturday we are going to the cinema.

    Word by Word: On Saturday we-go to cinema.

    Субота is feminine, becoming суботу after preposition у to show when the trip occurs.

  4. Имате ли састанак у петак?

    Do you have a meeting on Friday?

    Word by Word: Have you meeting on Friday?

    Петак is an inanimate masculine day, remaining unchanged in the accusative singular.

Common Mistakes

  • Calquing the English preposition 'on' with the Serbian preposition 'на'.

    Имам часове на понедељак.
    Имам часове у понедељак.

    For a day of the week, Serbian normally uses 'у' with the accusative ('у понедељак'). 'На' does not translate English 'on' here.

  • Forgetting to inflect feminine days into the accusative ending -у.

    Видимо се у среда.
    Видимо се у среду.

    While masculine inanimate days look identical to their dictionary form, feminine days ending in -а must change to -у in the accusative.

  • Using the locative case with days of the week because months use locative.

    Идемо на пут у суботи.
    Идемо на пут у суботу.

    While months and years take 'у' + locative (e.g., у мају), days of the week strictly take 'у' + accusative (у суботу).

How It Connects

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

у + Weekday (Accusative)Level 1Days of the Week

Learn This First

To express on which day of the week an action takes place using 'у + accusative', you need a grasp of the accusative singular noun endings and basic time-expression concepts.

Words in This Pattern