Days and Months

Level 2

In Turkish, days and months are lowercase by default. They only become proper nouns (capitalized) when paired with a specific number or year.

How It Works

Turkish orthography regarding time follows a strict logic based on specificity:

  • General Usage: When talking about days or months in general or habitually, use lowercase. For example: okullar eylülde açılır (schools open in September).
  • Specific Dates: If a day or month is part of a specific date (containing a number), it is capitalized. For example: 15 Eylül or Eylül'ün 15'i.
  • Days of the Week: To say 'on [Day]', you can use the day name alone as an adverb (e.g., Pazartesi buluşalım) or use the compound noun form with günü (e.g., pazartesi günü). Note that the word günü remains lowercase in standard dates (29 Mayıs Salı günü). Using the locative case directly on a day (e.g., pazarteside) is generally avoided.
  • Special Days and Holidays: Unlike standard dates, the word Günü or Bayramı is capitalized when it is part of a proper name for a holiday, such as Anneler Günü (Mother's Day) or Cumhuriyet Bayramı (Republic Day).
  • Months: To say 'in [Month]', you can use the locative suffix directly (nisanda) or the compound ayında (nisan ayında).
  • Punctuation: If the word is capitalized because of a specific date or holiday, you must use an apostrophe before any suffixes. If it is lowercase, no apostrophe is used.

Examples (6)

  1. Pazartesi buluşalım.

    Let's meet on Monday.

    Word by Word: Monday let-us-meet.

    Day names can be used alone as adverbs to mean 'on [Day]' without any extra suffixes.

  2. Anneler Günü mayıs ayındadır.

    Mother's Day is in the month of May.

    Word by Word: Mothers Day May month-in-is.

    Unlike standard dates, the word 'Günü' is capitalized when it is part of the proper name of a holiday or special day.

  3. Her cuma arkadaşlarla buluşuruz.

    We meet with friends every Friday.

    Word by Word: Every Friday with-friends we-meet.

    Here 'cuma' is lowercase because it refers to a habitual action, not a specific calendar date.

  4. Sınav 22 Haziran'da yapılacak.

    The exam will be held on June 22nd.

    Word by Word: Exam 22 June-on will-be-done.

    Because 'Haziran' is part of a specific date (22), it is capitalized and takes an apostrophe.

  5. Tatile temmuz ayında çıkacağız.

    We will go on holiday in July.

    Word by Word: To-holiday July month-in we-will-go.

    Using 'ayında' is a common and natural way to say 'in the month of'.

  6. Toplantı pazartesi günü saat onda.

    The meeting is on Monday at ten o'clock.

    Word by Word: Meeting Monday day hour at-ten.

    Note the use of 'günü' to indicate 'on Monday'.

Common Mistakes

  • Capitalizing days or months when they are not part of a specific date.

    Gelecek Salı görüşürüz.
    Gelecek salı görüşürüz.

    Unlike English, Turkish does not capitalize days of the week unless they refer to a specific calendar date.

  • Using the locative case directly on a day of the week.

    Pazartesi'de geliyorum.
    Pazartesi günü geliyorum.

    In standard Turkish, we usually use the compound 'günü' (day of), or just the bare day name, to express 'on [Day]'.

  • Forgetting the apostrophe or consonant harmony in specific dates.

    19 Mayısda
    19 Mayıs'ta

    Specific dates require an apostrophe, and the suffix must follow consonant harmony (d becomes t after s).

How It Connects

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

Days and MonthsLevel 2

Learn This First

To learn the names of days and months, you should be familiar with basic capitalization rules for specific dates and how to use numbers to form those dates. Understanding the conjunction 'and' (ve) is also helpful for listing them.