Names of the days of the week - wikipedia Names of the days of the week `` Days of the Week '' redirects here. For the song by Stone Temple Pilots, see Days of the Week ( song ). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2013 ) Italian cameo bracelet representing the days of the week, corresponding to the planets as Roman gods : Diana as the Moon for Monday, Mars for Tuesday, Mercury for Wednesday, Jupiter for Thursday, Venus for Friday, Saturn for Saturday, and Apollo as the Sun for Sunday. Middle 19th century, Walters Art Museum The names of the days of the week in many languages are derived from the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astrology, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. In some other languages, the days are named after corresponding deities of the regional culture, either beginning with Sunday or with Monday. In the international standard ISO 8601, Monday is treated as the first day of the week. Contents 1 Days named after planets 1.1 Greco - Roman tradition 1.1. 1 Romance languages 1.1. 2 Celtic languages 1.1. 3 Adoptions from Romance 1.2 Germanic tradition 1.2. 1 Adoptions from Germanic 1.3 Indian tradition 1.3. 1 South Asian languages 1.3. 2 Southeast Asian languages 1.3. 3 East Asian languages 1.4 East Asian tradition 2 Numbered days of the week 2.1 Days numbered from Sunday 2.2 Days numbered from Monday 2.3 Days numbered from Saturday 3 Mixing of numbering and astronomy 4 See also 5 Notes 5.1 Sunday 5.2 Monday 5.3 Tuesday 5.4 Wednesday 5.5 Thursday 5.6 Friday 5.7 Saturday 6 References 7 Further reading Days named after planets Greco - Roman tradition Further information : Week and Planetary hours Between the 1st and 3rd centuries, the Roman Empire gradually replaced the eight - day Roman nundinal cycle with the seven - day week. Our earliest evidence for this new system is a Pompeiian graffito referring to the 6th February ( viii idus Februarius ) of the year AD 60 as dies solis ( `` Sunday '' ). Another early witness is a reference to a lost treatise by Plutarch, written in about AD 100, which addressed the question of Why are the days named after the planets reckoned in a different order from the actual order ?. The days were named after the planets of Hellenistic astrology, in the order Sun, Moon, Mars ( Ares ), Mercury ( Hermes ), Jupiter ( Zeus ), Venus ( Aphrodite ) and Saturn ( Cronos ). The seven - day week spread throughout the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. By the 4th century, it was in wide use throughout the Empire, and it had also reached India and China. The Greek and Latin names are as follows : Day : ( see Irregularities ) Sunday Sōl or Helios ( Sun ) Monday Luna or Selene ( Moon ) Tuesday Mars or Ares ( Mars ) Wednesday Mercurius or Hermes ( Mercury ) Thursday Iuppiter or Zeus ( Jupiter ) Friday Venus or Aphrodite ( Venus ) Saturday Saturnus or Kronos ( Saturn ) Greek ἡμέρᾱ Ἡλίου hēmérā Hēlíou ἡμέρᾱ Σελήνης hēmérā Selḗnēs ἡμέρᾱ Ἄρεως hēmérā Áreōs ἡμέρᾱ Ἑρμοῦ hēmérā Hermoû ἡμέρᾱ Διός hēmérā Diós ἡμέρᾱ Ἀφροδῑ́της hēmérā Aphrodī́tēs ἡμέρᾱ Κρόνου hēmérā Krónou Latin diēs Sōlis diēs Lūnae diēs Mārtis diēs Mercuriī diēs Iovis diēs Veneris diēs Saturnī Romance languages Except for modern Portuguese and Mirandese, the Romance languages preserved the Latin names, except for the names of Sunday, which was replaced by ( dies ) Dominicus ( Dominica ), i.e. `` the Lord 's Day '' and of Saturday, which was named for the Sabbath. In Corsican, the Saturday is known either by Sabatu or De Sadorn. Day : ( see Irregularities ) Sunday Sōl ( Sun ) Monday Luna ( Moon ) Tuesday Mars ( Mars ) Wednesday Mercurius ( Mercury ) Thursday Iuppiter ( Jupiter ) Friday Venus ( Venus ) Saturday Saturnus ( Saturn ) Italian domenica lunedì martedì mercoledì giovedì venerdì sabato Old Portuguese domingo lues martes mércores joves vernes sábado Galician domingo luns martes mércores xoves venres sábado Spanish domingo lunes martes miércoles jueves viernes sábado Romanian duminică luni marți miercuri joi vineri sâmbătă French dimanche lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi samedi Occitan dimenge diluns dimarts dimècres dijòus divendres dissabte Catalan diumenge dilluns dimarts dimecres dijous divendres dissabte Asturian domingu llunes martes miércoles xueves vienres sábadu Lombard ( Milanese ) domenega lunedì martedì mercoldì giovedì venerdì sabet Lombard ( Bresciano ) duminica lunedé martedé mercoldé gioedé venerdé sabot Ligurian doménga lunedì mâtesdì mâcordì zéuggia venardì sàbbo Venetian domenega luni marti mèrcore zobia vénare sabo Friulian domenie lunis martars miercus joibe vinars sabide Neapolitan dummeneca lunnerì marterì miercurì gioverì viernarì sàbbatu Sardinian dominiga lunis martis mercuris iobia chenabura Sappadu Sicilian dumínica luni marti mércuri juvi vénniri sábbatu Corsican dumenica luni marti màrcuri ghjovi vènnari sàbatu or sadorn Celtic languages Early Old Irish adopted the names from Latin, but introduced separate terms of Norse origin for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, then later supplanted these with terms relating to church fasting practices. Day : ( see Irregularities ) Sunday Sōl ( Sun ) Monday Luna ( Moon ) Tuesday Mars ( Mars ) Wednesday Mercurius ( Mercury ) Thursday Iuppiter ( Jupiter ) Friday Venus ( Venus ) Saturday Saturnus ( Saturn ) Old Irish Diu srol Dies scrol Diu luna Diu mart Diu iath Diu eathamon Diu triach Diu saturn Old Irish ( later ) Diu domnica Diu luna Diu mart Diu cétaín Diu eter dib aínib Diu aíne Diu saturn Irish An Domhnach Dé Domhnaigh An Luan Dé Luain An Mháirt Dé Máirt An Chéadaoin Dé Céadaoin An Déardaoin Déardaoin An Aoine Dé hAoine An Satharn Dé Sathairn Scottish Gaelic Di - Dòmhnaich / Didòmhnaich Di - Luain / Diluain Di - Màirt / Dimàirt Di - Ciadain / Diciadain Di - Ardaoin / Diardaoin Di - hAoine / Dihaoine Di - Sàthairne / Disathairne Welsh dydd Sul dydd Llun dydd Mawrth dydd Mercher dydd Iau dydd Gwener dydd Sadwrn Cornish Dy ' Sul Dy ' Lun Dy ' Meurth Dy ' Mergher Dy ' Yow Dy ' Gwener Dy ' Sadorn Breton Disul Dilun Dimeurzh Dimerc'her Diriaou Digwener Disadorn Manx Jedoonee Jelune Jemayrt Jecrean Jerdein Jeheiney Jesarn Adoptions from Romance Albanian adopted the Latin terms for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, adopted translations of the Latin terms for Sunday and Monday, and kept native terms for Thursday and Friday. Other languages adopted the week together with the Latin ( Romance ) names for the days of the week in the colonial period. Some constructed languages also adopted the Latin terminology. Day : ( see Irregularities ) Sunday Sōl ( Sun ) Monday Luna ( Moon ) Tuesday Mars ( Mars ) Wednesday Mercurius ( Mercury ) Thursday Iuppiter ( Jupiter ) Friday Venus ( Venus ) Saturday Saturnus ( Saturn ) Albanian E diel E hënë E martë E mërkurë E enjte E premte E shtunë Filipino Linggó Domínggo in most other Philippine languages Lúnes Mártes Miyérkules Huwebes or colloquially Webes Biyernes Sábado Chamorro Damenggo Lunes Mattes Metkoles Huebes Betnes Sabalu Māori ( Rā Tapu ) ( not celestially named ) ( rā + tapu = `` holy day '' ) Rāhina ( rā + Māhina = day + Moon ) Rātū ( rā + Tūmatauenga = day + Mars ) Rāapa ( rā + Apārangi = day + Mercury ) Rāpare ( rā + Pareārau = day + Jupiter ) Rāmere ( rā + Mere = day + Venus ) ( Rā Horoi ) ( not celestially named ) ( rā + horoi = `` washing day '' ) Interlingua Dominica Lunedi Martedi Mercuridi Jovedi Venerdi Sabbato Ido Sundio Lundio Mardio Merkurdio Jovdio Venerdio Saturdio Esperanto dimanĉo lundo mardo merkredo ĵaŭdo vendredo sabato Germanic tradition Further information : Germanic calendar The Germanic peoples adapted the system introduced by the Romans by substituting the Germanic deities for the Roman ones ( with the exception of Saturday ) in a process known as interpretatio germanica. The date of the introduction of this system is not known exactly, but it must have happened later than AD 200 but before the introduction of Christianity during the 6th to 7th centuries, i.e., during the final phase or soon after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. This period is later than the Common Germanic stage, but still during the phase of undifferentiated West Germanic. The names of the days of the week in North Germanic languages were not calqued from Latin directly, but taken from the West Germanic names. Sunday : Old English Sunnandæg ( pronounced ( ˈsunnɑndæj ) ), meaning `` sun 's day ''. This is a translation of the Latin phrase dies Solis. English, like most of the Germanic languages, preserves the day 's association with the sun. Many other European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed its name to the equivalent of `` the Lord 's day '' ( based on Ecclesiastical Latin dies Dominica ). In both West Germanic and North Germanic mythology, the Sun is personified as Sunna / Sól. Monday : Old English Mōnandæg ( pronounced ( ˈmoːnɑndæj ) ), meaning `` Moon 's day ''. This is equivalent to the Latin name dies lunae. In North Germanic mythology, the Moon is personified as Máni. Tuesday : Old English Tīwesdæg ( pronounced ( ˈtiːwezdæj ) ), meaning `` Tiw 's day ''. Tiw ( Norse Týr ) was a one - handed god associated with single combat and pledges in Norse mythology and also attested prominently in wider Germanic paganism. The name of the day is also related to the Latin name dies Martis, `` Day of Mars ''. Wednesday : Old English Wōdnesdæg ( pronounced ( ˈwoːdnezdæj ) ) meaning the day of the Germanic god Woden ( known as Óðinn among the North Germanic peoples ), and a prominent god of the Anglo - Saxons ( and other Germanic peoples ) in England until about the seventh century. It is also vaguely related to the Latin counterpart dies Mercurii, `` Day of Mercury ''. The Icelandic Miðviku, German Mittwoch, Low German Middeweek and Finnish keskiviikko all mean mid-week. Thursday : Old English Þūnresdæg ( pronounced ( ˈθuːnrezdæj ) ), meaning ' Þunor 's day '. Þunor means thunder or its personification, the Norse god known in Modern English as Thor. Similarly Dutch donderdag, German Donnerstag ( ' thunder 's day ' ), Finnish torstai, and Scandinavian Torsdag ( ' Thor 's day ' ). Thor 's day corresponds to Latin dies Iovis, `` day of Jupiter ''. Friday : Old English Frīgedæg ( pronounced ( ˈfriːjedæj ) ), meaning the day of the Anglo - Saxon goddess Fríge. The Norse name for the planet Venus was Friggjarstjarna, ' Frigg 's star '. It is based on the Latin dies Veneris, `` Day of Venus ''. Saturday : named after the Roman god Saturn associated with the Titan Cronus, father of Zeus and many Olympians. Its original Anglo - Saxon rendering was Sæturnesdæg ( pronounced ( ˈsæturnezdæj ) ). In Latin, it was dies Saturni, `` Day of Saturn ''. The Scandinavian Lørdag / Lördag deviates significantly as it has no reference to either the Norse or the Roman pantheon ; it derives from old Norse laugardagr, literally `` washing - day ''. The German Sonnabend ( mainly used in northern and eastern Germany ) and the Low German words Sünnavend mean `` Sunday Eve '', the German word Samstag ( mainly used in southern and western Germany ) derives from the name for Shabbat. Day : ( see Irregularities ) Sunday Sunna / Sól Monday Mona / Máni Tuesday Tiw / Tyr Wednesday Woden / Odin Thursday Thunor / Thor Friday Frige or Freya Saturday Saturn Proto - Germanic * Sunnōniz dagaz * Mēniniz dagaz * Tīwas dagaz, * Þingsas dagaz * Wōdanas dagaz * Þunras dagaz * Frijjōz dagaz * Saturnas dagaz, * Laugōz dagaz Old English Sunnandæg Mōnandæg Tīwesdæg Wōdnesdæg Þunresdæg Frīgedæg Sæternesdæg Old Saxon Sunnundag * Mānundag * Tiuwesdag, * Thingesdag Wōdanesdag * Thunaresdag Frīadag * Sunnunāƀand, * Satarnesdag Old High German Sunnûntag Mânetag Zîestag Wuotanestag Donarestag Frîjatag Sunnûnâband, Sambaztag Middle Low German Sunnedag Manedag Dingesdag Wodenesdag Donersdag Vrīdag Sunnenavend, Satersdag German Sonntag Montag Dienstag, Ziestag ( Alemannic German ) Mittwoch ( older Wutenstag ) Donnerstag Freitag Sonnabend, Samstag Yiddish Zuntik -- זונטיק Montik -- מאנטיק Dinstik -- דינסטיק Mitvokh -- מיטוואך Donershtik -- דאנערשטיק Fraytik -- פרײַטיק Shabbes -- שבת Scots Saubath, Sunday Monanday Tysday Wadensday Fuirsday Friday Seturday Dutch zondag maandag dinsdag woensdag donderdag vrijdag zaterdag Afrikaans Sondag Maandag Dinsdag Woensdag Donderdag Vrydag Saterdag Luxembourgish Sonndeg Méindeg Dënschdeg Mëttwoch Donneschdeg Freideg Samschdeg West Frisian Snein Moandei Tiisdei Woansdei Tongersdei Freed Sneon, Saterdei Low Saxon Sünndag Maandag Dingsdag Middeweek, Goonsdag ( rarely Woonsdag ) Dünnerdag Freedag Sünnavend, Saterdag Old Norse sunnudagr mánadagr tysdagr óðinsdagr þórsdagr frjádagr laugardagr, sunnunótt Faroese sunnudagur mánadagur týsdagur mikudagur, ónsdagur ( Suðuroy ) hósdagur / tórsdagur ( Suðuroy ) fríggjadagur leygardagur Icelandic sunnudagur mánudagur þriðjudagur miðvikudagur fimmtudagur föstudagur laugardagur Norwegian Bokmål søndag mandag tirsdag onsdag torsdag fredag lørdag Norwegian Nynorsk sundag / søndag måndag tysdag onsdag torsdag fredag laurdag Danish søndag mandag tirsdag onsdag torsdag fredag lørdag Swedish söndag måndag tisdag onsdag torsdag fredag lördag Elfdalian sunndag mondag tisdag ųosdag tųosdag frjådag lovdag Adoptions from Germanic Day : ( see Irregularities ) Sunday Sunna / Sól Monday Mona / Máni Tuesday Tiw / Tyr Wednesday Woden / Odin Thursday Thunor / Thor Friday Frige or Freya Saturday Saturn Finnish sunnuntai maanantai tiistai keskiviikko torstai perjantai lauantai Estonian pühapäev esmaspäev teisipäev kolmapäev neljapäev reede laupäev Maori ( transliteration ; translation ) Wiki ; Rātapu Mane ; Rāhina Tūrei ; Rātū Wenerei ; Rāapa Tāite ; Rāpare Paraire ; Rāmere Hāterei ; Rāhoroi Indian tradition Further information : Navagraha Hindu astrology uses the concept of days under the regency of a planet under the term vāra, the days of the week being called āditya -, soma -, maṅgala -, budha -, guru -, śukra -, and śani - vāra. śukrá is a name of Venus ( regarded as a son of Bhṛgu ) ; guru is here a title of Bṛhaspati, and hence of Jupiter ; budha `` Mercury '' is regarded as a son of Soma, i.e. the Moon. Knowledge of Greek astrology existed since about the 2nd century BC, but references to the vāra occur somewhat later, during the Gupta period ( Yājñavalkya Smṛti, c. 3rd to 5th century ), i.e. at roughly the same period the system was introduced in the Roman Empire. South Asian languages Sunday the Sun ( Aditya, Ravi ) Monday the Moon ( Soma, Chandra, Indu ) Tuesday Mars ( Mangala ) Wednesday Mercury ( Budha ) Thursday Jupiter ( Bṛhaspati, Guru ) Friday Venus ( Shukra ) Saturday Saturn ( Shani ) Balti Adeed عدید ‬ Tsandar چَندار ‬ Angaru انگارو ‬ Botu بوتو ‬ Brespod بریس پود ‬ Shugoru شوگورو ‬ Shingsher شنگشر ‬ Bengali রবিবার Robibar সোমবার Shombar মঙ্গলবার Monggolbar বুধবার Budhbar বৃহস্পতিবার Brihôshpotibar শুক্রবার Shukrobar শনিবার Shonibar Bhojpuri एतवार Aitwār सोमार Somār मंगर Mangar बुध Budh बियफे Bi'phey सुक्क Sukk सनिच्चर Sanichchar Burushaski Adit ادیت ‬ Chandoro چندورؤ ‬ Angaro نگارو ‬ Bodo بوڈو ‬ Berayspat بیرے سپاٹ ‬ Shukuro شوک ورؤ ‬ Shemshayr شیم شےر ‬ Chitrali ( Khowar ) Yakshambey یک شمبے ‬ Doshambey دو شمبے ‬ Seshambey سہ شمبے ‬ Charshambey چار شمبے ‬ Pachambey پچھمبے ‬ Adina آدینہ ‬ Shambey شمبے ‬ Gujarati રવિવાર Ravivār સોમવાર Somvār મંગળવાર Mangaḷvār બુધવાર Budhvār ગુરૂવાર Guruvār શુક્રવાર Shukravār શનિવાર Shanivār Hindi रविवार Ravivār सोमवार Somavār मंगलवार Mangalavār बुधवार Budhavār गुरूवार Guruvār शुक्रवार Shukravār शनिवार Shanivār Hindko Atwaar اتوار ‬ Suwar سؤ وار ‬ Mungal منگل ‬ Bud بدھ ‬ Jumiraat جمعرات ‬ Jummah جمعہ ‬ Khali خالي ‬ Konkani आयतार Āytār सोमार Somaar मंगळार Mangaḷār बुधवार Budhavār भीरेस्तार Bhirestār शुक्रार Shukrār शेनवार Shenvār Maldivian އާދީއްތަ Aadheettha ހޯމަ Homa އަންގާރަ Angaara ބުދަ Budha ބުރާސްފަތި Buraasfathi ހުކުރު Hukuru ހޮނިހިރު Honihiru Marathi रविवार Ravivār सोमवार Somavār मंगळवार Mangaḷavār बुधवार Budhavār गुरूवार Guruvār शुक्रवार Shukravār शनिवार Shanivār Kashmiri Āthvār आथु'वार اَتھ وار ‬ Çāņdėrvār च़'न्दु'रवार ژندر وار ‬ Bomvār बोमवार پم وار ‬ Bödvār बॅदवार برھ وار ‬ Brêsvār ब्रसवार برس وار ‬ Shokụrvār / Jumāh शो'कु'रवार شۆکٕروار ‬ जुमाह جُمھ ‬ Baţėvār बटु'वार بٹ وار ‬ Kannada ಭಾನುವಾರ Bhanu Vaara ಸೋಮವಾರ Soma Vaara ಮಂಗಳವಾರ Mangala Vaara ಬುಧವಾರ Budha Vaara ಗುರುವಾರ Guru Vaara ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ Shukra Vaara ಶನಿವಾರ Shani Vaara Malayalam ഞായര്‍ Nhāyar തിങ്കള്‍ Tingal ചൊവ്വ Chovva ബുധന്‍ Budhan വ്യാഴം Vyāzham വെള്ളി Velli ശനി Shani Nepali आइतवार Aaitabar सोमवार Sombar मंगलवार Mangalbar बुधवार Budhabar बिहिवार Bihibar शुक्रवार Sukrabar शनिवार Sanibar Pashto Etwar اتوار Gul ګل Nehi نهه Shoro شورو Ziarat زيارت Jumma جمعه Khali خالي Punjabi ( Gurmukhi ) ਐਤਵਾਰ etvār ਸੋਮਵਾਰ sōmvār ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ mangalvār ਬੁੱਧਵਾਰ búdvār ਵੀਰਵਾਰ vīrvār ਸ਼ੁੱਕਰਵਾਰ shukkarvār ਸ਼ਨਿੱਚਰਵਾਰ shaniccharvār Odia ରବିବାର Rabibār ସୋମବାର Sombār ମଙ୍ଗଳବାର Mangalbār ବୁଧବାର Buddhbār ଗୁରୁବାର Gurubār ଶୁକ୍ରବାର Shukrabār ଶନିବାର Shanibār Sinhala ඉරිදා Irida සඳුදා Sanduda අඟහරුවාදා Angaharuwada බදාදා Badada බ්‍රහස්පතින්දා Brahaspathinda සිකුරාදා Sikurada සෙනසුරාදා Senasurada Telugu ఆదివారం Aadi Vāram సోమవారం Soma Vāram మంగళవారం Mangala Vāram బుధవారం Budha Vāram గురువారం Bestha / Guru / Lakshmi Vāram శుక్రవారం Shukra Vāram శనివారం Shani Vāram Tamil ஞாயிறு Gnyāyiru திங்கள் Thingal செவ்வாய் Chevvāi புதன் Budhan வியாழன் Viyāzhan வெள்ளி Velli சனி Sani Sanskrit भानुवासरम् Bhānuvāsaram इन्दुवासरम् Induvāsaram भौमवासरम् Bhaumavāsaram सौम्यवासरम् Saumyavāsaram गुरुवासरम् Guruvāsaram भृगुवासरम् Bhṛguvāsaram स्थिरवासरम् Sthiravāsaram Shina Adit ادیت ‬ Tsunduro تساند ورؤ ‬ Ungaro نگارو ‬ Budo بوڈو ‬ Brespat بیرے سپاٹ ‬ Shukur شوکر ‬ Shimsher شیم شےر ‬ Sindhi Aacheru آچر Soomaru سومر Angaro انڱارو Arbau اربع Kameesa خميس Jum'o جمعو Chancher ڇنڇر Urdu Itwār اتوار ‬ Pīr پیر ‬ Mangal منگل ‬ Bodh بدھ ‬ Jumārāt جمعرات ‬ Jummah جمعہ ‬ Heftah ہفتہ ‬ Western Punjabi ( Shahmukhi ) Aitwār اتوار ‬ Pīr پیر ‬ Mangal منگل ‬ Budh بدھ ‬ Jumāy - rāt جمعرات ‬ Jummah جمعہ ‬ Hafta ہفتہ ‬ Southeast Asian languages The Southeast Asian tradition also uses the Hindu names of the days of the week. Hindu astrology adopted the concept of days under the regency of a planet under the term vāra, the days of the week being called āditya -, soma -, maṅgala -, budha -, guru -, śukra -, and śani - vāra. śukrá is a name of Venus ( regarded as a son of Bhṛgu ) ; guru is here a title of Bṛhaspati, and hence of Jupiter ; budha `` Mercury '' is regarded as a son of Soma, i.e. the Moon. Sunday the Sun ( Aditya, Ravi ) Monday the Moon ( Soma, Chandra, Indu ) Tuesday Mars ( Mangala ) Wednesday Mercury ( Budha ) Thursday Jupiter ( Bṛhaspati, Guru ) Friday Venus ( Shukra ) Saturday Saturn ( Shani ) Burmese တနင်္ဂနွေ IPA : ( tənɪ́ɴ ɡənwè ) ( ta. nangga. nwe ) တနင်္လာ IPA : ( tənɪ́ɴ là ) ( ta. nangla ) အင်္ဂါ IPA : ( ɪ̀ɴ ɡà ) ( Angga ) ဗုဒ္ဓဟူး IPA : ( boʊʔ dəhú ) ( Buddhahu ) ( afternoon = new day ) ရာဟု Rahu ကြာသာပတေး IPA : ( tɕà ðà bədé ) ( Krasapate ) သောကြာ IPA : ( θaʊʔ tɕà ) ( Saukra ) စနေ IPA : ( sənè ) ( Cane ) Mon တ္ၚဲ အဒိုတ် ( ŋoa ətɜ̀t ) from Sans. āditya တ္ၚဲ စန် ( ŋoa cɔn ) from Sans. candra တ္ၚဲ အၚါ ( ŋoa əŋɛ̀a ) from Sans. aṅgāra တ္ၚဲ ဗုဒ္ဓဝါ ( ŋoa pùt - həwɛ̀a ) from Sans. budhavāra တ္ၚဲ ဗြဴဗ္တိ ( ŋoa pɹɛ̀apətɔeʔ ) from Sans. bṛhaspati တ္ၚဲ သိုက်. ( ŋoa sak ) from Sans. śukra တ္ၚဲ သ္ၚိ သဝ် ( ŋoa hɔeʔ sɔ ) from Sans. śani Khmer ថ្ងៃ អាទិត្យ ( tŋaj ʔaːtɨt ) ថ្ងៃ ចន្ទ ( tŋaj can ) ថ្ងៃ អង្គារ ( tŋaj ʔɑŋkiə ) ថ្ងៃ ពុធ ( tŋaj put ) ថ្ងៃ ព្រហស្បត្ណិ ( tŋaj prɔhoə̯h ) ថ្ងៃ សុក្រ ( tŋaj sok ) ថ្ងៃ សៅរ៍ ( tŋaj saʋ ) Lao ວັນອາທິດ ( wán ʔàːthīt ) ວັນຈັນ ( wán càn ) ວັນອັງຄານ ( wán ʔàŋkháːn ) ວັນພຸດ ( wán phūt ) ວັນພະຫັດ ( wán phāhát ) ວັນສຸກ ( wán súk ) ວັນເສົາ ( wán sǎu ) Cham Adit Thôm Angar But jip Suk Thanưchăn Shan ဝၼ်းဢႃတိတ်ႉ IPA : ( wan ˦ ʔaː ˩ tit ˥ ) ဝၼ်းၸၼ် IPA : ( wan ˦ tsan ˩ ) ဝၼ်းဢင်းၵၼ်း IPA : ( wan ˦ ʔaŋ ˦ kan ˦ ) ဝၼ်းၽုတ်ႉ IPA : ( wan ˦ phut ˥ ) ဝၼ်းၽတ်း IPA : ( wan ˦ phat ˦ ) ဝၼ်းသုၵ်း IPA : ( wan ˦ shuk ˦ ) ဝၼ်းသဝ် IPA : ( wan ˦ shaw ˩ ) Thai วัน อาทิตย์ Wan Āthit วัน จันทร์ Wan Chan วัน อังคาร Wan Angkhān วัน พุธ Wan Phut วัน พฤหัสบดี Wan Phruehatsabodi วัน ศุกร์ Wan Suk วัน เสาร์ Wan Sao Javanese Raditya Soma Anggara Buda Respati Sukra Tumpek Balinese Redite Soma Anggara Buda Wrespati Sukra Saniscara East Asian languages Sunday the Sun ( Aditya, Ravi ) Monday the Moon ( Soma, Chandra, Indu ) Tuesday Mars ( Mangala ) Wednesday Mercury ( Budha ) Thursday Jupiter ( Bṛhaspati, Guru ) Friday Venus ( Shukra ) Saturday Saturn ( Shani ) Mongolian адъяа ad'yaa сумъяа sum'yaa ангараг angarag буд bud бархабадь barhabad ' сугар sugar санчир sanchir East Asian tradition The East Asian naming system for the days of the week closely parallels that of the Latin system and is ordered after the `` Seven Luminaries '' ( 七曜 qī yào ), which consists of the Sun, Moon and the five planets visible to the naked eye. The Chinese seem to have adopted the seven - day week from the Hellenistic system by the 4th century, although by which route is not entirely clear. It was again transmitted to China in the 8th century by Manichaeans, via the country of Kang ( a Central Asian polity near Samarkand ). The 4th - century date, according to the Cihai encyclopedia, is due to a reference to Fan Ning ( 範 寧 / 范 宁 ), an astrologer of the Jin Dynasty. The renewed adoption from Manichaeans in the 8th century ( Tang Dynasty ) is documented with the writings of the Chinese Buddhist monk Yi Jing and the Ceylonese Buddhist monk Bu Kong. The Chinese transliteration of the planetary system was soon brought to Japan by the Japanese monk Kobo Daishi ; surviving diaries of the Japanese statesman Fujiwara Michinaga show the seven day system in use in Heian Period Japan as early as 1007. In Japan, the seven day system was kept in use ( for astrological purposes ) until its promotion to a full - fledged ( Western - style ) calendrical basis during the Meiji era. In China, with the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, Monday through Saturday in China are now named after the luminaries implicitly with the numbers. For Standard Chinese nomenclature of the days of the week, see Names of the days of the week § Days numbered from Monday. For more information on the Chinese ten - day week, see Chinese calendar. For more information on the five elements and their relation to the planets, see Chinese astrology § Wu Xing, and Wu Xing. Pronunciations for Classical Chinese names are given in Standard Chinese. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Celestial Object Sun ( 日 ) First Star - Day Moon ( 月 ) Second Star - Moon Mars ( 火 ) Third Star - Fire Mercury ( 水 ) Fourth Star - Water Jupiter ( 木 ) Fifth Star - Wood Venus ( 金 ) Sixth Star - Metal or Gold Saturn ( 土 ) Seventh Star - Earth or Soil Classical Chinese 日曜日 Rì yàorì 月曜日 Yuè yàorì 火曜日 Huǒ yàorì 水曜日 Shuǐ yàorì 木曜日 Mù yàorì 金曜日 Jīn yàorì 土曜日 Tǔ yàorì Standard Modern Chinese 星期日 Xīngqī rì 星期 一 Xīngqī yī 星期二 Xīngqī èr 星期三 Xīngqī sān 星期四 Xīngqī sì 星期五 Xīngqī wǔ 星期六 Xīngqī liù Japanese 日曜日 Nichiyōbi 月曜日 Getsuyōbi 火曜日 Kayōbi 水曜日 Suiyōbi 木曜日 Mokuyōbi 金曜日 Kin'yōbi 土曜日 Doyōbi Korean 일요일 日曜日 Ilyoil 월요일 月曜日 Wolyoil 화요일 火曜日 Hwayoil 수요일 水曜日 Suyoil 목요일 木曜日 Mogyoil 금요일 金曜日 Geumyoil 토요일 土曜日 Toyoil Mongolian наран өдөр naraŋ ödör саран өдөр saraŋ ödör гал өдөр gal ödör усан өдөр usaŋ ödör модон өдөр modoŋ ödör төмөр өдөр, алтан өдөр tömör ödör, altaŋ ödör шороон өдөр shorooŋ ödör Tibetan གཟའ ་ ཉི ་ མ ། ( gza ' nyi ma ) Nyima གཟའ ་ ཟླ ་ བ ། ( gza ' zla wa ) Dawa གཟའ ་ མིག ་ དམར ། ( gza ' mig dmar ) Mikmar གཟའ ་ ལྷག ་ པ ། ( gza ' lhak pa ) Lhakpa གཟའ ་ ཕུར ་ བུ ། ( gza ' phur bu ) Purbu གཟའ ་ པ ་ སངས ། ( gza ' pa sangs ) Pasang གཟའ ་ སྤེན ་ པ ། ( gza ' spen ba ) Penba Numbered days of the week Days numbered from Sunday Sunday comes first in order in calendars shown in the table below. In the Judeo - Christian or Abrahamic tradition, the first day of the week is Sunday. Biblical Sabbath ( corresponding to Saturday ), when God rested from six - day Creation, made the day following Sabbath the first day of the week ( corresponding to Sunday ). Seventh - day Sabbaths were sanctified for celebration and rest. After the week was adopted in early Christianity, Sunday remained the first day of the week, but also gradually displaced Saturday as the day of celebration and rest, being considered the Lord 's Day. Saint Martin of Dumio ( c. 520 -- 580 ), archbishop of Braga, decided not to call days by pagan gods and to use ecclesiastic terminology to designate them. While the custom of numbering the days of the week was mostly prevalent in the Eastern Church, Portuguese and Galician, due to Martin 's influence, are the only Romance languages in which the names of the days come from numbers rather than planetary names. Icelandic is a special case within the Germanic languages, maintaining only the Sun and Moon ( sunnudagur and mánudagur respectively ), while dispensing with the names of the explicitly heathen gods in favour of a combination of numbered days and days whose names are linked to pious or domestic routine ( föstudagur, `` Fasting Day '' and laugardagur, `` Washing Day '' ). The `` washing day '' is also used in other North Germanic languages, but otherwise the names correspond to those of English. Day Number From One Sunday Day One Monday Day Two Tuesday Day Three Wednesday Day Four Thursday Day Five Friday Day Six Saturday Day Seven Icelandic sunnudagur ( Sun ) mánudagur ( Moon ) þriðjudagur miðvikudagur fimmtudagur föstudagur laugardagur Faroese sunnudagur mánadagur týsdagur mikudagur hósdagur fríggjadagur leygardagur Hebrew ראשון ‬ rishon שני ‬ sheyni שלישי ‬ shlishi רביעי ‬ revi'i חמישי ‬ khamishi שישי ‬ shishi שבת ‬ Shabbat Ecclesiastical Latin Dominica feria secunda feria tertia feria quarta feria quinta feria sexta sabbatum Portuguese domingo segunda - feira terça - feira quarta - feira quinta - feira sexta - feira sábado Galician domingo segunda feira terza feira terceira feira corta feira quarta feira quinta feira sexta feira sábado Mirandese demingo segunda - feira terça - feira quarta - feira quinta - feira sesta - feira sábado Tetum loron - domingu loron - segunda loron - tersa loron - kuarta loron - kinta loron - sesta loron - sábadu Greek Κυριακή Kyriakí Δευτέρα Deftéra Τρίτη Tríti Τετάρτη Tetárti Πέμπτη Pémpti Παρασκευή Paraskeví Σάββατο Sávato Georgian კვირა k'vira ორშაბათი oršabati სამშაბათი samšabati ოთხშაბათი otxšabati ხუთშაბათი xutšabati პარასკევი p'arask'evi შაბათი šabati Armenian Կիրակի Kiraki Երկուշաբթի Yerkushabti Երեքշաբթի Yerekshabti Չորեքշաբթի Chorekshabti Հինգշաբթի Hingshabti Ուրբաթ Urbat Շաբաթ Shabat Vietnamese chủ nhật ( chúa nhật ) ( ngày ) thứ hai ( ngày ) thứ ba ( ngày ) thứ tư ( ngày ) thứ năm ( ngày ) thứ sáu ( ngày ) thứ bảy Somali Axad Isniin Talaado Arbaco Khamiis Jimco Sabti Amharic እሑድ əhud ሰኞ säñño ( Next ) ማክሰኞ maksäñño ረቡዕ, ሮብ räbu, rob ሐሙስ hamus ዓርብ arb ( Sunset ) ቅዳሜ ḳədame ( First ) Arabic يوم ) الأحد ) ( yawm ) al - aḥad يوم ) الإثنين ) ( yawm ) al - ithnayn يوم ) الثُّلَاثاء ) ( yawm ) ath - thulāthā ' يوم ) الأَرْبعاء ) ( yawm ) al - ' arbi'ā ' يوم ) الخَمِيس ) ( yawm ) al - khamīs يوم ) الجُمْعَة ) ( yawm ) al - jum'ah يوم ) السَّبْت ) ( yawm ) as - sabt Maltese il - Ħadd it - Tnejn it - Tlieta l - Erbgħa il - Ħamis il - Ġimgħa is - Sibt Malay Ahad Isnin Selasa Rabu Khamis Jumaat Sabtu Indonesian Minggu ( Portuguese ) Ahad Senin Selasa Rabu Kamis Jumat Sabtu Javanese Ngahad, Ngakad, Minggu ( Portuguese ) Senèn Selasa Rebo Kemis Jemuwah Setu Sundanese Minggu / Minggon ( Portuguese ) Senén Salasa Rebo Kemis Jumaah Saptu Persian یکشنبه yekšanbe Mehr ruz مهرروز دوشنبه došanbe Māh ruz ماه روز سه شنبه sešanbe Bahrām ruz بهرام روز چهارشنبه čāhāršanbe Tir ruz تیر روز پنجشنبه panjšanbe Hormazd ruz هرمزد روز آدینه or جمعه ādine or djome Nāhid ruz ناهید روز شنبه šanbe Keyvān ruz کیوان روز Khowar یک شمبے yak shambey دو شمبے du shambey سہ شمبے sey shambey چار شمبے char shambey پچھمبے pachhambey آدینہ adina شمبے shambey Kurdish Yekşem Duşem Sêşem Çarşem Pêncşem În Şemî Old Turkic birinç kün ikinç kün üçünç kün törtinç kün beşinç kün altınç kün yetinç kün Turkish Pazar Pazartesi Salı Çarşamba Perşembe Cuma Cumartesi Uzbek Yakshanba Dushanba Seshanba Chorshanba Payshanba Juma Shanba Navajo Damóo / Damíigo ( Spanish ) Damóo Biiskání Sunday has ended Damóo dóó Naakiską́o Sunday + 2 × sunrise Damóo dóó Tááʼ Yiką́o Sunday + 3 × sunrise Damóo dóó Dį́į́ʼ Yiką́o Sunday + 4 × sunrise Ndaʼiiníísh It ends / done for the week Yiką́o Damóo ( upon ) sunrise ( it is ) Sunday Days numbered from Monday The ISO prescribes Monday as the first day of the week with ISO - 8601 for software date formats. The Slavic, Baltic and Uralic languages ( except Finnish and partially Estonian ) adopted numbering but took Monday rather than Sunday as the `` first day ''. This convention is also found in some Austronesian languages whose speakers were converted to Christianity by European missionaries. In Slavic languages, some of the names correspond to numerals after Sunday : compare Russian vtornik `` Tuesday '' and vtoroj `` the following '', chetverg `` Thursday '' and chetvertyj `` the fourth '', pyatnitsa `` Friday '' and pyatyj `` the fifth '' ; see also the Notes. Day Number From One Monday Day One Tuesday Day Two Wednesday Day Three Thursday Day Four Friday Day Five Saturday Day Six Sunday Day Seven ISO 8601 # 5 6 7 Russian понедельник ponedel'nik вторник vtornik среда sreda четверг chetverg пятница pyatnitsa суббота subbota воскресенье voskresen'ye Belarusian панядзелак panyadzelak аўторак awtorak серада serada чацвер chats'ver пятніца pyatnitsa субота subota нядзеля nyadzelya Ukrainian понедiлок ponedilok вiвторок vivtorok середа sereda четвер chetver п'ятниця p'yatnitsya субота subota недiля nedilya Bulgarian понеделник ponedelnik вторник vtornik сряда sryada четвъртък chetvărtăk петък petăk събота săbota неделя nedelya Polish poniedziałek wtorek środa czwartek piątek sobota niedziela Kashubian pòniedzôłk wtórk strzoda czwiôrtk piątk sobòta niedzela Slovak pondelok utorok streda štvrtok piatok sobota nedeľa Czech pondělí or pondělek úterý or úterek středa čtvrtek pátek sobota neděle Slovene ponedeljek torek sreda četrtek petek sobota nedelja Bosnian ponedjeljak utorak srijeda četvrtak petak subota nedjelja Croatian ponedjeljak utorak srijeda četvrtak petak subota nedjelja Serbian понедељак ponedeljak уторак utorak среда sreda четвртак četvrtak петак petak субота subota недеља nedelja Macedonian понеделник ponedelnik вторник vtornik среда sreda четврток chetvrtok петок petok сабота sabota недела nedela Lithuanian pirmadienis antradienis trečiadienis ketvirtadienis penktadienis šeštadienis sekmadienis Latvian pirmdiena otrdiena trešdiena ceturtdiena piektdiena sestdiena svētdiena Hungarian hétfő kedd szerda Slavic csütörtök Slavic péntek Slavic szombat Slavic vasárnap Estonian esmaspäev teisipäev kolmapäev neljapäev reede laupäev pühapäev Mongolian ( numerical ) нэг дэх өдөр neg dekh ödör хоёр дахь өдөр hoyor dahi ödör гурав дахь өдөр gurav dahi ödör дөрөв дэх өдөр döröv dekh ödör тав дахь өдөр tav dahi ödör хагас сайн өдөр hagas sayn ödör бүтэн сайн өдөр büten sayn ödör Mongolian ( Tibetan ) даваа davaa мягмар myagmar лхагва lhagva пүрэв pürev баасан baasan бямба byamba ням nyam Luo Wuok tich Tich ariyo Tich adek Tich ang'uen Tich abich Chieng ' ngeso Juma pil Tok Pisin ( Melanesian Pidgin ) mande tunde trinde fonde fraide sarere sande Apma ( Vanuatu ) ren bwaleh / mande ren karu ren katsil ren kavet ren kalim lesaare sande In Standard Chinese, the week is referred to as the cycle of the stars ( Chinese : 星期 ; pinyin : Xīngqī ). The modern Chinese names for the days of the week are based on a simple numerical sequence. The word for `` week '' ( which is literally translated to `` star day '' ) is followed by a number indicating the day : `` Monday '' is literally `` star day one '', `` Tuesday '' is `` star day two '', etc. The exception is Sunday, where rì ( 日 ), meaning `` sun '' or `` day '', is used instead of a number. Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Standard Chinese 星期 一 Xīngqīyī 星期二 Xīngqí'èr 星期三 Xīngqīsān 星期四 Xīngqīsì 星期五 Xīngqīwǔ 星期六 Xīngqīliù 星期日 Xīngqīrì Days numbered from Saturday In Swahili, the day begins at sunrise, unlike in the Arabic and Hebrew calendars where the day starts at sunset ( therefore an offset of twelve hours ), and unlike in the Western world where the day starts at midnight ( therefore an offset of six hours ). Saturday is therefore the first day of the week, as it is the day that includes the first night of the week in Arabic. Etymologically speaking, Swahili has two `` fifth '' days. The words for Saturday through Wednesday contain the Bantu - derived Swahili words for `` one '' through `` five ''. The word for Thursday, Alhamisi, is of Arabic origin and means `` the fifth '' ( day ). The word for Friday, Ijumaa, is also Arabic and means ( day of ) `` gathering '' for the Friday noon prayers in Islam. Day Number from One Saturday Day One Sunday Day Two Monday Day Three Tuesday Day Four Wednesday Day Five Thursday Day Six Friday Day Seven Swahili jumamosi jumapili jumatatu jumanne jumatano alhamisi ijumaa Mixing of numbering and Astronomy In the Žejane dialect of Istro - Romanian, lur ( Monday ) and virer ( Friday ) follow the Latin convention, while utorek ( Tuesday ), sredu ( Wednesday ), and četrtok ( Thursday ) follow the Slavic convention. Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Istro - Romanian, Žejane dialect lur utorek sredu četrtok virer simbota dumireca There are several systems in the different Basque dialects. Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Standard Basque, Guipuscoan Basque astelehena ( `` week - first '' ) asteartea ( `` week - between '' ) asteazkena ( `` week - last '' ) osteguna ( `` Ortzi / Sky day '' ) ostirala ( see Ortzi ) larunbata ( `` fourth '', `` meeting of friends '' ), neskenegun ( `` girls ' day '' ) igandea Biscayne Basque astelena ( `` week - first '' ), ilen ( `` Moon day '' ) martitzena ( `` Mars day '' ) eguaztena ( `` day last '' ) eguena ( `` day of days '', `` day of light '' ) barikua ( `` day without supper '' ), egubakotx zapatua ( compare with Spanish sábado from Sabbath ) domeka ( from Latin Dominica ( dies ) ) In Judaeo - Spanish ( Ladino ), which is mainly based on a medieval version of Spanish, the five days of Monday -- Friday closely follow the Spanish names. Sunday uses the Arabic name, which is based on numbering, because a Jewish language was not likely to adapt a name based on `` Lord 's Day '' for Sunday. As in Spanish, the Ladino name for Saturday is based on Sabbath. However, as a Jewish language -- and with Saturday being the actual day of rest in the Jewish community -- Ladino directly adapted the Hebrew name, Shabbat. Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Judaeo - Spanish ( Ladino ) Alhadh Lunes Martes Miércoles Juğeves Viernes Shabat See also Akan names of the seven - day week, known as Nawotwe Bahá'í calendar ( section Weekdays ) Calculating the day of the week Week Work Week Feria Notes Sunday From Latin Dominicus ( Dominica ) or Greek Κυριακή ( Christian Sabbath ) Holy Day and First - Day of the Week ( Day of the Sun - > Light - > Resurrection - > Born again ) ( Christianity ) Resurrection ( Christianity ) Bazaar Day Market Day No Work Full good day Borrowed from English week From an Old Burmese word, not of Indic origin. Monday After No Work. In Russian also `` Day After Week ( end ) '' - see понедельник After Bazaar Head of Week Master ( as in Pir, because Muhammad was born on a Monday ) From an Old Burmese word, not of Indic origin. Tuesday Thing ( Assembly ), of which god Tyr / Ziu was the patron. Second day of the week ( cf. Hungarian kettő `` two '' ) Third day of the week. From Arabic `` ath - Thalaathaaʼ '' ( third day ) Wednesday Mid-week or Middle The First Fast ( Christianity ) Thursday The day between two fasts ( An Dé idir dhá aoin, contracted to An Déardaoin ) ( Christianity ) Five ( Arabic ) Fifth day of the week. Fourth day of the week. Friday The Fast ( Celtic ) or Fasting Day ( Icelandic ) ( Christianity ) Good Friday or Preparation ( Christianity ) Jumu'ah ( Muslim Sabbath ) Gathering / Assembly / Meeting ( Islam ) -- in Malta with no Islamic connotations Fifth day of the week Saturday Shabbat ( Jewish Sabbath ) Wash or Bath day Sun - eve ( Eve of Sunday ) After the Gathering ( Islam ) End of the Week ( Arabic Sabt = Rest ) Week Half good day References Jump up ^ Nerone Caesare Augusto Cosso Lentuol Cossil fil. Cos. VIII idus Febr ( u ) arius dies solis, luna XIIIIX nun ( dinae ) Cumis, V ( idus Februarias ) nun ( dinae ) Pompeis. Robert Hannah, `` Time in Written Spaces '', in : Peter Keegan, Gareth Sears, Ray Laurence ( eds. ), Written Space in the Latin West, 200 BC to AD 300, A&C Black, 2013, p. 89. Jump up ^ E.G. Richards, Mapping Time, the Calendar and History, Oxford 1999. p. 269 ( The treatise is lost, but the answer to the question is known, see planetary hours ). Jump up ^ `` Days of the Week Meaning and Origin ''. Astrologyclub.org. Retrieved 25 December 2016. Jump up ^ replacing a system of n `` one -, three -, five -, ten -, or fifteen - day periods '' ( > Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 7 ). MS. 17 ( now held at St. John 's College, Oxford ), dating at least from 1043, records five week - day lists, which it names as follows : secundum Hebreos ( according to the Hebrews ) ; secundum antiquos gentiles ( according to the ancient gentiles, i.e., Romans ) ; secundum Siluestrum papam ( according to Pope Sylvester I, i.e., a list derived from the apocryphal Acta Syluestri ) ; secundum Anglos ( according to the English ) ; secundum Scottos ( according to the Irish ). Jump up ^ `` we have a clear reflex of the Indo - European nominative singular, with a lengthened grade, giving archaic Old Irish diu ; it is suggested that what we have in the Oxford list and in Cormac 's Glossary is the oldest form of Old Irish dia, representing the old nominative case of the noun in adverbial usage. '' Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 12 Jump up ^ The word scrol is glossed in Sanas Cormaic as Scroll. i. soillsi, unde est aput Scottos diu srol. i. dies solis `` Srcoll, that is brightness, whence ' diu srol ' among the Irish, that is Sunday ''. Jump up ^ Ó Cróinín has Diu luna as `` represent ( ing ) the transitional form between Latin dies lunae and the later, Classical Old Irish dia luain... a translation of, not a calque on, the Latin... ( It ) would seem to reflect a pre-assimilation state in respect of both words, '' Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 13 Jump up ^ `` The Irish word perhaps derives from Latin forms where cases other than the genitive were used, e.g., Marte. '' Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 15 Jump up ^ A form unique to Irish, meaning uncertain. A `` very old '' word for Wednesday, Mercúir ( borrowed from the Latin ( dies ) Mercurii ), does occur in early Leinster poems but Ó Cróinín is of the belief that Diu eathamon `` reflects a still older Irish word for ' Wednesday. ' '' Jump up ^ A form unique to Irish. Ó Cróinín writes, `` I suggest that it means simply ' on Thursday '... it is temporal dat. of an n - stem ( nom. sg. etham, gen. sg. ethamon -- as in our Oxford list -- and acc. / dat. sg. ethamain ). '' ( 2003, p. 17 ) He furthermore suggests that etham ( ' arable land ' ) `` may be a noun of agency from ith ( gen. sg. etho ), with a meaning like corn - maker or some such thing ; Diu eathamon might then be a day for sowing seed in a weekly regimen of activities such as we find in Críth Gablach. '' Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 2003, p. 17. The form Ethomuin is found in Rawlinson B 502. Jump up ^ A form unique to Irish, its meaning unclear. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) `` Māori Language Commission names for the days of the week '' on Te Kete Ipurangi website, viewed 2017 - 12 - 07 Jump up ^ see J. Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, p. 122 - 123 Jump up ^ Monier - Williams, Sanskrit - English Dictionary ( 1899 ), s.v. vāra. Jump up ^ Monier - Williams, Sanskrit - English Dictionary ( 1899 ), s.v. vāra. Jump up ^ The Chinese encyclopaedia Cihai ( 辞海 ) under the entry for `` seven luminaries calendar '' ( 七曜 历 / 七曜 曆, qī yào lì ) has : `` method of recording days according to the seven luminaries ( 七曜 qī yào ). China normally observes the following order : Sun, Mon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Seven days make one week, which is repeated in a cycle. Originated in ancient Babylon ( or ancient Egypt according to one theory ). Used by the Romans at the time of the 1st century AD, later transmitted to other countries. This method existed in China in the 4th century. It was also transmitted to China by Manichaeans in the 8th century from the country of Kang ( 康 ) in Central Asia '' ( translation after Bathrobe 's Days of the Week in Chinese, Japanese & Vietnamese, plus Mongolian and Buryat ( cjvlang.com ) Jump up ^ Richard A. Fletcher ( 1999 ). The Barbarian Conversion : From Paganism to Christianity. University of California Press. p. 257. ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 21859 - 8. McKenna, Stephen ( 1938 ). `` Pagan Survivals in Galicia in the Sixth Century ''. Paganism and Pagan Survivals in Spain Up to the Fall of the Visigothic Kingdom. Catholic University of America. pp. 93 -- 94. Retrieved 20 March 2013. Jump up ^ Falk, Michael ( 19 March 1999 ). `` Astronomical names for the days of the week ''. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 93 ( 1999 -- 06 ) : 122 -- 133. arXiv : astro - ph / 0307398. Bibcode : 1999JRASC... 93... 122F. doi : 10.1016 / j. newast. 2003.07. 002. Jump up ^ Gray, 2012. The Languages of Pentecost Island. Jump up ^ Ren is `` day ''. Numbered weekdays are used for Tuesday - Friday and sometimes Monday ; the names for Saturday and Sunday come from English. Jump up ^ `` Days of the Week in Chinese : Three Different Words for ' Week ' ''. Cjvlang. Retrieved 27 October 2016. Jump up ^ `` Swahili days, months, dates ''. online.fr. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Astronomy and Basque Language, Henrike Knörr, Oxford VI and SEAC 99 `` Astronomy and Cultural Diversity '', La Laguna, June 1999. It references Alessandro Bausani, 1982, The prehistoric Basque week of three days : archaeoastronomical notes, The Bulletin of the Center for Archaeoastronomy ( Maryland ), v. 2, 16 - 22. Jump up ^ See the image in Anthony, Charlotte. `` Rushing to preserve Ladino legacies ''. Crescent City Jewish News. Retrieved 31 May 2016. The Ladino names are in the right - hand column, written in Hebrew characters. Further reading Brown, Cecil H. ( 1989 ). `` Naming the days of the week : A cross-language study of lexical acculturation ''. Current Anthropology. 30 ( 4 ) : 536 -- 550. doi : 10.1086 / 203782. JSTOR 2743391. Falk, Michael ( 1999 ). `` Astronomical Names for the Days of the Week ''. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 93 : 122 -- 133. arXiv : astro - ph / 0307398. Bibcode : 1999JRASC... 93... 122F. doi : 10.1016 / j. newast. 2003.07. 002. Neugebauer, Otto ( 1979 ). Ethiopic astronomy and computus, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, philosophisch - historische klasse, sitzungsberichte, 347 ( Vienna ) Days of the week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Time measurement and standards Chronometry Orders of magnitude Metrology International standards Coordinated Universal Time offset UT ΔT DUT1 International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service ISO 31 - 1 ISO 8601 International Atomic Time 6 - hour clock 12 - hour clock 24 - hour clock Barycentric Coordinate Time Barycentric Dynamical Time Civil time Daylight saving time Geocentric Coordinate Time International Date Line Leap second Solar time Terrestrial Time Time zone 180th meridian Obsolete standards Ephemeris time Greenwich Mean Time Prime meridian Time in physics Absolute space and time Spacetime Chronon Continuous signal Coordinate time Cosmological decade Discrete time and continuous time Planck time Proper time Theory of relativity Time dilation Gravitational time dilation Time domain Time translation symmetry T - symmetry Horology Clock Astrarium Atomic clock Complication History of timekeeping devices Hourglass Marine chronometer Marine sandglass Radio clock Watch stopwatch Water clock Sundial Dialing scales Equation of time History of sundials Sundial markup schema Calendar Astronomical Dominical letter Epact Equinox Gregorian Hebrew Hindu Intercalation Islamic Julian Leap year Lunar Lunisolar Solar Solstice Tropical year Weekday determination Weekday names Archaeology and geology Chronological dating Geologic time scale International Commission on Stratigraphy Astronomical chronology Galactic year Nuclear timescale Precession Sidereal time Other units of time Flick Shake Jiffy Second Minute Moment Hour Day Week Fortnight Month Year Olympiad Lustrum Decade Century Saeculum Millennium Related topics Chronology Duration music Mental chronometry Metric time System time Time value of money Timekeeper Time in religion and mythology Time and fate deities Eternity Eschatology Golden Age Divination Prophecy Calendar Fate Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Names_of_the_days_of_the_week&oldid=865881613 '' Categories : Units of time Days of the week History of astrology Names Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from December 2013 All articles needing additional references Articles containing Ancient Greek - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018 Articles containing Pashto - language text Articles containing Sinhalese - language text Articles containing Sindhi - language text Articles containing Burmese - language text Articles needing the year an event occurred from April 2015 Articles containing Korean - language text Articles containing Arabic - language text Articles containing Navajo - language text Articles containing Chinese - language text Articles with unsourced statements from February 2009 Use dmy dates from December 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Español فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Polski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски ไทย Lingua Franca Nova 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 26 October 2018, at 19 : 56 ( UTC ). 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Question: where did the names of the weekdays come from
Answer: the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astrology, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity