Why Are the Days of the Week Named After Gods?

Learn English through history, vocabulary and grammar

Have you ever wondered why the days of the week have these names? Many of them come from ancient gods. Long ago, people believed that powerful gods watched over the world. They named the days to honor them.

📅 The Days of the Week

Monday — Moon’s Day 🌙

Monday means Moon’s Day. It is named after the Moon.

Tuesday — Tiw’s Day ⚔️

Tuesday comes from Tiw, the god of war in Germanic mythology. He was brave and strong.

Wednesday — Woden’s Day 🧠

Wednesday is Woden’s Day. Woden, also called Odin, was an important god in Norse mythology. He was known for his wisdom and knowledge.

Thursday — Thor’s Day ⚡

Thursday is Thor’s Day. Thor was the god of thunder. He carried a magical hammer and protected people from danger.

Friday — Frigg’s Day 💕

Friday is named after Frigg, a Norse goddess associated with love, family and wisdom. The name is also sometimes connected with Freya.

Saturday — Saturn’s Day 🌾

Saturday comes from Saturn, the Roman god associated with agriculture and time.

Sunday — Sun’s Day ☀️

Sunday means Sun’s Day. It is named after the Sun.

Today, we use these names every week without thinking about their history. The next time you say “Thursday” or “Friday,” remember that you are using names that are more than a thousand years old!

📖 Days, Origins and Spanish

Day	Pronunciation	Origin	Spanish
Monday	MUN-day	Moon	lunes
Tuesday	TYOOZ-day	Tiw	martes
Wednesday	WENZ-day	Woden	miércoles
Thursday	THURZ-day	Thor	jueves
Friday	FRY-day	Frigg	viernes
Saturday	SAT-er-day	Saturn	sábado
Sunday	SUN-day	Sun	domingo

✏️ Grammar: Days of the Week

1. Capital letters

In English, the days of the week always begin with a capital letter.

✅ Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

❌ monday, tuesday, wednesday

2. Use “on” with days

We use the preposition on before a day of the week.

• on Monday = el lunes
• on Friday = el viernes
• on Sunday morning = el domingo por la mañana

I study English on Monday.

Estudio inglés el lunes.

We visit our family on Sunday.

Visitamos a nuestra familia el domingo.

3. Singular and plural

Add -s when you are talking about something that happens every week.

• on Monday = el lunes
• on Mondays = todos los lunes

I work on Saturday.

Trabajo el sábado.

I work on Saturdays.

Trabajo todos los sábados.

4. Asking about the day

What day is it today?
¿Qué día es hoy?

It is Wednesday.
Es miércoles.

What do you do on Fridays?
¿Qué haces los viernes?

I go to English class on Fridays.
Voy a clases de inglés los viernes.

5. Today, tomorrow and yesterday

• today = hoy
• tomorrow = mañana
• yesterday = ayer

Today is Tuesday.
Hoy es martes.

Tomorrow is Wednesday.
Mañana es miércoles.

Yesterday was Monday.
Ayer fue lunes.

📝 Vocabulary

• god = dios
• goddess = diosa
• moon = luna
• sun = sol
• thunder = trueno
• wisdom = sabiduría
• knowledge = conocimiento
• war = guerra
• history = historia
• ancient = antiguo
• brave = valiente
• powerful = poderoso
• hammer = martillo
• protect = proteger
• named after = llamado en honor a

🤔 Did You Know?

English uses several names connected with Germanic and Norse mythology, while Spanish inherited many weekday names from Latin and Roman tradition. That is why Thursday is connected with Thor, while jueves comes from the Latin expression associated with Jupiter.

✅ Practice

Exercise 1: Complete the sentences

1. Today is __________.
2. Tomorrow is __________.
3. I study English on __________.
4. My favorite day is __________.
5. I rest on __________.

Exercise 2: Choose the correct answer

1. Thor is connected with:

a) Tuesday    b) Thursday    c) Sunday

2. The correct sentence is:

a) I study in Monday.    b) I study on Monday.

3. Which word means “sabiduría”?

a) war    b) wisdom    c) thunder

4. Which day comes from Saturn?

a) Saturday    b) Sunday    c) Friday

Answers

Exercise 2: 1-b, 2-b, 3-b, 4-a

💬 Speaking Practice

A: What day is it today?

B: It is Thursday.

A: What do you do on Thursdays?

B: I study English on Thursdays.

A: What is your favorite day?

B: My favorite day is Saturday.

⭐ Remember

• Days of the week begin with a capital letter.
• Use on before a day: on Monday.
• Use the plural for weekly routines: on Mondays.
• Wednesday is pronounced WENZ-day.
• Thursday begins with the English TH sound.