Days of the Week in Greek: Months, Seasons, Dates

The days of the week in Greek are Δευτέρα, Τρίτη, Τετάρτη, Πέμπτη, Παρασκευή, Σάββατο and Κυριακή, from Monday to Sunday. Four of them are simply numbers, which makes them easy to remember once you see the logic. In the transliteration the accent marks the stressed syllable, d sounds like the th in "this", th like the th in "think", and ch like the German ach.

Why is Monday "the second day"?

The Greek week follows the old Christian and Jewish count, in which the week starts on Sunday. Κυριακή comes from κύριος, "lord": it is the Lord's day, the first day of the week. Monday is therefore the second day (δεύτερος = second), Tuesday the third (τρίτος), Wednesday the fourth (τέταρτος) and Thursday the fifth (πέμπτος). Παρασκευή means "preparation", the day when people prepared for the Sabbath. Σάββατο comes from the Hebrew word Sabbath, through Ancient Greek.

Unlike English, Greek has no planets or gods in its weekdays. A useful trick: if you know the ordinal numbers 2 to 5, you know four days already. See the Greek numbers guide.

"On Monday", "every Monday", "next Monday"

All days are feminine except Σάββατο, which is neuter. To say "on Monday", Greek uses the article in the accusative, with no preposition: τη Δευτέρα (ti deftéra), "on Monday". The feminine article is την before a vowel or before κ, π, τ and a few other consonants, and τη before the others.

The plurals are regular: Δευτέρες, Τρίτες, Τετάρτες, Πέμπτες, Παρασκευές, Σάββατα, Κυριακές. Days and months are written with a capital letter in Greek. The days, times and free time note practises these phrases with the time of day.

Today, tomorrow, yesterday and the week

Εβδομάδα comes from επτά, "seven": a group of seven days. The weekend, Σαββατοκύριακο, is simply Saturday and Sunday glued together. To ask the day: Τι μέρα είναι σήμερα; (What day is it today?) Σήμερα είναι Τετάρτη. (Today is Wednesday.) On Monday morning Greeks wish each other καλή εβδομάδα, a good week, and on Friday καλό Σαββατοκύριακο.

The months in Greek

Each month has two names: an official one, used in writing, on calendars and in the news, and a shorter everyday one, very common in speech. All months are masculine.

The official names come from Latin, like the English ones. The everyday names are older popular forms: Γενάρης for January and Φλεβάρης for February sound quite different, the others are just shorter. "In May" is τον Μάιο or τον Μάη (accusative, with the article): θα πάμε στην Κρήτη τον Ιούλιο (we'll go to Crete in July). "This month" is αυτόν τον μήνα, "next month" τον επόμενο μήνα. On the first day of each month, Greeks say καλό μήνα!, "have a good month".

How to say the date in Greek

In a date, the month is in the genitive, "of May": στις 5 Μαΐου (stis pénde maíu), on 5 May. The article is τις, feminine plural, because the word ημέρες (days) is understood. Here are the genitives of the official names:

In everyday speech you will also hear the popular names with του: στις 15 του Αυγούστου, στις 5 του Μάη. A few points to watch:

• The first of the month uses the ordinal: την πρώτη Μαΐου. From the 2nd on, use ordinary numbers: στις δύο Μαΐου.
• Numbers that change with gender take the feminine form: στις τρεις Μαρτίου, στις τέσσερις Ιουλίου, στις είκοσι μία Ιουνίου.
• Written dates go day, month, year: 5/5/2026 is 5 May. Years are said like ordinary numbers with το: το 2026 (to dío chiliádes íkosi éxi), "in 2026".
• Asking the date: Πόσες του μηνός έχουμε σήμερα; (What's the date today?) Έχουμε δώδεκα. (It's the twelfth.)

Dates, fractions and ordinals are covered in Numbers II, and the genitive itself in the genitive.

The four seasons in Greek

Η εποχή (i epochí) means "season" and also "era". Άνοιξη is related to ανοίγω, "to open": the season when everything opens. Talk about the weather in each season with the weather and seasons vocabulary.

Days and dates in Greek culture

• Τρίτη και δεκατρείς, Tuesday the 13th, is the unlucky day in Greece, not Friday the 13th. Constantinople fell on a Tuesday, in 1453.
• Καθαρά Δευτέρα, "Clean Monday", starts Lent with kites and picnics; Μεγάλη Παρασκευή is Good Friday.
• Δεκαπενταύγουστος, 15 August, is the great summer holiday, when half the country is on an island.

Frequently asked questions

What are the days of the week in Greek?

Δευτέρα (Monday), Τρίτη (Tuesday), Τετάρτη (Wednesday), Πέμπτη (Thursday), Παρασκευή (Friday), Σάββατο (Saturday) and Κυριακή (Sunday).

Why does Δευτέρα mean "second"?

Because the traditional Greek week begins on Sunday, Κυριακή. Monday is the second day, Tuesday the third, and so on up to Thursday, the fifth.

Should I say Ιανουάριος or Γενάρης?

Both are correct. Ιανουάριος is used in writing and formal speech, Γενάρης in everyday conversation. Learn the official names first, then recognise the short ones.

How do you write the date in Greek?

Day, then month in the genitive, then year: Τρίτη, 5 Μαΐου 2026. In numbers: 5/5/2026.

Days, months and times are taught step by step, with audio, in our free A1 Greek course. You can start it here.