Vocabulary · Brazilian Portuguese
Days of the week in Brazilian Portuguese
The days of the week in Portuguese are numbered rather than named after gods and planets, and Brazilians shorten them in speech. Here they are with audio, an example each, and the words that go with them.
18 words, each with audio · Quiz and flashcards
Days of the week in Portuguese, with audio
The seven days
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a segunda-feira | MondayUsually just segunda. | Toda segunda eu vou à academia.Every Monday I go to the gym. | |
| a terça-feira | TuesdayUsually just terça. | A feira do bairro é na terça.The neighborhood street market is on Tuesday. | |
| a quarta-feira | WednesdayUsually just quarta. | Tem jogo do Flamengo na quarta.Flamengo has a game on Wednesday. | |
| a quinta-feira | ThursdayUsually just quinta. | Quinta à noite a gente sai para jantar.On Thursday night we go out for dinner. | |
| a sexta-feira | FridayUsually just sexta. Sextou! means “it's Friday!” | Finalmente é sexta!Finally, it's Friday! | |
| o sábado | Saturday | No sábado a gente vai à praia.On Saturday we're going to the beach. | |
| o domingo | Sunday | Domingo é dia de almoço com a família.Sunday is the day for lunch with the family. |
Around the week
| Listen | Portuguese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| o dia | day | Que dia é hoje?What day is it today? | |
| a semana | week | A semana passou voando.The week flew by. | |
| o fim de semana | weekendFinal de semana is just as common in Brazil. | O que você vai fazer no fim de semana?What are you doing this weekend? | |
| hoje | today | Hoje é quarta-feira.Today is Wednesday. | |
| amanhã | tomorrow | Amanhã eu te ligo.I'll call you tomorrow. | |
| ontem | yesterday | Ontem choveu o dia todo.It rained all day yesterday. | |
| anteontem | the day before yesterday | Cheguei de Salvador anteontem.I got back from Salvador the day before yesterday. | |
| depois de amanhã | the day after tomorrow | A prova é depois de amanhã.The exam is the day after tomorrow. | |
| semana que vem | next weekAlso a semana que vem, or na próxima semana. | Semana que vem eu começo a dieta.I'm starting the diet next week. | |
| o feriado | public holidayA feriadão is a long holiday weekend. | Segunda é feriado, então vai ser feriadão.Monday is a holiday, so it'll be a long weekend. | |
| o dia útil | working day | O prazo é de cinco dias úteis.The deadline is five working days. |
How Brazilians use them
Brazilians drop the -feira
In conversation the weekdays are just segunda, terça, quarta, quinta and sexta: Te vejo na quinta. The full forms are for writing, calendars and formal speech, and the short ones are written seg, ter, qua, qui, sex, sáb and dom.
Why the days are numbered
Counting from Sunday as the first day, Monday is the second (segunda), Tuesday the third (terça) and so on to sexta. The numbering comes from the early Church, which preferred it to days named after Roman gods, and Portuguese is the only major Romance language that kept it.
Lowercase, with na or no
Days are written in lowercase. “On Monday” is na segunda (the weekdays are feminine) and “on Saturday” is no sábado; “every Monday” is toda segunda or às segundas.
This week, next week
Nesse fim de semana is “this weekend”, segunda que vem “next Monday” and segunda passada “last Monday”. Hoje é sexta! is how a lot of Brazilian Fridays begin.
Practise
Quick quiz · question 1 of 8
What does anteontem mean?
Questions
What are the days of the week in Portuguese?
Segunda-feira (Monday), terça-feira (Tuesday), quarta-feira (Wednesday), quinta-feira (Thursday), sexta-feira (Friday), sábado (Saturday) and domingo (Sunday). In speech Brazilians drop the -feira: segunda, terça, quarta.
Why are the Portuguese days of the week numbered?
They count from Sunday: Monday is the “second day”, Tuesday the third, and so on. The early Church preferred numbers to days named after Roman gods, and Portuguese kept the custom when Spanish, French and Italian did not.
Are days of the week capitalized in Portuguese?
No. Days and months are lowercase: segunda-feira, sábado, janeiro.
How do you say “on Monday” in Portuguese?
Na segunda or na segunda-feira, because the weekdays are feminine. Saturday and Sunday are masculine: no sábado, no domingo. “Every Monday” is toda segunda.
How do you say “weekend” in Portuguese?
Fim de semana, or final de semana, which is just as common in Brazil. “Have a good weekend” is Bom fim de semana!
More Portuguese words
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