Here are the days of the week in Italian, which are easy to learn, using the authentic audio below.

The Italian week starts on a Monday, lunedì.

Monday	1	lunedì
Tuesday	2	martedì
Wednesday	3	mercoledì
Thursday	4	giovedì
Friday	5	venerdì
Saturday	6	sabato
Sunday	7	domenica

In the days from lunedì to venerdì, the last syllable “dì” is stressed. 

The word dì is a word meaning “day” (from the Latin dies). It is a less common synonym of the word giorno, the usual word we use for day: un giorno – a day / one day; due giorni – two days. 

The days of the week do not have a capital letter unless they are the first word in a sentence.

Here you can listen to all seven days. You can repeat the days after the audio, which starts with the titles “Days of the week” – “I giorni della settimana.”

Now you can say the days along with the audio.

Here you can compare the days of the week in English and Italian. 

Today, tonight, tomorrow and yesterday

Here are four other useful expressions we use frequently.

today	oggi
tonight / this evening	stasera
tomorrow	domani
yesterday	ieri

Now you can listen to and compare these expressions in English and Italian.

The origins of the days of the week in Italian – some fun facts

If you have a closer look at the days in Italian, you will notice that the names from Monday to Friday are similar to those of the moon and the planets, which were based on the names of Roman gods. Saturday and Sunday have religious significance in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but before the spread of Christianity in the west, the Latin names were based on the names of Roman gods – Saturn and the sun.  

Monday	1	lunedì	la luna – the moon – think of lunar landscape and the lunar module in the 1969 landing on the moon Luna was an ancient Roman goddess of the moon. il giorno della Luna – the day of the Moon – in Latin: dies Lunae
Tuesday	2	martedì	Marte – Mars – god of war – the planet has an orange tinge, because of the iron oxide (rust), and so it represented blood il giorno di Marte – the day of Mars – in Latin: dies Martis
Wednesday	3	mercoledì	Mercurio – Mercury – the god of speed, eloquence and travel, and commerce, and the messenger of the gods   il giorno di Mercurio – the day of Mercury – in Latin: dies Mercurii
Thursday	4	giovedì	Giove – Jove * – the Roman god of the sky, light, thunder and lightning – the greatest of the Roman gods – also patron of the Roman state il giorno di Giove – the day of Jove – in Latin: dies Iovis
Friday	5	venerdì	Venere – Venus – goddess of love and beauty il giorno di Venere – the day of Venus – in Latin: dies Veneris
Saturday	6	sabato	the Jewish sabbath (after the Jewish term “shabbat”) – il giorno di riposo – the day of rest – in Latin: sabbatum  Before the spread of Christianity in the west, sabato was known as: il giorno di Saturno – the day of Saturn – Roman god of agriculture and of fun and feasting – in Latin: dies Saturni
Sunday	7	domenica	the Christian day of the Lord – il giorno del Signore – in Latin: Dominica / dies Domini Before the spread of Christianity in the west, domenica was known as: il giorno del Sole – the day of the Sun (which was then thought to be a planet) – Sol was an ancient Roman god of the sun – in Latin: dies Solis

* By Jove: Do you remember the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (upon which My Fair Lady was based)? Professor Henry Higgins is teaching Eliza Doolittle to speak proper English instead of cockney. Eventually, he exclaims: “By Jove, I think she’s got it!” 

These fun facts about the Roman origins of the days may help you to remember the days of the week in Italian!

You can learn numbers in Italian with these posts: 

Numbers 1-10 in Italian – with audio

Numbers 1-20 in Italian – with audio

How to count to 100 and 1 000 in Italian – with audio

 

You may enjoy this informative article by Margaret Clunies Ross

Emeritus Professor of English Language and Early English Literature, University of Sydney

https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-gods-behind-the-days-of-the-week-87170