The days of the week in German
The weekday sequence below starts with Monday. Learn the whole phrase am Montag, rather than memorising Montag and later trying to translate “on”. All seven weekday nouns are masculine: der Montag, der Dienstag and so on. In a simple time phrase, an dem contracts to am. You can use the phrase before or after the subject: Am Montag lerne ich. Ich lerne am Montag.
| German | English | Useful phrase |
|---|---|---|
| Montag | Monday | am Montag |
| Dienstag | Tuesday | am Dienstag |
| Mittwoch | Wednesday | am Mittwoch |
| Donnerstag | Thursday | am Donnerstag |
| Freitag | Friday | am Freitag |
| Samstag | Saturday | am Samstag |
| Sonntag | Sunday | am Sonntag |
You may also meet Sonnabend for Saturday in some regions. It names the same day as Samstag, not an additional day. For reading a calendar, the important task is recognising which day is meant. Do not assume a shop or school is open simply because you know its weekday label; opening arrangements require their own current information.
The months in German
For a month without a particular day, use im: Im April beginnt mein Kurs. Month names are also masculine nouns, but the ready-to-use time phrase is im April. Use the list to locate a month within the year, then retrieve it from a personal planning cue such as a fictional course start or holiday.
| German | English | Useful phrase |
|---|---|---|
| Januar | January | im Januar |
| Februar | February | im Februar |
| März | March | im März |
| April | April | im April |
| Mai | May | im Mai |
| Juni | June | im Juni |
| Juli | July | im Juli |
| August | August | im August |
| September | September | im September |
| Oktober | October | im Oktober |
| November | November | im November |
| Dezember | December | im Dezember |
In Austria you will also encounter Jänner for January. The month remains the same. Notice the letters in März and Oktober; familiar English month names are not permission to import their English spelling. This lesson concerns calendar vocabulary, not a universal document style for writing numerical dates.
Choose am, im or no preposition
Use am with a weekday and im with a month: Wir treffen uns am Freitag. Im Juni besuche ich meine Familie. For the current calendar label, you can say Heute ist Freitag or Jetzt ist Juni. These sentences identify the day or month; they do not need am or im.
After nächsten in the simple expressions below, do not add am: Ich komme nächsten Montag. With a month, compare im Mai and nächsten Mai. Learn each complete expression before extending it. Von Montag bis Freitag gives a range. Am Wochenende means at the weekend. These are useful chunks; they do not imply that every English “on” or “in” has one fixed German equivalent.
A planning question can be An welchem Tag? or In welchem Monat?. Answer with the right type of information: Am Donnerstag or Im November. A weekday name by itself cannot tell your listener which Thursday you mean; add context when there is more than one possibility.
Am Montag, montags and die Montage
Am Montag habe ich einen Kurs can refer to a particular Monday in context. Montags habe ich einen Kurs describes a recurring Monday routine. The final s in montags does not simply turn Montag into an ordinary plural noun. Compare Die Montage im Mai sind schon verplant: here Montage is the plural noun meaning the Mondays.
Other routine words include dienstags, mittwochs, donnerstags, freitags, samstags and sonntags. Keep the weekday noun and routine expression visibly separate in your notes. On this page, capitalisation is shown as part of these checked examples; a full guide to German capitalisation is a separate topic. Also avoid turning one routine sentence into a claim about everyone’s work or weekend pattern.
Recognise a day without reciting the whole list
Juni and Juli differ by one consonant, so make that contrast a separate recall cue: im Juni – im Juli. For longer words, start slowly but keep the complete word together. Compare Dienstag with Donnerstag in two meaningful sentences, rather than relying only on the first letter. Write the word you heard or intended, then check its full spelling.
A useful second step is random order. Look at “Thursday”, “August” and “Tuesday”, then supply the German phrase for each. If you always begin with Montag or Januar, remembering the sequence may hide a missing word. Return to the hard items in a fresh order and use one in a complete sentence about an invented plan.
Eight calendar tasks with answers
Choose a phrase before opening the explanation. The schedule in these tasks is fictional, so you can focus on the language rather than checking an actual event.
Complete: Ich komme ___ Dienstag. (on Tuesday)
Show answer and reason
am Dienstag. A weekday in this simple time expression uses am.
Complete: Der neue Kurs beginnt ___ Oktober.
Show answer and reason
im Oktober. A month without a stated day uses im here.
Today is Thursday. Complete Heute ist ___.
Show answer and reason
Donnerstag. This identifies today; do not insert am.
Say “every Monday” in a routine: ___ arbeite ich zu Hause.
Show answer and reason
Montags arbeite ich zu Hause. Montags describes the recurring routine and is capitalised here only because it starts the sentence.
Which month comes after Juni?
Show answer and reason
Juli. Check n versus l; they are two different months.
Express “from Monday to Friday”.
Show answer and reason
von Montag bis Freitag. This range uses von and bis, rather than a string of am phrases.
Complete without am: Wir treffen uns nächsten ___. (Saturday)
Show answer and reason
Samstag. Nächsten Samstag is already the complete time expression.
Does die Montage im Mai mean “every Monday” or the Mondays in May?
Show answer and reason
It names the Mondays as a plural noun. montags is the routine adverb; the two forms have different jobs.
Build a three-line plan
Write one particular-day sentence, one routine and one month-level plan: Am Mittwoch gehe ich schwimmen. Freitags lese ich. Im September beginnt mein Kurs. Change the activities and calendar words, then answer one follow-up without rereading the full list. Your aim is to retrieve the right word and phrase for the information you need.
The vocabulary guide explains recall in context. For a complete planning exchange, see conversation scenarios. If the question concerns the difference between an appointment, deadline and date, use the existing Termin, Frist and Datum comparison.
Questions about this topic
Is Samstag different from Sonnabend?
They are names for the same weekday. Sonnabend is used regionally; recognising both helps with calendars and conversation.
Is montags the ordinary plural of Montag?
No. Montags is a routine adverb meaning on Mondays. The plural noun is Montage, as in die Montage im Mai.
Should I always put am before a weekday?
Use am Montag in the basic “on Monday” phrase, but not in Heute ist Montag or nächsten Montag. Learn the complete expression rather than adding am automatically.
Sources and further learning
- Goethe-Institut: Deutsch Online A1, Vietnamese vocabulary, chapter 3
- Goethe-Institut: Deutsch Online A1 glossary, chapters 1–18
- Duden: Montag
- Duden: montags
- Duden: Jänner
- Duden: Sonnabend
Source links checked: .
Use this in your German practice
Try the examples and answer checks on this page. For a wider routine, explore Lingeva’s grammar, vocabulary and speaking practice. Available app features and plan allowances are explained on the plan page.