Days of the week and months in Esperanto

The Esperanto days of the week are lundo, mardo, merkredo, ĵaŭdo, vendredo, sabato, dimanĉo – Monday to Sunday. The months are Januaro, Februaro, Marto, Aprilo, Majo, Junio, Julio, Aŭgusto, Septembro, Oktobro, Novembro, Decembro. All are nouns ending in -o, and most will look familiar to speakers of European languages. Pronunciation guides split words into syllables, with the stressed syllable in capitals.

#Days of the week

The names closely follow French (lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, dimanche); sabato is closer to Italian sabato. Days are written with a small letter, because they are not proper names. Semajnfino means "weekend".

"On Monday" is lundon (with -n) or en lundo: Mi venos lundon – "I'll come on Monday". The adverb lunde has a different meaning: "on Mondays", that is, every Monday or on some Monday.

#Months of the year

Remember that j sounds like English "y": Januaro starts like "yah", and Junio like "you". Because stress falls on the second-to-last vowel, Junio and Julio are stressed on the i.

Capital or small letter? The Fundamento and Zamenhof wrote month names with a capital, and the reference grammar PMEG recommends this, because months are proper names. Many people now write them in small letters (januaro), which PMEG describes as very common but not recommended. Either way, months never take the article la.

#Seasons and time words

Add -e to make "in…" adverbs: somere "in summer", vintre "in winter", matene "in the morning". With the accusative -n, a time noun means "at that time": la pasintan semajnon "last week", la venontan monaton "next month".

#How to say the date

A date uses an ordinal number (ending in -a) for the day, then de and the month:

Two details matter. De is always used between day and month, because the number really describes the (unsaid) word tago: la unua de Majo = "the first (day) of May". To say on a date, add -n to the number: la 3-an de Majo "on 3 May". In writing, PMEG recommends the international format 2026-10-07 or a written-out month, since 7.10 and 10/7 are read differently in different countries.

#How to tell the time

Clock times use ordinals, just like dates: la tria is literally "the third (hour)". To say at a time, use je, not -n – PMEG warns that la trian would mean "on the third day of the month". Both the 12-hour and 24-hour systems are used; add antaŭtagmeze (a.m.) or posttagmeze (p.m.) when needed. For the numbers themselves, see Esperanto numbers; for tickets and bookings, see travel phrases.

#Common questions

#What are the days of the week in Esperanto?

Lundo, mardo, merkredo, ĵaŭdo, vendredo, sabato, dimanĉo – Monday to Sunday. They are written with a small letter.

#Are Esperanto months capitalised?

Traditionally yes: Januaro, Februaro… The Fundamento and PMEG use capitals, but lower-case months (januaro) are very common today.

#How do you say "on Monday" in Esperanto?

Lundon or en lundo for a specific Monday. For a regular habit, use lunde "on Mondays".

#How do you write the date in Esperanto?

La 7-a de Oktobro 2026 – the day as an ordinal, then de and the month. In a sentence meaning "on that date", add -n: la 7-an de Oktobro.

#Sources

• PMEG: Datoj (dates)
• PMEG: Horoj (clock times)
• PMEG: Majuskloj ĉe propraj nomoj (months and weekdays)
• PMEG: N-finaĵo por tempopunkto (lundon, la sekvantan dimanĉon)
• PMEG: Uzo de E-vortoj (lunde, matene)
• PMEG: Bazaj elparolaj reguloj (stress)