Russian Days of the Week: Usage and Examples

Image of Russian letters saying 'Saturday Big Clean'

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By
Maia Nikitina
Russian Language Expert
  • M.F.A., Creative Writing, Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Diploma in Translation (IoLet Level 7, Russian), Chartered Institute of Linguists
Maia Nikitina is a writer and Russian language translator. She holds a Diploma in Translation (IoLet Level 7) from the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
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Maia Nikitina
Updated September 23, 2019

The week in Russian follows the same order as the English week, beginning with Monday. Russian days of the week are never capitalized and, just like all other Russian nouns, each has either feminine, masculine, or neutral gender. They also decline based on the case they are in.

Russian Word Translation Pronunciation Example
понедельник  masculine Monday puhnyDYEL'nik Завтра понедельник - Tomorrow is Monday.

вторник
masculine

 Tuesday FTORnik Мы приедем во вторник - We will arrive on Tuesday.
среда
feminine
 		 Wednesday sryDAH Среда - середина недели - Wednesday is the middle of the week.
четверг
masculine		 Thursday chitVYERK/chtVYERK У врача прием по четвергам - The doctor sees patients on Thursdays.
пятница
feminine		 Friday PYATnitsuh Я их видела в позапрошлую пятницу - I saw them on Friday before last.
суббота
feminine		 Saturday suBOHtuh

Назначено на субботу - It is arranged for Saturday.
воскресенье
neuter		 Sunday vuhskrySYEN'ye В воскресенье я высплюсь - I'll catch up on my sleep on Sunday.

Using Prepositions With Russian Days of the Week

в/вo and на - on (Accusative Case)

The preposition в/вo means "on" and is used to indicate that something happens on a certain day. The preposition на also means "on" but is used in situations where an appointment or an event is planned for a particular day.

  • В/на понедельник - on/for Monday
  • Во/на вторник - on/for Tuesday
  • В/на среду - on/for Wednesday
  • В/на четверг - on/for Thursday
  • В/на пятницу - on/for Friday
  • В/на субботу - on/for Saturday
  • В/на воскресенье - on/for Sunday

Examples:

Встреча состоится в среду.
Pronunciation: VSTREcha sastaEETsa f suBBOtu.
Translation: The meeting will take place on Wednesday.

Встреча назначена на среду.
Pronunciation: VSTREcha nazNAchyna na SRYEdu.
Translation: The meeting is arranged for Wednesday.

с/со - From, Since (Genitive Case) and до - Until (Genitive Case)

  • С/до понедельника - from / since / until Monday
  • С/до вторника - from/since/until Tuesday
  • С/до среды - from/since/until Wednesday
  • С/до четверга - from/since/until Thursday
  • С/до пятницы - from/since/until Friday
  • С/до субботы - from/since/until Saturday
  • С/до воскресенья - from/since/until Sunday

Example:

До воскресенья пять дней.
Pronunciation: da vaskrySYEN'ya PYAT' DNYEY.
Translation: It is five days until Sunday.

по - Until, Including (Accusative Case)

  • По понедельник - until/including/to Monday
  • По вторник - until/including Tuesday
  • По среду - until/including Wednesday
  • По четверг - until/including Thursday
  • По пятницу - until/including Friday
  • По субботу - until/including Saturday
  • По воскресенье - until/including Sunday

Example:

С понедельника по пятницу я хожу на работу.
Pronunciation: s panyDYEL'nika pa PYATnicu ya haZHOO na raBOtu
Translation: From Monday to Friday I go to work.

по - on (Plural, Dative Case)

  • По понедельникам - on Mondays
  • По вторникам - on Tuesdays
  • По средам - on Wednesdays
  • По четвергам - on Thursdays
  • По пятницам - on Fridays
  • По субботам - on Saturdays
  • По воскресеньям - on Sundays

Example:

По субботам они любили гулять по городу.
Pronunciation: pa suBBOtam aNEE lyuBEEli gooLYAT' pa GOradu.
Translation: On Saturdays, they liked to go walking around the city.

Abbreviations

Russian days of the week are often shortened in writing (such as calendars or diaries) using the following abbreviations:

  • Пн - Monday
  • Вт - Tuesday
  • Ср - Wednesday
  • Чт - Thursday
  • Пт - Friday
  • Сб - Saturday
  • Вс - Sunday

Russian Vocabulary for Scheduling and Planning

Russian Word Translation Pronunciation Example
Сегодня Today syVODnya Сегодня вторник - Today is Tuesday.
Завтра Tomorrow ZAVTruh До завтра - Until tomorrow./See you tomorrow.
Вчера Yesterday fchyeRAH Вчера шел снег - Yesterday it snowed.
На (этой) неделе During the week na (Etay) nyDYEly Зайдите на (этой) неделе - Pop in this week.
На следующей неделе Next week na SLYEdushey nyDYEly Я уезжаю на следующей неделе (ya ooyezZHAyu na SLYEdushey nyDYEly) - I am leaving next week.
На прошлой неделе Last week na PROSHlay nyDYEly Все произошло на прошлой неделе - It all happened last week.
Позавчера Day before yesterday puhzafchyRAH Позавчера получили сообщение - We received a message the day before yesterday.
Послезавтра The day after tomorrow POSlyZAVTruh Послезавтра начинаются каникулы - School holidays begin the day after tomorrow.
Через неделю After a week/a week from CHYEryz nyDYElyu Увидемся через неделю - We'll see each other next week/see you next week.
Через день Every other day CHYEryz DYEN' Принимать лекарство через день - Take the medicine every other day.
Через месяц In a month's time CHYEryz MYEsyts Через месяц начался ремонт - The renovations began a month later.
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Nikitina, Maia. "Russian Days of the Week: Usage and Examples." ThoughtCo, Aug. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/russian-days-of-the-week-4768613. Nikitina, Maia. (2020, August 29). Russian Days of the Week: Usage and Examples. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-days-of-the-week-4768613 Nikitina, Maia. "Russian Days of the Week: Usage and Examples." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-days-of-the-week-4768613 (accessed October 21, 2021).