Whenever you learn any language, the days of the week and the months of the year are some of the most essential vocabulary to learn, and they are usually quite simple.
If you're learning Italian, here is some information on their origins.
The Days of the Week in Italian
Learning the days of the week and the months of the year in Italian is quite simple for English speakers because both languages use the same calendar.
There are 7 days of the week in Italian and 12 months of the year.
Let's start with the 7 days of the week:
Monday – Lunedì
In English, Monday is the day of the Moon. In Italian, it's precisely the same. The name of the first day of the week comes from the Latin (like most Italian) for the "day of the Moon" or "Lunae dies".
Tuesday – Martedì
What's fascinating about the days of the week and months of the year in both English and Italian is that they are often named after gods, goddesses, or celestial bodies, which were significant in the cultures that influenced these languages. This cultural connection can add an intriguing layer to your language learning experience.
In English, these are typically from Germanic or Norse gods. In Italian, these are mostly named after Roman gods.
Tuesday in English comes from "Tiwesdæg," or the "day of Tyr," the Norse god of war and the equivalent of Mars in Roman mythology.
The day is also equivalent in Italian. Martedì comes from the Latin "Martis dies," which means "day of Mars."
Wednesday – Mercoledì
Wednesday in English is named after the Norse God “Woden” or “Odin” from the Old English Wōdnesdæg.
The Roman equivalent is Mercury, so you can probably guess who the Italians name their Wednesday after. Mercoledì came from the Latin "Mercurii dies", meaning "day of Mercury".
Thursday – Giovedì
The Italian "Giovedì" comes from the Latin "Iovis dies," which means the "day of Jupiter." Remember that the letter J doesn't exist in the Italian alphabet.
The English equivalent, Thursday, is named after the Norse god “Thor”.
Friday – Venerdì
The Old English word “Frīgedæg” gave us Friday. This is in honour of the Norse goddess Frigg, who was associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance, and motherhood.
The Italian word for Friday, "Venerdì," comes from the Latin "Veneris dies," which means "day of Venus." In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory.
Saturday – Sabato
Things change on the weekend. While all the English days of the week so far were named after Norse or Germanic deities, and the Italian days were named after Roman deities, Saturday changes everything.
In English, Saturday is named after the Roman god Saturn. In Italian, however, it's named after the Hebrew “Shabbat” or Sabbath, the seventh day in the Hebrew calendar and the day of rest.
Sunday – Domenica
The origins of this day of the week are relatively apparent in English. From the Old English "Sunandæg", this is literally the day of the Sun.
In Italian, however, this isn't another heavenly body or a Roman God. Instead, “Domenica” comes from the Latin “Dies Dominica”, which means “day of the Lord”. In this case, “The Lord” refers to the Christian God.
Here are all the days of the week in Italian and English with their etymologies:
| English | Etymology | Italian | Etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Old English: "Monandæg," named after the Moon | Lunedì | Latin: "Lunae dies," meaning "day of the Moon" |
| Tuesday | Old English: "Tiwesdæg," named after the Norse god Tyr/Mars | Martedì | Latin: "Martis dies," meaning "day of Mars" |
| Wednesday | Old English: "Wōdnesdæg," named after the Norse god Odin/Mercury | Mercoledì | Latin: "Mercurii dies," meaning "day of Mercury" |
| Thursday | Old English: "Þūnresdæg," named after the Norse god Thor/Jupiter | Giovedì | Latin: "Iovis dies," meaning "day of Jupiter" |
| Friday | Old English: "Frīgedæg," named after the Norse goddess Frigg/Venus | Venerdì | Latin: "Veneris dies," meaning "day of Venus" |
| Saturday | Old English: "Sæternesdæg," named after the Roman god Saturn | Sabato | Latin: "Sabbatum," via Hebrew "Shabbat" |
| Sunday | Old English: "Sunandæg," named after the Sun | Domenica | Latin: "Dies Dominica," meaning "day of the Lord" |
The Months of the Year in Italian
It's interesting to note that both Italian and English use a twelve-month calendar, and the calendar used in English ultimately comes from the Roman calendar.
Since both calendars share the same origins, the names of the months and their etymologies are the same, making many Italian words for months easier to remember than the day of the week.
January – Gennaio
The year's first month is named after the Roman god of beginnings, Janus. In Italian, "Gennaio" came from the Latin "Ianuarius".
You could talk about your New Year's Resolutions using some of the most common Italian verbs.
February – Febbraio
February's origins come from a Roman purification festival called Februa, which took place during this time.
While there are seemingly a few ways to pronounce February in English, "Febbraio" in Italian has a reasonably standardised pronunciation. It originated from the Latin "Februarius".
March – Marzo
Much like Wednesday in Italian, March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war, in English and Italian.
In Latin, this was "Martius" and the month of Mars.
April – Aprile
April's origins are less certain, but some etymologists believe it's from the Latin "aperire", meaning "to open", the Etruscan for the Greek goddess "Aphrodite".
It may have also meant "the following" or "the next", as it was initially the second month on the Roman calendar, which you'll start to understand once we reach September.
The Latin name for the month was "Aprilis", which gave the Italian language "Aprile".
May – Maggio
May made its way into English via Old French “mai”. In Latin, this was “Maius”, named after the Roman goddess of Earth and spring, Maia or Maja.
This only really works in the Northern Hemisphere.
June – Giugno
The origins of June are also uncertain, but it's thought that the month was named after the Roman goddess Juno of marriage and childbirth. Italian got the word “Giugno” from the Latin “Iunius”.
Speaking of which, why not learn the Italian vocabulary for family members?
July – Luglio
Both July in English and Luglio in Italian come from Julius Caesar. Caesar reformed the Roman Calendar in 45 BCE.
The original Roman calendar followed lunar cycles, leaving the year 304 days. Afterwards, there were 61 "winter days" that didn't belong to any month.
The reform added leap years, established January 1st as New Year's Day and reorganised the months into 12. This significant change in the calendar system was a result of Julius Caesar's efforts to align the Roman calendar with the solar year.
While at it, Julius Caesar renamed this month after himself (Iulius). He also renamed the following month, which we'll get to now.
August – Agosto
During Caesar's calendar reform, he named the month after Augustus, the Roman emperor. The month was also simply called "Augustus" in Latin.
This gave us August in English and Agosto in Italian.
September – Settembre
Here's where the calendar reform falls apart. While April was the second month during the old calendar and had a somewhat ambiguous name, the months through the rest of the year were clear.
September in English and Settembre in Italian are from Latin, referring to the seventh month of the year.
October – Ottobre
Octobre in English and Ottobre in Italian are derived from the Latin "October", which referred to the eighth month in the old calendar.
November – Novembre
The same again. If you've studied your numbers in Italian, you may recognise all the routes for September, October, November, and December.
In Latin, "November" and "November" refer to the ninth month.
December – Dicembre
Last but not least, we have December, or Dicembre in Italian. The word "December" in Latin came from the Latin "decem," meaning ten.
Here are all the months side-by-side for reference:
| English | Italian |
|---|---|
| January | Gennaio |
| February | Febbraio |
| March | Marzo |
| April | Aprile |
| May | Maggio |
| June | Giugno |
| July | Luglio |
| August | Agosto |
| September | Settembre |
| October | Ottobre |
| November | Novembre |
| December | Dicembre |
The Seasons in Italian
Italian, like English, divides the year into four distinct seasons. Here are the seasons and their origins.
Spring – Primavera
Spring in Italian is called "primavera". If you've studied your ordinal numbers, you might guess their origins are from "first".
The word primavera came from the Latin for “first” (primus) and “spring” (ver). It literally means “first spring”.
Summer – Estate
Remember that the Italian word "estate" isn't pronounced the same as the English word, which is spelled exactly the same way.
Instead, "estate" comes from the Latin word "aestas", which means summer.
Autumn/Fall – Autunno
Whether you call it autumn or fall, you can guess which of these English words is of Latin origin and which is of Anglo-Saxon origin.
Autunno in Italian came from the Latin word “autumnus”.
Winter – Inverno
Last but certainly not least, the Italian word for winter, “inverno”, is from the Latin word “hibernum”. You may recognise the roots of this word in English words like hibernate.
Here they are for your vocabulary lists.
| English | Italian |
|---|---|
| Spring | Primavera |
| Summer | Estate |
| Autumn/Fall | Autunno |
| Winter | Inverno |
It might also help to learn colours in Italian to more accurately describe the seasons.
Get Help Learning Italian with a Private Tutor
While days, months, and seasons are basic vocabulary for anyone learning Italian, you mightn't be able to teach yourself all the complexities of Italian grammar or more complicated language.
For this, we recommend either immersing yourself in Italian by living and working in Italy or, failing that, working with an Italian teacher or tutor since they can tailor every session to you and what you want to learn.
To learn Italian from a dedicated private tutor, search for "Italian" on the Superprof website today!
With most private tutors on the platform offering the first session for free, you can try a few out before choosing the one that's right for you and what you want to learn.
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