Saying the days of the week in Hebrew is quite easy. With the exception of the last day (Shabbat – שבת). The meaning of the days from Sunday to Friday is the same as saying. “First day”,”Second day”,”Third day”, etc. Let’s have a look at the table below:
Explanation and ways to remember.
As mentioned in first paragraph, The meaning of the days from Sunday to Friday is the same as saying. “First day”,”Second day”,”Third day”, etc. So if you already know this you just add the word day (יום) to it.
ראשון – First
שני – Second
שלישי – Third
רביעי – Fourth
חמישי – Fifth
שישי – Sixth
Example sentences:
אני ראשון – I’m first
זה התפוז החמישי שלי היום – This is my fifth orange today
זה הספר השלישי שלי – This is my third book
Sunday – יום ראשון
The first day in Israel is Sunday and it’s called Yom Rishon (יום ראשון). The word Rishon comes from the word Rosh (ראש). Which means head. So the meaning of first is the head.
Monday – יום שני
The second day is Yom Sheni (יום שני). It’s quite easy to remember if you already know the Hebrew Numbers. Sheni is written exactly as Shnei without niqqud.
Two kids – שני ילדים
Monday – יום שני
In the two kids example שני is shnei (shnei yeladim) and when writing Monday it’s Yom Sheni. Keep that in mind.
Tuesday – יום שלישי
The third day of the week is יום שלישי – yom shlishi. The word שלישי means third and it comes from the number 3 , שלוש.
Wednesday – יום רביעי
The fourth day of the week is יום רביעי – yom reviyi. The word רביעי means Fourth and it comes from the number 4 , ארבע.
Thursday – יום חמישי
The fifth day of the week is יום חמישי – yom chamishi. The word חמישי means fifth and it comes from the number 5, חמש.
Friday – יום שישי
The sixth day of the week is יום שישי – yom shishi. The word שישי means sixth and it comes from the number 6, שש.
Saturday – יום שבת
Now we’ve reached the final day which has a special name, Shabbat – שבת. We can’t say יום שביעי which literally means the seventh day. However the first two letters of Shabbat are ש and ב are just like in the word seven (Sheva – שבע) . So that may help you remember it.
