Hebrew days of the week, months and calendar words
Hebrew days are numbers, not gods: Sunday is simply 'day one'. Only Saturday has a name of its own — Shabbat — and the whole Israeli week is shaped around it.
The seven days
In writing you will often see just the letter: יום א׳ for Sunday, יום ב׳ for Monday, and so on.
- Sunday יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן yom rishon — day one
- Monday יוֹם שֵׁנִי yom sheni — day two
- Tuesday יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי yom shlishi — day three
- Wednesday יוֹם רְבִיעִי yom revi'i — day four
- Thursday יוֹם חֲמִישִׁי yom chamishi — day five
- Friday יוֹם שִׁישִׁי yom shishi — day six
- Saturday שַׁבָּת shabbat — the rest day
How the Israeli week really works
The working week runs Sunday to Thursday, with Friday a short day. The weekend — סוֹף שָׁבוּעַ sof shavua — is Friday and Saturday. Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday (ערב שבת, erev shabbat) and ends after nightfall on Saturday, when people say שָׁבוּעַ טוֹב shavua tov, 'good week'.
Time words you need with them
These combine with the day names in everyday sentences.
- הַיּוֹם hayom — today
- מָחָר machar — tomorrow · מָחֳרָתַיִם mochrotayim — the day after tomorrow
- אֶתְמוֹל etmol — yesterday · שִׁלְשׁוֹם shilshom — the day before yesterday
- הַשָּׁבוּעַ hashavua — this week · שָׁבוּעַ הַבָּא shavua haba — next week
- בַּבֹּקֶר baboker — in the morning · בָּעֶרֶב ba'erev — in the evening
- כָּל יוֹם kol yom — every day
The Hebrew calendar months
Israel uses the Gregorian calendar for business and the Hebrew lunisolar calendar for holidays. The Hebrew months, starting from the religious new year:
- נִיסָן Nisan (Passover) · אִיָּיר Iyar · סִיוָן Sivan (Shavuot)
- תַּמּוּז Tammuz · אָב Av · אֱלוּל Elul
- תִּשְׁרֵי Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot)
- חֶשְׁוָן Cheshvan · כִּסְלֵו Kislev (Hanukkah) · טֵבֵת Tevet
- שְׁבָט Shvat (Tu BiShvat) · אֲדָר Adar (Purim)
Example sentences
Say these out loud — the pattern repeats endlessly in daily speech.
- אֲנִי עוֹבֵד בְּיוֹם שֵׁנִי — ani oved be-yom sheni — I work on Monday
- נִפָּגֵשׁ בְּיוֹם חֲמִישִׁי — nipagesh be-yom chamishi — let's meet on Thursday
- בְּשַׁבָּת אֲנַחְנוּ נָחִים — be-shabbat anachnu nachim — on Saturday we rest
- מָחָר יוֹם שִׁישִׁי — machar yom shishi — tomorrow is Friday
Practise them where they appear naturally
Shabbat, erev and boker turn up in Israeli songs constantly. On Shir-ly the lyrics highlight word by word as the song plays with nikud and transliteration, so calendar vocabulary sticks through repetition instead of rote lists.
Frequently asked questions
Why are Hebrew days numbered?
They follow the creation account in Genesis, where the six working days are counted and the seventh is named Shabbat.
What is the first day of the week in Israel?
Sunday, yom rishon. It is a regular working day.
When is the Israeli weekend?
Friday and Saturday. Many businesses close by early Friday afternoon and reopen Sunday morning.
What do you say at the end of Shabbat?
Shavua tov (שָׁבוּעַ טוֹב), 'a good week'.