Monday in Russian: понедельник
Pronounced puh-nee-DYEL-neek — literally “the day after the no-work day”.
Monday in Russian at a Glance
| Cyrillic | понедельник |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | ponedel'nik |
| On Monday | в понедельник (v ponedel'nik) |
| Pronunciation | puh-nee-DYEL-neek (по·не·де́ль·ник) |
| Literal meaning | the day after the no-work day |
| Abbreviation | Пн |
From по (“after”) + неделя — which today means “week” but originally meant Sunday, the “do-nothing” day (не делать = to not do). So понедельник is literally “the day after the day of rest”.
How to Pronounce понедельник
puh-nee-DYEL-neek — syllable by syllable: по·не·де́ль·ник.
- Unstressed o sounds like “ah” — that's why понедельник starts with “pah-”, not “poh-”.
- The soft sign ь has no sound of its own; it softens the consonant before it.
- Stress matters: stressing the wrong syllable can make a word hard to recognize.
Example Sentences with понедельник
How to Say “Happy Monday” in Russian
Russians wish each other a good day using the genitive case: the phrase literally means “(I wish you) a good Monday”. It's common in texts and at the end of phone calls.
All 7 Days of the Week in Russian
Russian day names tell a story: three are numbers (second, fourth, fifth day), one means “middle”, one comes from the Sabbath, one means “resurrection”, and Monday literally means “the day after doing nothing”. The week starts on Monday in Russia.
| English | Russian | Transliteration | Pronunciation | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | понедельник | ponedel'nik | puh-nee-DYEL-neek | |
| Tuesday | вторник | vtornik | FTOR-neek | |
| Wednesday | среда | sreda | sree-DAH | |
| Thursday | четверг | chetverg | cheet-VYERK | |
| Friday | пятница | pyatnitsa | PYAT-nee-tsuh | |
| Saturday | суббота | subbota | soo-BOH-tuh | |
| Sunday | воскресенье | voskresen'ye | vuhs-kree-SYEN-yeh |
See the full guide: Days of the Week in Russian.
Cultural Notes: Monday in Russian-Speaking Countries
Russians half-joke that понедельник — день тяжёлый (“Monday is a hard day”) — a proverb you'll hear every Monday morning. The Russian week officially starts on Monday, as on all Russian calendars.
Did You Know?
From по (“after”) + неделя — which today means “week” but originally meant Sunday, the “do-nothing” day (не делать = to not do). So понедельник is literally “the day after the day of rest”. Curious how English got its name for Monday? See our guide to the origins of the days of the week.
How to Use понедельник in a Sentence
Use в + accusative case for “on”: в понедельник (v ponedel'nik) = on Monday. For “every Monday” Russians say по понедельникам (po ponedel'nikam). The case ending changes for feminine day names, so memorize the в-phrase as a unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say Monday in Russian?
Monday in Russian is понедельник (ponedel'nik), pronounced “puh-nee-DYEL-neek”. It literally means “the day after the no-work day”.
What does понедельник mean in English?
From по (“after”) + неделя — which today means “week” but originally meant Sunday, the “do-nothing” day (не делать = to not do). So понедельник is literally “the day after the day of rest”.
How do you pronounce понедельник?
It's pronounced “puh-nee-DYEL-neek” — broken into syllables: по·не·де́ль·ник. Use the audio button on this page to hear a recording.
Is понедельник capitalized in Russian?
Russian weekday names are written in lowercase — понедельник, not Понедельник — unlike English. They're only capitalized at the start of a sentence.
How do you say “Happy Monday” in Russian?
Хорошего понедельника! (Khoroshego ponedel'nika!). Russians wish each other a good day using the genitive case: the phrase literally means “(I wish you) a good Monday”. It's common in texts and at the end of phone calls.
How is Monday abbreviated in Russian?
Monday (понедельник) is abbreviated Пн on Russian calendars and schedules.
How do you say “on Monday” in Russian?
в понедельник (v ponedel'nik) — the preposition в plus the accusative case. For “every Monday”, use по понедельникам (po ponedel'nikam).
How do you write Monday in Russian Cyrillic?
понедельник — and remember it's lowercase in Russian unless it starts a sentence. The calendar abbreviation is Пн.
How do you say “today is Monday” in Russian?
Сегодня понедельник (Segodnya ponedel'nik). Russian drops the verb “to be” in the present tense, so it's literally just “today Monday”.