Week in Different Languages
Discover 'Week' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Week
Afrikaans week | ||
Albanian javë | ||
Amharic ሳምንት | ||
Arabic أسبوع | ||
Armenian շաբաթ | ||
Assamese সপ্তাহ | ||
Aymara simana | ||
Azerbaijani həftə | ||
Bambara dɔgɔkun | ||
Basque astea | ||
Belarusian тыдзень | ||
Bengali সপ্তাহ | ||
Bhojpuri हप्ता | ||
Bosnian sedmica | ||
Bulgarian седмица | ||
Catalan setmana | ||
Cebuano semana | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 周 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 週 | ||
Corsican settimana | ||
Croatian tjedan | ||
Czech týden | ||
Danish uge | ||
Dhivehi ހަފްތާ | ||
Dogri हफ्ता | ||
Dutch week | ||
English week | ||
Esperanto semajno | ||
Estonian nädal | ||
Ewe kᴐsiɖa | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) linggo | ||
Finnish viikko | ||
French la semaine | ||
Frisian wike | ||
Galician semana | ||
Georgian კვირა | ||
German woche | ||
Greek εβδομάδα | ||
Guarani arapokõindy | ||
Gujarati અઠવાડિયું | ||
Haitian Creole semèn | ||
Hausa mako | ||
Hawaiian pule | ||
Hebrew שָׁבוּעַ | ||
Hindi सप्ताह | ||
Hmong lub lim tiam | ||
Hungarian hét | ||
Icelandic vika | ||
Igbo izu | ||
Ilocano lawas | ||
Indonesian minggu | ||
Irish seachtain | ||
Italian settimana | ||
Japanese 週間 | ||
Javanese minggu | ||
Kannada ವಾರ | ||
Kazakh апта | ||
Khmer សប្តាហ៍ | ||
Kinyarwanda icyumweru | ||
Konkani सप्तक | ||
Korean 주 | ||
Krio wik | ||
Kurdish hefte | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) هەفتە | ||
Kyrgyz жума | ||
Lao ອາທິດ | ||
Latin septem | ||
Latvian nedēļā | ||
Lingala mposo | ||
Lithuanian savaitę | ||
Luganda sabiiti | ||
Luxembourgish woch | ||
Macedonian недела | ||
Maithili सप्ताह | ||
Malagasy herinandro | ||
Malay minggu | ||
Malayalam ആഴ്ച | ||
Maltese ġimgħa | ||
Maori wiki | ||
Marathi आठवडा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯆꯌꯣꯜ | ||
Mizo kar | ||
Mongolian долоо хоног | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သီတင်းပတ် | ||
Nepali हप्ता | ||
Norwegian uke | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) sabata | ||
Odia (Oriya) ସପ୍ତାହ | ||
Oromo torbee | ||
Pashto اونۍ | ||
Persian هفته | ||
Polish tydzień | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) semana | ||
Punjabi ਹਫ਼ਤਾ | ||
Quechua semana | ||
Romanian săptămână | ||
Russian неделю | ||
Samoan vaiaso | ||
Sanskrit सप्ताहः | ||
Scots Gaelic seachdain | ||
Sepedi beke | ||
Serbian недеља | ||
Sesotho beke | ||
Shona vhiki | ||
Sindhi هفتو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සතිය | ||
Slovak týždeň | ||
Slovenian teden | ||
Somali usbuuc | ||
Spanish semana | ||
Sundanese saminggu | ||
Swahili wiki | ||
Swedish vecka | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) linggo | ||
Tajik ҳафта | ||
Tamil வாரம் | ||
Tatar атна | ||
Telugu వారం | ||
Thai สัปดาห์ | ||
Tigrinya ሰሙን | ||
Tsonga vhiki | ||
Turkish hafta | ||
Turkmen hepde | ||
Twi (Akan) nnawɔtwe | ||
Ukrainian тиждень | ||
Urdu ہفتہ | ||
Uyghur ھەپتە | ||
Uzbek hafta | ||
Vietnamese tuần | ||
Welsh wythnos | ||
Xhosa iveki | ||
Yiddish וואָך | ||
Yoruba ọsẹ | ||
Zulu isonto |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | In Afrikaans, "week" can also mean "soft" or "tender". |
| Amharic | The word "ሳምንት" ("week") in Amharic is derived from the Ge'ez word "ሰብት" ("seven"), suggesting its original meaning as "a period of seven days." |
| Arabic | The word "أسبوع" (week) in Arabic likely originates from the verb "وسع" (to broaden) and originally signified a period of expansion and ease. |
| Armenian | The word "շաբաթ" is derived from the Persian "hafteh" and also means "Saturday" in Armenian. |
| Azerbaijani | "Həftə" means "week" in Azerbaijani. It comes from the Persian word "haft", meaning "seven", and the suffix "ə", which indicates a collective noun. |
| Basque | The Basque word |
| Belarusian | The word "тыдзень" originates from Proto-Slavic "*tednь", meaning a seventh of a year, which in turn possibly comes from Proto-Indo-European "*dekṃ" meaning ten. |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "সপ্তাহ" (week) originates from the Sanskrit word "सप्त" (seven) as it encompasses seven days. |
| Bosnian | The Bosnian term "sedmica" originally referred to a period of seven years, similar to the English word "sennight" (a now-archaic term for a week). |
| Bulgarian | The word “седмица” also means “seven” in Bulgarian, reflecting the fact that the week consisted of seven days in ancient Slavic cultures. |
| Catalan | In the Middle Ages, the Catalan "setmana" (week) referred to the period before the payment of wages, as it was the time when debts were settled. |
| Cebuano | The Cebuano word "semana" originates from the Spanish word "semana," which itself comes from the Latin word "septimana," meaning "seven days." |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 周 (周) in Chinese also refers to the dynasty that lasted from ~1046-256 BCE, the last dynasty of Shang China. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "週" can also mean "cycle" or "period". |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "settimana" comes from the Latin "septimana", meaning "seven days." |
| Croatian | "Tjedan", meaning "week" in Croatian, is derived from the Slavic word "tednja", meaning "time" or "season." |
| Czech | The word "týden" is derived from the Old Czech word "ty", meaning "to draw" or "to mark", and likely referred to the act of marking off days on a calendar. |
| Danish | The word "uge" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "wikōn", meaning "to change" or "to turn." |
| Dutch | In Dutch, "week" (week) literally means "softening," referring to washing, soaking, and softening clothes during the traditional washday. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's "semajno" is a Calque of the English "sevennight" and was coined by L.L. Zamenhof. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "nädal" also means "a little bit" or "a while". |
| Finnish | The word "viikko" in Finnish also refers to a "bundle" or "sheaf" of something, such as hay or flax |
| French | The word "la semaine" in French is derived from the Latin "septimana," meaning "sevenfold." In some contexts, it can also refer to a specific week, such as "la Semaine sainte" (Holy Week). |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "wike" is derived from the Proto-Germanic word "wikō", which also meant "turn" or "change". |
| Galician | The Galician word "semana" comes from the Latin "septimana", meaning "seven days". |
| Georgian | The original meaning of კვირა was not 'week' but 'day', and the current meaning is an expansion of the first |
| German | The word "Woche" in German likely derives from the Proto-Germanic root "*wik-ō", meaning "change" or "alternation", which also gave rise to the English word "week". |
| Greek | The word "εβδομάδα" can also mean "seven" or "the seventh day of the week". |
| Gujarati | The Gujarati word અઠવાડિયું (week) is derived from the Sanskrit word अष्टावदर (ashṭāvara) which means 'eight days' and refers to the eighth day of the week, which is Sunday. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "semèn" in Haitian Creole is derived from the French word "semaine" and also refers to the period of seven days before a wedding or other event. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "mako" can also refer to a "period" or a "specific point in time". |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, "pule" can also refer to prayer, worship, or a religious service. |
| Hebrew | The word שָׁבוּעַ is also used to describe the time between two significant events in a person's life, such as a wedding anniversary or a bar or bat mitzvah. |
| Hindi | The word "सप्ताह" is derived from the Sanskrit word "सप्त," meaning "seven," and refers to a cycle of seven days. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "lub lim tiam" was originally a term only used to refer to the five days from Monday to Friday, until the 1960s when it was expanded to include Saturday and Sunday. |
| Hungarian | The word "hét" likely comes from the Proto-Uralic word "*säkt" which also means "seven" |
| Icelandic | The Old Norse word "vika" meant "a turn" or "change" and originally referred to a shift in the wind direction. |
| Igbo | The Igbo word |
| Indonesian | The word minggu comes from the Portuguese word 'domingo' meaning Sunday. |
| Irish | The Irish 'seachtain' originates in 'seacht' (meaning seven), and it originally also implied a cycle or seven-year interval. |
| Italian | The word "settimana" comes from the Latin "septimana," meaning "seven days." |
| Japanese | The Japanese word "週間" can also refer to a weekly magazine or a weekly period. |
| Javanese | "Minggu" also means "sun" in Javanese, as the period of a week is traditionally seen as the cycle of the sun. |
| Kannada | The Kannada word "ವಾರ" (vāra), meaning "week", is derived from the Sanskrit word "वार" (vāra) and also refers to a specific day within a week. |
| Kazakh | The word "апта" also means "period" or "duration" in Kazakh. |
| Korean | The Korean word "주" for "week" originally referred to the seven-day zodiacal cycle. |
| Kurdish | Despite meaning "week," "hefte" can also refer to a bundle of objects that can be held in one hand. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word "жума" is also used to refer to Friday, the day of worship in Islam, reflecting the strong Islamic influence on Kyrgyz culture. |
| Lao | "ອາທິດ" (week) in Lao is related to the Pali word "atta", meaning "sun" or "day". |
| Latin | The Latin word 'septem' not only means 'week' but also 'seven', as in 'septem diebus' (seven days). |
| Latvian | The word "nedēļā" is derived from the Old Slavonic word "nedaľe", meaning "the period of one day's rest". In modern Latvian, it also refers to the 5-day work period following a weekend. |
| Lithuanian | In some dialects, "savaitė" can also refer to a period of six weeks used for calculating rent or wages. |
| Luxembourgish | The Luxembourgish word "Woch" is derived from the Old High German "wehhā", meaning "change" or "alternation", and is related to the English word "week". |
| Macedonian | The word "недела" (week) in Macedonian is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *nedělja, meaning "day of rest" or "Sunday". |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "herinandro" is derived from the Proto-Austronesian root *lindaq, meaning "seven". |
| Malay | Minggu derives from Sanskrit “minggu”, meaning seven. |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, 'ആഴ്ച' literally means 'depth' or 'depth of water' and hence came to mean a period of seven days. |
| Maltese | "Ġimgħa" comes from the Arabic word "juma'a", meaning "Friday", as in many cultures, the week was traditionally considered to start on Friday. |
| Maori | The Māori word "wiki" has alternate meanings, including "a quick movement", "to turn aside" and "to be deflected". |
| Marathi | आठवडा' (week) in Marathi means 'returning after eight', referring to the eight-day cycle of the moon's phases. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word for "week", "долоо хоног", literally means "seven days." |
| Nepali | The word 'hapta' in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word 'saptaha', meaning 'seven nights'. |
| Norwegian | "Uke" also means "weed" in Norwegian, and "week" in Swedish. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | In Nyanja, "Sabata" literally means "day of rest (Sunday)" and is also the word for "week". |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "اونۍ" can also refer to a Sunday or a holiday, which may be related to its ancient meaning of "day of rest". |
| Persian | هفته is derived from the Old Persian word 'hapta', which also means 'seven' |
| Polish | The Polish word "tydzień" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*tъdьnь", meaning "a series". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "semana" is derived from the Latin "septimana" (seven), and it also carries the alternative meaning of "a working week", which spans from Monday to Friday. |
| Romanian | The Romanian word "săptămână" is derived from the Latin "septimana", meaning "seven", and refers to the seven-day period. |
| Russian | The word “неделю”, a form of Russian “не делать”, historically meant “not doing (work)”. |
| Samoan | The Samoan word "vaiaso" comes from the Polynesian root word "aso" meaning "sun" and the prefix "vai" meaning "over" or "upon." |
| Serbian | The Serbian word "Недеља" is of Slavic origin, and originally meant "no work". |
| Sesotho | In addition to meaning 'week', 'beke' can also mean 'time' or 'season'. |
| Shona | The Shona term 'vhiki' also refers to the number seven. |
| Sindhi | "هفتو" relates to the number seven in several ways and also means "a part, share, or portion" in Sindhi. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | In addition to 'week', the word 'සතිය' (sathiya) also means 'seven' in Sinhala. |
| Slovak | The word "týždeň" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*tъždь", which originally meant "a period of seven days" or "a week". |
| Slovenian | The word 'teden' in Slovenian, meaning 'week', comes from the Proto-Slavic word 'tьdьnь', meaning 'day' or 'period of seven days'. |
| Somali | "Usbuuc" in Somali derives from the Arabic "usbu'" and originally meant "seven". |
| Spanish | The word "semana" in Spanish comes from the Latin phrase "septimana dies," meaning "seven days." |
| Sundanese | "Minggu" is a loanword from Portuguese "domingo" or Spanish "domingo", both of which mean "Sunday". This suggests that the concept of a "week" was introduced to Sundanese speakers by European traders or missionaries. |
| Swahili | In Swahili, "wiki" can mean either "week" or "council of elders". |
| Swedish | The word 'vecka' is of Proto-Germanic origin, related to the English word 'week' and German 'Woche' and may originally have meant 'change'. |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | The Tagalog word "linggo" may derive from Spanish "domingo" (Sunday) via Old Castilian "domingu" and Latin "Domĭnĭcus dies" (Lord's Day). |
| Tajik | "Ҳафта" also means "time" or "period" in Tajik. |
| Tamil | "வாரம்" in Tamil also refers to a period of 7 days or a week and is derived from the Sanskrit word "vāra", meaning "period of time" or "turn". |
| Telugu | "వారం" also means the group of four people who receive alms on any given day of the week in turn. |
| Thai | In Old Khmer, 'sabda' means 'star', but later shifted its meaning to 'day'. |
| Turkish | The word "hafta" in Turkish comes from the Arabic word "haft" which means "seven" and also refers to the seven days of the week. |
| Ukrainian | "Тиждень" likely derives from an Old Slavonic word "tъždi" meaning "fat," possibly referring to animal sacrifices conducted on the last day of the week. |
| Urdu | The Urdu word "ہفتہ" originally meant "seven" but gained the meaning of "week" from the Persian "hafteh". |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, the word "hafta" also refers to a period of seven days, but it is primarily used in the context of religious observance or holidays. |
| Vietnamese | Tuần in Vietnamese can also mean |
| Welsh | The word "wythnos" is derived from the Old English word "wicu" meaning "change", referring to the changing of the Moon's phases, from which the concept of a week emerged. |
| Xhosa | Iveki derives from 'iiveki' (pl. abaiveki) i.e. a round object, from the notion of the week as the period before the start of a new cycle. |
| Zulu | In astronomy, iSonto is a comet that was discovered in 2013. |
| English | "Week" derives from Old English "wice," meaning "change," referring to the changing moon phases that occur in a week. |