Unlike in English, the names of most days of the week in Polish are linked to their position in the week. For example, środa (Wednesday) derives from the word środek (middle) and signifies the middle of the (working) week.

Below, you will find a brief explanation of the rest of the days. Remember – in Polish, they’re not capitalised!

Poniedziałek (Monday) comes after Sunday (niedziela) – po niedzieli.

Wtorek is the second day of the week (wtóry – a rather old-fashioned way of saying drugi, or ‘second’).

Środa – the middle day.

Czwartek derives from czwarty (fourth).

Piątek is like czwartek – piąty means ‘fifth’.

Sobota is slightly different as it is named after Shabbat.

Niedziela relates to Sunday being a day of rest, a day when one does not work (nie działa).

And here’s the pronunciation of the seven days of the week:

Now that you know the days of the week, you will know how to plan your sightseeing in Poland. You will know when museums or tourist sights are open (otwarte) and when they are closed (zamknięte).