Got a case of the Mondays? This is your guide to all about lunedì, the word for Monday in Italian. Learn how to pronounce it, how to use it and the important grammar details you need, all in one place. I’ve included plenty of examples too.
Not only that, find out about what’s open and what’s not on Mondays in Italy from someone who actually lives here!
Andiamo! Let’s go!
Table of Contents
ALL ABOUT MONDAY IN ITALIAN
The word for Monday in Italian is lunedì.
Lunedì comes from luna, or moon, and dì (day). So it is like “moon-day”. Not so different from Monday after all!
Lun. is the abbreviation for lunedì (Monday in Italian).
Lunedì is a masculine singular noun.
All of the other Italian days of the week are masculine too, except for domenica (Sunday) which is a feminine singular noun.
HOW TO PRONOUNCE LUNEDÌ
The pronunciation of lunedì is: loo-neh-DEE
Listen to the pronunciation of lunedì here:
The accent on the ì in lunedì tells you that it is stressed, so the accent is on the last syllable.
Italian nouns which have an accented last syllable do not change in the plural form. So lunedì is both the singular and plural of Monday in Italian. Some other examples are città (city), tivù (TV), and comò (chest of drawers).
IS MONDAY IN ITALIAN CAPITALIZED?
Like all of the other Italian days of the week (and months of the year), lunedì is not capitalized.
HOW TO USE LUNEDÌ
The grammar rules in this section hold true for all of the days of the week in Italian, not just Monday.
WITHOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
When you use lunedì alone without the definite article, you are referring to that specific Monday.
For example, lunedì (vado al mercato) means This Monday (I’m going to the market).
WITH THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
The correct definite article for lunedì is il, because it’s a masculine noun. When we use the definite article with lunedì (or any other day of the week), it is like saying every, and refers to an action that will repeat.
For example, Il lunedì (vado al mercato) means Every Monday (I go to the market), or On Mondays (I go to the market).
You can also use the definite article to talk about Mondays in general.
For example: Adoro il lunedì perché vado sempre al mercato! I love Mondays because I always go to the market!
IN THE PLURAL
Another way to say every Monday is tutti i lunedì. Literally, tutti i lunedì means all the Mondays.
Vado al mercato tutti i lunedì.
I go to the market every Monday.
Remember, because the last syllable of lunedì is accented, its ending doesn’t change in the plural form.
WITH THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE
The correct indefinite article for lunedì is un. You can use the indefinite article in a couple ways.
To talk about a Monday, for example:
Un lunedì di settembre siamo andati al mare.
On a Monday in September we went to the beach.
Non mi ricordo la data del concerto, ma era un lunedì.
I don’t remember the date of the concert, but it was on a Monday.
To talk about something that will take place on a Monday, or some Monday coming up:
Perchè non andiamo a prendere un caffè un lunedì?
Why don’t we go get a coffee on a Monday/some Monday?
NEXT AND LAST MONDAY
To talk about a Monday in the past or in the future, use scorso (next) and prossimo (last).
Lunedì prossimo andiamo a Milano per 2 giorni.
Next Monday we’re going to Milan for Two Days.
Lunedì scorso siamo andati a Ravenna.
Last Monday we went to Ravenna.
HELPFUL ITALIAN WORDS TO USE WITH LUNEDÌ
Here are some helpful Italian words that we often use with lunedì and the other days of the week:
| mattina | morning |
| pomeriggio | afternoon |
| sera | evening |
| notte | night |
| chiuso | closed |
| aperto | open |
Lunedì mattina l’ufficio è aperto.
On Monday morning the office is open.
Lunedì pomeriggio il parrucchiere è chiuso.
On Monday afternoon the hairdresser is closed.
And of course, you can also talk about a specific time on Monday, for example lunedì alle 15 (Monday at 3pm). Read this post for all about how to talk about the time of day in Italian.
WHAT’S OPEN ON MONDAY IN ITALY?
Lunedì is the start of the Italian work week.
Most public Italian offices are open from Monday through Friday (da lunedì a venerdì), while most shops and businesses are open from Monday through Saturday (da lunedì a sabato).
School days in Italy are from Monday through Friday (da lunedì a venerdì). However, some Italian middle schools also have half days on Saturday.
SPECIAL EVENTS ON MONDAYS IN ITALY
Many Italian towns, and big city neighborhoods, have a weekly outdoor market. Market day is a special day, with more people coming in from the area to come shopping. Depending on the market, there may be everything from housewares to hats to food!
Some places in Italy that hold their weekly outdoor market on Monday mornings are:
- Peschiera del Garda, a lovely small town right on Lake Garda
- Castagneto Carducci, a wine town along Tuscany’s Etruscan coast
- Via San Marco in the Brera neighborhood of Milan, on Mondays and Thursdays
- Via Bernardo Zamagna in the San Siro neighborhood of Milan
- San Casciano in Val di Pesa, a hilltop town in the Chianti countryside of Tuscany
WHAT IS CLOSED ON MONDAY IN ITALY?
Hair salons and barber shops! If you need to get a haircut on a Monday in Italy, you’ll be out of luck. Legend has it that it’s been a tradition for centuries for parrucchieri and barbieri (hairdressers and barbers) to be closed on Mondays.
You also have to watch out for museums! In Milan and Florence, most museums and archaeological sites are closed on Mondays. So is the Galleria Borghese, my favorite museum in Rome.
It’s always a good idea to double check if the museum you have your heart set on visiting is open on Mondays!
The same goes for going to a specific store or restaurant. Italian businesses often have a giorno di riposo (day of rest) or giorno di chiusura (closed day). It’s already a given that most shops are closed on Sunday. The giorno di riposo is an additional morning or afternoon (or both) during the week when the shop is closed.
In Italy, it is common for all of the local shops in a small town to be closed at the same time on the giorno di riposo (day of rest). Keep this in mind when planning a trip to a small Italian village!
WHAT IMPORTANT ITALIAN HOLIDAYS ARE ON MONDAY?
Most important Italian holidays, like Ferragosto and Christmas, are on the same date every year, so from year to year they fall on a different day of the week. The same can’t be said for pasquetta.
What is pasquetta? It literally means little Easter, and is the day after Easter. Other, more formal names are il lunedì di Pasqua (Easter Monday) and il lunedì dell’angelo (Monday of the Angel). Easter Monday is a public holiday in Italy, so offices and most businesses are closed.
Pasquetta always falls on a Monday because Easter is a movable feast, and always falls on a Sunday. An Italian pasquetta tradition is to go out to the countryside for a picnic or go to the seaside and enjoy the spring weather.
Read more about the Days of the Week and the Months of the Year in Italian!