This is your guide to mercoledì, the word for Wednesday in Italian. Learn how to pronounce mercoledì, how to use it and the important grammar details you need. It’s all here, along with plenty of examples too.
Not only that, find out about what’s open and what’s not on Wednesdays in Italy from someone who actually lives there!
Andiamo! Let’s go!
Table of Contents
ALL ABOUT WEDNESDAY IN ITALIAN
The word for Wednesday in Italian is mercoledì.
Mercurio is the Italian word for Mercury. That makes mercoledì like “Mercury-day”.
Mer. is the abbreviation for mercoledì (Wednesday in Italian).
Mercoledì 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 MERCOLEDÌ
The pronunciation of mercoledì is: mehr-kohl-eh-DEE
Listen to the pronunciation of mercoledì here:
The accent on the ì in mercoledì 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 mercoledì is both the singular and plural of Wednesday in Italian. Some other examples are città (city), tivù (TV), and comò (chest of drawers).
IS WEDNESDAY IN ITALIAN CAPITALIZED?
Like all of the other Italian days of the week (and months of the year), mercoledì is not capitalized.
HOW TO USE MERCOLEDÌ
The grammar rules in this section hold true for all of the days of the week in Italian, not just Wednesday.
WITHOUT THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
When you use mercoledì alone without the definite article, you are referring to that specific Wednesday.
For example, mercoledì (vado al mercato) means This Wednesday (I’m going to the market).
WITH THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
The correct definite article for mercoledì is il, because it’s a masculine noun. When we use the definite article with mercoledì (or any other day of the week), it is like saying every, and refers to an action that will repeat.
For example, Il mercoledì (vado al mercato) means Every Wednesday (I go to the market), or On Wednesdays (I go to the market).
You can also use the definite article to talk about Wednesdays in general.
For example: Adoro il mercoledì perché vado sempre al mercato! I love Wednesdays because I always go to the market!
IN THE PLURAL
Another way to say every Wednesday is tutti i mercoledì. Literally, tutti i mercoledì means all the Wednesdays.
Vado al mercato tutti i mercoledì.
I go to the market every Wednesday.
Remember, because the last syllable of mercoledì is accented, its ending doesn’t change in the plural form.
WITH THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE
The correct indefinite article for mercoledì is un. You can use the indefinite article in a couple ways.
To talk about a Wednesday, for example:
Un mercoledì di settembre siamo andati al mare.
On a Wednesday in September we went to the beach.
Non mi ricordo la data del concerto, ma era un mercoledì.
I don’t remember the date of the concert, but it was on a Wednesday.
To talk about something that will take place on a Wednesday, or some Wednesday coming up:
Perchè non andiamo a prendere un caffè un mercoledì?
Why don’t we go get a coffee on a Wednesday/some Wednesday?
NEXT AND LAST WEDNESDAY
To talk about a Wednesday in the past or in the future, use scorso (next) and prossimo (last).
Mercoledì prossimo andiamo a Milano per 2 giorni.
Next Wednesday we’re going to Milan for 2 Days.
Mercoledì scorso siamo andati a Ravenna.
Last Wednesday we went to Ravenna.
HELPFUL ITALIAN WORDS TO USE WITH MERCOLEDÌ
Here are some helpful Italian words that we often use with mercoledì and the other days of the week:
| mattina | morning |
| pomeriggio | afternoon |
| sera | evening |
| notte | night |
| chiuso | closed |
| aperto | open |
Mercoledì mattina il museo è aperto.
Wednesday morning the museum is open.
Mercoledì pomeriggio la macelleria è chiusa.
Wednesday afternoon the butcher is closed.
And of course, you can also talk about a specific time on Wednesday, for example mercoledì alle 15 (Wednesday at 3pm). Read this post for all about how to talk about the time of day in Italian.
WHAT’S OPEN ON WEDNESDAY IN ITALY?
Mercoledì is the third day 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). Some Italian middle schools also have half days on Saturday.
SPECIAL EVENTS ON WEDNESDAYS 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 Wednesday mornings are:
- Pisa and Siena, Tuscany
- Lazise, a lovely small town right on Lake Garda
- Forte dei Marmi, a town on the Tuscan coast, on Wednesdays and Sundays
- Giglio Porto, on Giglio Island
WHAT IS CLOSED ON WEDNESDAY IN ITALY?
Most museums and archeological sites are open on Wednesdays. However in Italy it’s always a good idea to double check if the museum you have your heart set on is open!
For example, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, one of my favorite museums in Florence, is closed on Wednesdays.
It’s also a good idea to check if you want to go 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). For example, in the small Tuscan town where I live, most of the shops are closed on Wednesday. Keep this in mind when planning a trip to a small Italian village!
WHAT IMPORTANT ITALIAN HOLIDAYS ARE ON WEDNESDAY?
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 mercoledì delle ceneri, which is a movable feast.
Mercoledì delle ceneri literally means Wednesday of the Ashes (Ash Wednesday). In the Catholic calendar, it’s the day after Fat Tuesday and the first day of Lent, or Quaresima. It usually falls in February.
Mercoledì delle ceneri marks the beginning of the Lent period of purification and penitence for Italian Catholics, that leads up to Easter.
Mercoledì delle ceneri is a religious holiday, but is not a public holiday in Italy, so offices, businesses and stores are open. If you are in Italy you may see people with a bit of ash on their forehead: they have been to Ash Wednesday mass and the priest has smudged them with the blessed ashes of olive branches.
Read more about the Days of the Week and the Months of the Year in Italian!