Nädalapäevad

Nädalapäevad is the group of seven days that make up a week in Estonian. In everyday language and in calendars people refer to the days by their names: esmaspäev, teisipäev, kolmapäev, neljapäev, reede, laupäev and pühapäev. Nädalapäevad are typically written with lowercase letters unless they begin a sentence.

The names reflect the idea of sequential days. Esmaspäev means the first day, teisipäev the second day, kolmapäev the third day, and neljapäev the fourth day. The remaining three days—reede, laupäev, and pühapäev—have historical or religious origins rather than numerical ones, and their exact etymologies differ from the straightforward ordinal pattern of the first four days.

In common usage, esmaspäev through reede are considered the weekdays (workdays), while laupäev and pühapäev form the weekend. The term nä dalapäevad is often used to refer to the days of the week as a concept or in discussions about calendars, schedules, and language. The division between workdays and weekend is reflected in social and cultural patterns, such as school calendars and employment routines, which typically emphasize Monday to Friday as the standard workweek in Estonia.