Talking about dates means weaving together three small systems: the days and months (which, unlike in English, are written in lowercase), the date format (which uses an ordinal: den femte maj), and the day prepositions that pin an event to a particular day. That last system holds the real surprise for an English speaker — Swedish builds the difference between "last Monday" and "next Monday" into the preposition itself, something English does with extra words. This page assembles the whole thing.
Days and months are lowercase
The first rule to unlearn from English: Swedish writes the days of the week and the names of the months in lowercase, mid-sentence. Capitalising Måndag or Januari is a spelling error, not a style choice. (See Capitalization for the broader rule that Swedish capitalises far less than English.)
| Days | Months (1–6) | Months (7–12) |
|---|---|---|
| måndag | januari | juli |
| tisdag | februari | augusti |
| onsdag | mars | september |
| torsdag | april | oktober |
| fredag | maj | november |
| lördag | juni | december |
| söndag |
Vi ses på torsdag, men på fredag är jag bortrest.
See you on Thursday, but on Friday I'm away. torsdag and fredag — lowercase mid-sentence.
Min födelsedag är i mars och hennes i september.
My birthday is in March and hers in September. mars, september — lowercase.
Writing the date: den + ordinal + month
The standard spoken and written date format is den + ordinal + month name, with the month also lowercase and with no preposition before the month:
- den femte maj — "the fifth of May" (spoken)
- den 5 maj — same, with a figure (no period needed; den 5:e maj with the colon is also seen)
Note there is no "of": Swedish says den femte maj, literally "the fifth May," never den femte av maj. The day is read as an ordinal (femte, not fem) — this is the most important habit to build. For the ordinal forms themselves, see Ordinal Numbers.
Mötet äger rum den femte maj klockan tio.
The meeting takes place on the fifth of May at ten o'clock. den femte maj — ordinal, no 'of'.
Hon är född den tjugotredje december.
She was born on the twenty-third of December. den tjugotredje — read as an ordinal.
When you want the weekday in front as well, the weekday takes the definite ending and den slots after it: måndagen den femte maj ("Monday the fifth of May"). The full-dress form with year is common on invitations and documents:
Bröllopet hålls måndagen den 5 maj 2025.
The wedding is held on Monday the 5th of May 2025. måndagen den 5 maj — weekday in definite form, then den + figure.
Reading years
Years are read as hundreds, not as a single long number. 1985 is nittonhundraåttiofem — literally "nineteen-hundred-eighty-five" — exactly the English "nineteen eighty-five" logic, but written as one compound word:
- 1985 = nittonhundraåttiofem ("nineteen-hundred-eighty-five")
- 1900 = nittonhundra
- 1066 = tiohundrasextiosex or ettusensextiosex (older dates are often read as full thousands)
The 2000s break the pattern slightly. 2005 is normally tjugohundrafem ("twenty-hundred-five") or, more traditionally, tvåtusenfem ("two-thousand-five") — both are heard, with tjugohundra- now dominant for years like 2025 (tjugohundratjugofem).
Hon föddes nittonhundraåttiofem och tog examen tjugohundrasju.
She was born in 1985 and graduated in 2007. nittonhundraåttiofem; tjugohundrasju.
Muren föll nittonhundraåttionio.
The wall fell in 1989. nittonhundraåttionio — read in hundreds.
The day prepositions: på versus i + -s
Now the system with genuine teeth. To place an event on a day, Swedish does not use one preposition for everything. It uses på for the present and future and a special i + day + -s for the recent past — and that final -s is what carries the "last" meaning. English needs the extra word "last"; Swedish folds it into the form.
| Form | Meaning | Time |
|---|---|---|
| på måndag | on Monday (this/next coming Monday) | future / general |
| på måndagar | on Mondays (every Monday) | habitual |
| i måndags | last Monday (the one just past) | recent past |
So the difference between på måndag and i måndags is tense, not register. Vi ses på måndag points forward; Jag såg honom i måndags points back. The -s ending appears only in this past-time i-construction, and it attaches to every day and season: i tisdags, i somras ("last summer"), i våras ("last spring"), i fjol ("last year," irregular).
Vi träffades i måndags, men vi ses igen på måndag.
We met last Monday, but we'll meet again next Monday. i måndags = past; på måndag = future — same day-word, opposite directions.
På lördagar sover jag länge.
On Saturdays I sleep in. på lördagar — plural for the habitual 'every Saturday'.
I somras regnade det nästan varje dag.
Last summer it rained almost every day. i somras — i + season + -s for the recent past.
For "in" with months and years, Swedish uses i (i maj, "in May") and på is not used; for "in 1985" it often drops the preposition entirely (Hon föddes 1985). The full preposition map is on Time Prepositions.
Vi flyttar i augusti och börjar jobbet i september.
We're moving in August and starting the job in September. i + month for 'in'.
Common Mistakes
❌ Vi ses på Måndag i Januari. (capitalising)
Incorrect — days and months are lowercase: på måndag i januari.
✅ Vi ses på måndag i januari.
See you on Monday in January.
❌ Jag träffade honom på måndag. (meaning 'last Monday')
Incorrect — på måndag points to the future; for 'last Monday' use i måndags.
✅ Jag träffade honom i måndags.
I met him last Monday.
❌ den fem maj (cardinal in a date)
Incorrect — a date is read as an ordinal: den femte maj.
✅ den femte maj
the fifth of May.
❌ den femte av maj (adding 'of')
Incorrect — Swedish has no 'of' in a date: den femte maj.
✅ den femte maj
the fifth of May.
❌ Hon föddes nittonhundra åttiofem som två ord. (year split into pieces)
Incorrect — a year is read in hundreds as one word: nittonhundraåttiofem.
✅ Hon föddes nittonhundraåttiofem.
She was born in 1985.
Key Takeaways
- Days and months are lowercase in Swedish, even mid-sentence: måndag, januari.
- Dates use den + ordinal + month, with no "of": den femte maj. Numeric dates run year-month-day (2025-05-05).
- Years are read in hundreds: nittonhundraåttiofem (1985); the 2000s use tjugohundra- or tvåtusen-.
- på + day = future/general (på måndag, på måndagar); i + day + -s = last (i måndags, i somras). The -s is the tense marker English expresses with the word "last."
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Ordinal NumbersA2 — How to say 'first, second, third…' in Swedish — the irregular första/andra/tredje, the regular -de/-te pattern from 'fourth' on, the colon abbreviations (1:a, 4:e), and why ordinals always take the definite adjective form (den första gången). Plus the trap that andra means both 'second' AND 'other'.
- Prepositions of Time (i, på, om, för...sedan)B1 — Swedish time prepositions are a notorious mismatch with English: 'in a week' is om en vecka (not i), 'ago' is the circumfix för...sedan wrapping the phrase (för tre dagar sedan), 'last Friday' is i fredags but 'next Friday' is på fredag. This page maps i, på, om, för...sedan and under onto the English meanings they actually carry.
- Time ExpressionsA2 — How Swedish locates events in time: parts of the day (på morgonen, i kväll), relative days (igår, idag, imorgon, i förrgår, i övermorgon), the elegant i-bare vs i-s system that marks a coming vs past part of today (i kväll vs i morse), and duration (i fem år). The standout puzzle is i natt — one phrase that means 'tonight' or 'last night' depending entirely on the verb tense.
- Capitalization RulesA2 — Swedish capitalises far less than English. Languages, nationalities, weekdays, and months are all lowercase (svenska, måndag, januari, en svensk), titles use sentence case not title case, and the polite Ni is normally lowercase. The few things that ARE capitalised: sentence starts, proper nouns, and Gud.