September 30, 2020
Chamorro Days of the Week

Seven little words that you’ll use all the time when speaking Chamorro: i ha’åni siha gi simåna (the days of the week). Estegue’ siha! Here they are!
How to say the days of the week in Chamorro
CHAMORRO | ENGLISH | PRONUNCIATION |
Lunes | Monday | loo-niss |
Måttes | Tuesday | maht-tiss |
Metkoles | Wednesday | meht-koo-liss |
Huebes | Thursday | hoo-eh-biss |
Betnes | Friday | beht-niss |
Såbalu | Saturday | suh-bah-loo |
Damenggo | Sunday | dah-mehng-goo |
Other Useful Words and Phrases
ENGLISH | CHAMORU | PRONUNCIATION |
day | diha (dia) | dee-hah (dyah) |
day | ha’åni | hah-uh-nee |
today | på’go | pah’-goo |
yesterday | nigap | nee-gap |
tomorrow | agupa’ | ah-goo-pah’ |
the day before yesterday | nigapña | nee-gap-nyah |
the day after tomorrow | agupa’ña | ah-goo-pah’-nyah |
the next day | i sigiente dia | ee see-gyen-tee dee-ah |
week | simåna | see-mah-nah |
last week | ma’pos na simåna | muh-poos nah see-mah-nah |
week before last | ma’posña na simåna | muh-pohs-nyah nah see-mah-nah |
More Useful Expressions of Time
Hafa i dia på’go?
What day is today?
Maseha ngai’an malago’-mu
Whenever you want
Trabiha
Not yet
Ti apman
It won’t be long. (Soon)
Ha’åni or Dia
In Chamorro, we sometimes have two words for the same thing. This is true for the word for day, which can be spoken as ha’åni or dia. The former is rooted in indigenous Chamorro and the latter borrowed from Spanish. There is no strict rule as to when you should use either, but there is a predilection among native speakers toward using ha’åni more when describing the day and dia for when talking about the day in the calendar sense. As a learner of Chamorro, take note when listening to conversations in Chamorro; try to note the context in which each word is used.
The Origin of the Days of the Week
The Chamorro names for the days of the week come from the Spanish days of the week, which get their names from planets and gods.
CHAMORU | SPANISH | MEANING | |
Lunes | Lunes | Day of the Moon | |
Måttes | Martes | Day of Mars | |
Metkoles | Miercoles | Day of Mercury | |
Huebes | Jueves | Day of Jupiter | |
Betnes | Viernes | Day of Venus | |
Såbalu | Sabado | From Hebrew word shabbat, the day of rest | |
Damenggo | Domingo | Day of God, or Day of the Lord |