Date
Reading the day of the week
Definition
Reading which day of the week a date falls on means giving WEEKDAY the date and how Sunday and Monday are numbered.
Syntax
=WEEKDAY(serial_number, return_type)
Arguments
| Argument | Meaning |
|---|---|
serial_number |
The cell that holds the date. |
return_type |
The numbering. 1 counts Sunday as 1; 2 counts Monday as 1. |
Worked example
A shop lists opening dates in B2:B4 and numbers weekdays with Monday as 1.
| A: Shop | B: Opens |
|---|---|
| Harbour | 8 Mar 2024 |
| Quay | 9 Mar 2024 |
| Pier | 11 Mar 2024 |
Formula: =WEEKDAY(B2,2)
Result: 5. 8 March 2024 is a Friday, and with Monday as 1 Friday is 5.
Practice
Cell A2 holds the date 15 January 2024. In B2, write a formula that returns the weekday number of that date, counting Sunday as 1.
- In B2, write a WEEKDAY formula that returns the weekday of A2 with Sunday as 1.
- B2 should show the weekday of A2 with Sunday as 1.
Step 1 of 2
Enter =WEEKDAY(A2,1) in B2.
15 January 2024 is a Monday, which is 2 when Sunday is 1.
Formulas here use English function names, such as SUM, and a period as the decimal separator, in every language.
Loading the sheet…
B2 uses WEEKDAY.
B2 now shows 2.
The next lesson is How many cells are filled.
Related functions
WEEKDAY is the function that turns the date into that weekday number.
Common mistake
Leaving out the numbering, as in =WEEKDAY(B2): the default counts Sunday as 1, so Friday becomes 6 instead of 5.