There are 7 days in a week. I can prove it:
- Sunday
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
I can even prove it in Spanish:
- Domingo
- Lunes
- Martes
- Miércoles
- Jueves
- Viernes
- Sábado
And yet, in Mexico they typically refer to a week as “8 days”. Guess how long 2 weeks is in Mexico? 15 days.
Wrong, isn’t it? Well, maybe not.
Let’s say you’re talking to your friend Pepe on a Sunday, and you decide to get together again on the following Sunday. In English, we would say, “next Sunday” or “a week from today”. In Mexico, however, they might say “domingo en 8 días” (Sunday 8 days from now).
Turns out that in Mexico, they count the current day as well.
So if you’re planning coffee with Pepe 1 week from today (a Sunday), you would count the following days:
- Sunday (today)
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday (the day you want to hang out with Pepe)
So next time a Mexican tells you they’ll see you in 8 days, they mean they’ll see you this day next week!
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haha nice! I learned something new today, thank you!
Making mental notes.
I remember I learned that the hard way, when my first job in Mexico I was told I would be paid every two weeks. It was the longest biweekly pay ever.
Yeah, every 2 weeks means every 15 days, which I believe means the 1st and 15th of every month haha
It drives me crazy that in Latin America they refer to 2 weeks as 15 days! I actually just made a comment to my (American) boss about this yesterday.
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I worked with Colombians at a school in the US and I was told I’d be paid every 15 days…I actually thought I was going to paid EVERY 15 days. You can’t be so literal, latinos
Wow, I’ve never heard anyone say that before!!! However, I also count today as a day as well…. LOL!!! Maybe a Canadian thing too?? LOL!!
Gringa, te amo!
Por casualidad me encontre con tu blog y me encanta!!!
Yo estudio Turismo en Baja California, que es de donde soy, y me gustaria preguntarte
¿por qué decidiste trabajar en México, siendo Estados Unidos el mayor receptor
de turistas en todo el continente Americano?
Porque amo México
I used to argue about this with people. And then I gave up and just started saying: Yeah, nos vemos adentro de ocho dias.
its the same as we say ‘cada tercer dia’ to mean every other day.