How to Use Excel WEEKDAY Function?

Excel WEEKDAY Function

WEEKDAY Function: A Brief

The Excel WEEKDAY Function is used to return a number representing the day of the week for a specific date. This function is very helpful when you want to identify whether a date falls on a weekday or weekend or when automating schedules based on days.

WEEKDAY Function: A Syntax

=WEEKDAY(date_value, [return_type])

• date_value: It should be a valid Excel Date value.
• return_type: A number that defines which day the week starts on and this is optional.
• WEEKDAY returns 1 for Sunday and 2 for Monday.

Excel WEEKDAY function can number days of the week, based on the return_type argument.

• Which day is treated as the “first” day of the week, and
• What number gets assigned to each day (Sunday, Monday, etc.)

The return_type is optional and defaults to 1. It determines how the days of the week are numbered and which day is considered the first day. Each return_type code has its own mapping, showing the numeric result for each day and the starting day of the week in that scheme.

Note: The WEEKDAY function in Excel will still return a result even if the date cell is empty. In such cases, it defaults to zero or may return 1, depending on how it’s used in the formula.

Basic Example:

This function can be very helpful if you are managing a small event calendar in Excel. Take a look at the below example.

Basic example usage of WEEKDAY function.

From the example above, you can easily understand the basic use of the WEEKDAY function. I used the TEXT function along with the day number returned by WEEKDAY to show the day name (like Monday, Tuesday, etc.).

Using WEEKDAY Function with Nested Functions:

Basic usage of using WEEKDAY functions with other Nested functions.

Example Date Value : 01-04-2025

The explanation of the above examples are,

• The first formula returns “Weekday” because April 1, 2025 is a Tuesday, not a weekend day.
• The second formula returns “Normal Work”. Since April 1 is a Tuesday, it doesn’t match special conditions for Monday or Friday, so the default output is shown.
• The third formula gives “April 2, 2025”. As April 1 is a weekday (Tuesday), the next working day is simply the next day.
• The fourth formula shows “No, the given date is not a Sunday” because April 1 is a Tuesday, not Sunday, so the formula returns the response for a non-Sunday.
• The fifth formula returns “WorkDay”. It checks if the day is Friday. Since April 1 is a Tuesday, it returns “WorkDay” as expected.
• The sixth formula outputs “Tuesday”. The CHOOSE function uses the weekday number to return the correct day name, and April 1, 2025 is Tuesday.
• The seventh formula returns “01 April 2025”. The formula is designed to adjust the date only if it’s a Sunday. Since April 1 is not a Sunday, the same date is returned.

That’s it.

–Narendhiran Vijayakumar.

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Reference Sources:

• Show dates as days of the week by Microsoft Support, Retrieved on 08/04/2025: Link.
• Excel Day of the Week Formula | WEEKDAY Function | Weekday Name – Monday to Sunday – from Date by Chester Tugwell, Retrieved on 08/04/2025: Link.
• WEEKDAY function not working at all by Excel Subreddit, Retrieved on 08/04/2025: Link.
• How to Use the WEEKDAY Function in Excel by Computergaga, Retrieved on 08/04/2025: Link.
• WEEKDAY function by Microsoft Support, Retrieved on 08/04/2025: Link.
• Excel Weekday Function by Syed Shah Zahurullah Hussaini, Retrieved on 08/04/2025: Link.
• What is a weekday formula in Excel? by Quora, Retrieved on 08/04/2025: Link.