The most common Thursday abbreviation is Thu., with Thurs. as an equally correct longer choice. Both stand for Thursday, the fifth day of the week on a US calendar that starts with Sunday.
Shorter forms show up where space is tight. Planners and pill boxes often use Th, and college class schedules famously use a single R, because T is already taken by Tuesday. Which one to pick depends on where it will be read.
Quick facts
Standard forms
Thu. and Thurs.Two letters
ThOne letter
R on class schedules; sometimes HPeriod
Yes in running US text (Thu.); often dropped in tables and appsCapital letter
Always, because Thursday is a proper nounPlural
Thursdays; no abbreviated plural is standardName origin
Old English for Thor's day
Every Thursday abbreviation, compared
| Form | Letters | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Thu. | 3 | Calendars, tables, phone apps, date stamps |
| Thurs. | 5 | Notes, signs, informal schedules, school flyers |
| Thur. | 4 | Less common, but still understood |
| Th | 2 | Weekly planners, pill organizers, meeting grids |
| R | 1 | College timetables such as MWF and TR |
Three letter day forms (Sun., Mon., Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri., Sat.) line up neatly in columns, which is why digital calendars favor Thu. Thurs. is longer but some readers find it easier to recognize at a glance.
Why class schedules use R for Thursday
Colleges list meeting days with one letter each. Monday is M, Wednesday is W and Friday is F. Tuesday and Thursday both start with T, so Tuesday keeps T and Thursday gets R, a letter that appears in the middle of the word and is not used for any other day.
On a course listing: "BIO 110, TR 9:30 to 10:45." The class meets Tuesday and Thursday mornings. A class marked MWF meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Some schools use H for Thursday instead, and a few write Th. Check the key at the top of the schedule when the letters look unfamiliar. Saturday and Sunday, when listed, are usually S and U, or Sa and Su.
Period or no period?
In ordinary American writing, day abbreviations take a period: "Staff meeting, Thu., Oct. 9." The period signals that letters were cut from the word.
In tables, app screens, timetables and signs, the period is usually dropped: "Thu 9:00." British writing tends to leave out the period too. Whatever you choose, use the same style for every day in the list so the columns match. Never write it all lowercase as "thu," since day names are always capitalized in English.
In formal sentences, the best advice is to spell the day out. "The interview is on Thursday" reads better than "the interview is on Thu."
Writing Thursday on forms, calendars and dates
- Wall and phone calendars: Thu or Th across the header row.
- Pill boxes: one compartment per day, often marked Th next to Tu.
- Store hours signs: "Mon to Thurs 9 to 6, Fri 9 to 8."
- Dated notes: "Thu., 3/12" or "Thurs. 12 March" on a sign up sheet.
- Data and coding: the international date standard counts Monday as day 1, which makes Thursday day 4.
Office fridge note: "Cleanout Thurs. at 4. Anything unlabeled goes." Thurs. here simply means this coming Thursday.
Month names shorten in a similar way; see the guide to month abbreviations for Jan., Feb. and the rest.
Where the name Thursday comes from
English weekday names come from Old English. Thursday was the day of Thunor, the Old English form of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Over time Thunor's day wore down into Thursday.
That history explains the unusual spelling and the "th" that the Th abbreviation keeps. Other days carry similar roots: Wednesday is linked to Woden and Friday to the goddess Frigg.
Mixups between Tuesday and Thursday
The two T days cause most of the confusion. Tu or Tue. is Tuesday; Th or Thu. is Thursday. A bare T almost always means Tuesday on a schedule, so avoid writing T for Thursday.
- TTh or TR: Tuesday and Thursday
- MW: Monday and Wednesday
- M to Th: Monday through Thursday
You can find related short forms in the common abbreviations list, including Wednesday and Tuesday.
Questions people ask
What is the abbreviation for Thursday?
Thu. and Thurs. are both standard. Thu. fits best in calendars and tables, and Thurs. is common in notes and on signs.
Why is Thursday R on a college schedule?
Tuesday already uses T, so Thursday takes R, a letter from inside the word that no other day uses. TR on a timetable means Tuesday and Thursday.
Is it Thur or Thurs?
Both are understood, but Thurs. is more common, and Thu. is the most common three letter form. Pick one and stay with it on the same page.
Do you need a period after Thu?
In regular sentences, yes: Thu. In tables, apps and signs, the period is often left out. British writing usually drops it.
What does Th mean on a pill box or planner?
Th means Thursday. It keeps Thursday apart from Tu, which means Tuesday, when each day gets only two letters.