When Is "Next Friday"?

> The Simple Rule

> If the Friday you’re referring to is beyond seven days from today, including today, it’s next Friday.

That's not a such simple rule. I'm not even sure what "including today" means.

A simple rule would be: next Friday is the first Friday after today.

The whole existence of this website suggests that the term "Next Friday" is at best ambiguous. Especially on a Saturday or Sunday, many people will interpret "Next Friday" as the Friday of next week. So just be explicit and say "Friday next week".

On the one hand, I agree with the author - my definition is the same as theirs. On the other hand, I have moved to a country where everyone else uses a different system (it differs on whether "next friday" is in 6 days if we're talking during saturday). Are they wrong? Is all of this arbitrary? I think that learning to navigate these differences part of being a better communicator and a better person.

Isn't next Friday the Friday after this Friday? Which is the Friday after last Friday, even if it's Friday.

Simple as.

This is a fine rule, but don't rely on it if you're trying to learn English. Typically, you simply wouldn't use the term "next <dayofweek>" in the first place unless context already makes it clear. E.g. you would only say "next Friday" if:

- Today (or perhaps tomorrow) is Friday, and so is clearly not the one you mean

- You were just talking about the upcoming Friday ("Not this Friday, but next Friday")

Also note that people often say "The Friday after next", referring to the Friday after the upcoming Friday, which breaks the "next" rule.

If we follow the same logic. If today is may 2026, and you want to do something "next September", are you referring to september 2027? After all, months are also grouped in years.

The fact that "next [X]day" skips the one on the current week is arbitrary, and probably more confusing than if it didn't. If people you are talking to understands that, go on, but otherwise keep in mind that "next [X]day" is confusing and you should clarify or say it differently

A similar confusion exists in French, but we have an extra locution, "en huit", to clarify when necessary. It's far from widely followed, however. Too bad, I would love it if "next" could just mean "next."

https://www.antidote.info/fr/blogue/enquetes/quand-est-ce-le...

This doesn't fully accord with my intuition, but I absolutely believe that the best course of action is listed: USE A CALENDAR DATE!

In American English idiom, “next Friday” is the Friday after the coming weekend, regardless if there’s a Friday (“this Friday”) in between. With some ambiguity if it’s currently the weekend.

There is a little demo on https://compromise.cool that parses phrases like this and highlights the relevant days.

"next Friday" is short for "Friday of next week".

I don't like it, it offends me, but it's what most English speakers mean by "next Friday"

I just cannot read the default hand-scrawl font on Excalidraw diagrams. I'm not dyslexic, but my brain looks at it and doesn't see words.

English is a great language for defining specs

Don't agree with Friday of the following week will be "This Friday" on this week's Saturday.

“Friday next week”. Sorted.

Today I learned when next friday is :D