Learning how to say the months and express dates in Spanish is a 🗝️ key step in mastering the language. Knowing how to talk about events, holidays, and appointments is essential for communication. In this guide, you’ll learn how to say the months and how to correctly format and pronounce dates. 📆
By the end of this post, you'll have mastered the grammar, pronunciation, and structures needed to confidently discuss important dates, birthdays 🎉, and events in Spanish.
Here’s a simple list of the 12 months of the year in Spanish. You'll see that many of them look similar to their English equivalents, making them easier to remember.
If you’re used to the date format in English, get ready for a change. Spanish-speaking countries follow a DD/MM/YYYY date format. For example:
5th March 2024 → 5 de marzo de 2024
The general formula for dates in Spanish is:
[Day] + "de" + [Month] + "de" + [Year]
Examples:
5 de marzo de 2024 → 5th March 2024
23 de abril de 2023 → 23rd April 2023
1 de enero de 2024 → 1st January 2024
📅 If you want to know today’s date, you can ask:
¿Qué fecha es hoy? – What’s today’s date?
🎉 To ask when something will happen, you can say:
¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? – When is your birthday?
¿Cuándo es la fiesta? – When is the party?
To say when something will happen, you use the preposition “el” before the date:
La reunión es el 10 de marzo. – The meeting is on the 10th of March.
La fiesta es el 15 de abril. – The party is on the 15th of April.
Mi cita es el 2 de mayo.– My appointment is on the 2nd of May.
📝 Grammar Tips for Dates in Spanish
When we state the date or talk about events, we use "ser"
Hoy es 15 de marzo. – Today is 15th March.
La reunión es el 10 de marzo. – The meeting is on 10th March.
To describe the current day or the current point in time, we use "estar".
Estamos a 15 de marzo. – We are at (today is) 15th March.
Estamos en marzo. – We are in March.
In English, we use 1st, 2nd, 3rd, but in Spanish, you only use 👉 cardinal numbers:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5…The only exception is for the first of the month, which can be written as:
1 de marzo or primero de marzo
When talking about an event on a specific date, use “el” before the date. For example:
La reunión es el 5 de mayo. – The meeting is on the 5th of May.
🚫 Don’t Capitalise the Months: Month names are written in lowercase unless they start a sentence.
🚫 Don’t Use Ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd): In Spanish, you just use numbers like 1, 2, 3 for dates.
🚫 Don’t Use the Wrong Date Format: Always use DD/MM/YYYY instead of the US format.
With these tips, audios, and tricks, you’ll never confuse your Spanish dates again. Start practicing and take your Spanish to the next level! 💪✨
Now you know how to say the months and express dates in Spanish! 🎉 Practice them daily and you'll see how quickly they become second nature.
When is your birthday and which month would you like to visit Spain? Share your answer in the comments! 😊