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Months in Spanish: rules
- Unlike in English, months in Spanish are not capitalized.
Amo el mes de abril.
I love the month of April.
- The preposition en is used before the month to refer to time.
Ellos se casarán en septiembre.
They’re getting married in September.
- Unlike in American English, in Spanish the month comes second after the day:
04/07 means July 4, and not April 7.
How to write dates in Spanish
Dates in Spanish are expressed like this:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| 7 de octubre | October 7 |
| 7 de octubre de 2024 | October 7, 2024 |
| 07/10/2024 | 10/07/2024 |
| siete de octubre de dos mil veinticuatro | October seven, two thousand and twenty-four |
- Day comes before month
Unlike in American English, in Spanish the day comes before the month. Likewise, when dates are abbreviated in numeric format, in Spanish the day comes first, followed by the month:
6 de enero
January 6.
01/06 means June 1, and not January 6.
- Days written in cardinal numbers
The days of the month are expressed using cardinal numbers:
cinco (five), 10 (diez).
The only exception is the first day of the month, usually referred to as primero (first):
01/05 is said primero de mayo
08/06 is said ocho de junio
- Months and years preceded by preposition de
Months and years are introduced by the preposition de preceded by the day, like this:
day + de + month + de + year
9 de julio de 1816.
July 9, 1816.
- To ask and answer what date it is, the verb es (ser) is used
¿Qué fecha es hoy?
What date is it today?
Es 18 de abril.
It’s April 18.
Hoy es 18 de abril.
Today is April 18.
How to abbreviate months in Spanish
Months in Spanish are abbreviated using a two or three-letter format, depending on the month:
| enero | en. |
| febrero | feb. |
| marzo | mar. |
| abril | abr. |
| mayo | may. |
| junio | jun. |
| julio | jul. |
| agosto | ag. |
| septiembre | sept. |
| octubre | oct. |
| noviembre | nov. |
| diciembre | dic. |
4 de dic. (Dec. 4)
15 de nov. (Nov. 15)
6 de sept. (Sept. 6)
In numeric format, months in Spanish are abbreviated following the dd/mm/yyyy format:
08/02 - ocho de febrero (February 8).
02/08 - dos de agosto (August 2)
11/10/2024 - once de octubre de 2024 (October 11, 2024)
Months and seasons
The three-month seasons vary in accordance with each hemisphere. For example, while for Spain and Mexico winter starts on December 21 and ends on March 20, for the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, those dates correspond to the summer season.
For the Northern Hemisphere, the three-month seasons in Spanish are:
| INVIERNO (winter) | VERANO (summer) |
|---|---|
| diciembre (December) enero (January) febrero (February) | junio (June) julio (July) agosto (August) |
| PRIMAVERA (spring) | OTOÑO (fall / autumn) |
| marzo (March) abril (April) mayo (May) | septiembre (September) octubre (October) noviembre (November) |
For the Southern Hemisphere, the three-month seasons in Spanish are:
| VERANO | INVIERNO |
|---|---|
| diciembre (December) enero (January) febrero (February) | junio (June) julio (July) agosto (August) |
| OTOÑO | PRIMAVERA |
| marzo (March) abril (April) mayo (May) | septiembre (September) octubre (October) noviembre (November) |
How to use the months in Spanish
Diciembre es el último mes del año.
December is the last month of the year.
Este abril ha sido el más frío en décadas.
This April has been the coldest in decades.
La secuela del libro saldrá en octubre.
The sequel to the book will come out in October.
El cumpleaños de Juan es el 4 de junio.
Juan’s birthday is on June 4.
México se independizó de España el 24 de agosto de 1821.
Mexico became independent from Spain on August 24, 1821.
Las personas nacidas entre el 19 de febrero y el 20 de marzo son de Piscis.
People born between February 19 and March 20 are Pisces.
El Día Internacional de los Trabajadores es el 1 de mayo.
International Workers’ Day is on 1 May.
La nueva película de Batman se estrenará el próximo enero.
The new Batman movie will be released next January.
Febrero tiene 29 días en un año bisiesto.
February has 29 days in a leap year.
En España, el Día de la Madre se celebra el primer domingo de mayo.
In Spain, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May.
Era una mañana cálida de septiembre.
It was a warm September morning.
La temporada de rebajas en España es desde mediados de julio hasta mediados de septiembre.
The sales season in Spain is from mid-July to mid-September.
¿Carnaval es en febrero en todo el mundo?
Is Carnival in February all over the world?
El mes de noviembre es frío en el hemisferio norte.
The month of November is cold in the Northern Hemisphere.
Las historias medievales hablan del “alegre mes de mayo”.
Medieval stories speak about the “merry month of May”.
Useful expressions related to time in Spanish
| todos los meses every month | el mes que viene next month | el mes pasado last month |
| en los últimos meses in the past few months | año bisiesto leap year | para fin de año by the end of the year |
| fin de semana weekend | feriado holiday | día por medio every other day |
| pasado mañana the day after tomorrow | anteayer / antes de ayer the day before yesterday | en dos días in two days |
| medianoche midnight | mediodía noon | en un minuto in a minute |
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