Dates

Dates in Spanish
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Fechas

If you ever write letters, make plans, or request appointments, this lesson will be invaluable. There are a few little formulas to memorize in Spanish, but otherwise, dates are very easy to talk about.

Asking about the date

Today’s date

¿Cuál es la fecha?   What’s the date?
¿A cuánto estamos hoy?   What’s the date today?

Some other date

¿Cuál es la fecha de tus cumpleaños, la fiesta …?   What date is (your birthday, the party…)?
¿Cuál día vienes / viene?   What date are you / is he coming?

Talking about the date

Here’s the basic formula to indicate a date:

el (definite article) + cardinal number + de + month (+ de + year)

Por ejemplo…

El 31 de noviembre no existe.   There is no November 31.
Llegó el 7 de marzo de 2020.   He arrived on March 7, 2020.

  American English speakers take note: the number must precede the month in Spanish. This is particularly important to remember when writing the short form of dates:

el 12 de octubre   12/10
el 10 de diciembre   10/12

For the first day of any month, the formula is slightly different – the ordinal number is used instead:

  • el primero de month (+ de + year)
  • el 1o de + month (+ de + year)

Por ejemplo…

El primero de mayo es festivo en España.   May 1st is a holiday in Spain.
Voy a Barcelona el 1o de diciembre.   I’m going to Barcelona on December 1st.

To talk about today’s date, you just need to add a couple of words to the above formula:

  • Es el + number + de + month (+ de + year)
  • Hoy es el + number + de + month (+ de + year)

In one other formula, you can leave out the definite article:

  • Estamos a + number + de + month (+ de + year)

Por ejemplo…

Hoy es el 9 de noviembre de 2020.   Today is November 9, 2020.
Estamos a 9 de noviembre de 2020.   It’s November 9, 2020.

Dates with days of the week

If you want to answer with the day of the week, use the following constructions:

  • Es + day, + number + de + month (+ de + year)
  • Hoy + day, + number + de + month (+ de + year)
  • Estamos a + day, + number + de + month (+ de + year)

Por ejemplo…

Es lunes, 9 de novembre de 2020.   It’s Monday, November 9, 2020.
Hoy es martes, 25 de diciembre.   Today is Tuesday, December 25th.
Estamos a lunes, primero de agosto.   It’s Monday, August 1st.

 Related lessons

Learn French En français

Learn Italian In italiano

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Spanish dates

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