¿En qué mes estamos? Dates, Seasons, and Months in Spanish

During this time of quarantine, we’ve had the chance to reconnect with our loved ones, spend more time with ourselves, and maintain our friendships online. We haven’t been able to go out, have gatherings, or schedule in-person meetings, which is why we might not be as aware of the time or date as we’re used to. 

“What’s today’s date?” is a common question, so why not learn how to express dates and months in Spanish during your time at home? Plus, once this pandemic is over, it will be useful when you travel to Latin America or Spain. 

In this blog post, we will explore:

• Translation, pronunciation, and gender of days and months
• Writing and saying the date in Spanish
• The difference between temporada y estación
• Date expressions in Spanish
• Practice quiz and answers

Let’s check it out!

Dates in Spanish

First, in order to say the date, it’s important to know how to say the days of the week, the months of the year, and the year itself. Check out the tables below for guidance.

Days

Notice that all days are masculine, so they need to have the article el before them.

• La reunión está programada para el jueves (The meeting is scheduled for Thursday).

Months

It’s important to note that the months of the year don’t have a gender in Spanish. They’re always written and pronounced without the company of any other article.

• Mi cumpleaños es en abril (My birthday is in April).

Years

If you’re talking about the XXI century, you always have to say “dos mil” and then the last number (when it’s a number from 1 to 9) or the last two numbers (when the last number is 10 or above). Make sure you know how to say numbers in Spanish in order to do this.

For example:

If you’re talking about any year between 1100 and 1999, follow this small formula:

• mil + (hundreds) + (last number or numbers)

Check the following table to learn the hundreds.

See these dates to make sure you got it:

• 1145 – mil ciento cuarenta y cinco
• 1307 – mil trescientos siete
• 1492 – mil cuatrocientos noventa y dos
• 1781 – mil setecientos ochenta y uno
• 1850 – mil ochocientos cincuenta
• 1999 – mil novecientos noventa y nueve
• 2007 – dos mil siete
• 2019 – dos mil diecinueve
• 2023 – dos mil veintitrés

Writing the Date in Spanish

Now that you know how to say the days, months, and years, let’s see how to combine them in Spanish.

First, it’s important to note the difference in the order of things in Spanish compared to English. In English, you first say  the month, then the day, and lastly the year:

• February 14, 2020
• 02/14/2020

In Spanish, the day comes first, followed by the month, and then the year. Also, when writing the date in words, the preposition de always goes between the day and the month and between the month and the year.

• 14 de febrero de 2020 (February 14, 2020)
• 14/02/2020

In case you also want to include the day of the week in the date, it must come first.

• Viernes 14 de febrero de 2020 (Friday, February 14, 2020)

That was easy, right? Let’s keep learning!

Seasons: Estación vs. Temporada

Some Spanish words translate to the same word in English but have completely different meanings in Spanish, and they are called false cognates. Estación and temporada are perfect examples. Both words mean “season” in English, but in Spanish they are used  differently. Let’s see what they mean!

Estación refers to the four seasons of the year: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Also, it’s used to refer to a station (subway station or radio station, for example).

• Mi estación favorita del año es primavera. — My favorite season of the year is spring.
• La estación de metro está a tres cuadras de aquí. — The subway station is three blocks from here.

On the other hand, temporada is used to refer to the period of time in which an activity is performed or a certain period of time during the year. The word época can be used as a synonym for temporada. For example:

• Basketball season: temporada de básquetbol
• Rainy season: temporada lluviosa
• Christmas season: época de navidad

Additionally, you use temporada to refer to the seasons of a TV show. For example:

• La serie “Cómo conocí a tu madre” tiene nueve temporadas. — The TV show “How I Met Your Mother” has nine seasons.

Spanish Expressions with Dates and Seasons

Dates are a tool for organizing our daily lives and syncing our time with others, which flows naturally into conversations we have with each other. Plenty of time expressions exist in Spanish to discuss dates, seasons, and months. Let’s check them out!

Daily expressions

• ¿Qué día es hoy? (What day is today?)
• ¿Qué fecha es hoy? (What date is today?)
• ¿En qué mes estamos? (What month is it?) Literal: In what month are we?
• ¿En qué año estamos? (What year is it?) Literal: In what year are we?

Seasons

• Estamos en (la) temporada lluviosa. — We are in the rainy season.

Most countries in Latin America don’t have four seasons like in the United States. Our seasons are divided into “rainy/wet” and “dry.” People usually start saying this phrase around April and May because during these months the weather starts to get rainy.

• Estamos en (la) temporada seca. — We are in the dry season.

People use this expression from December to April. These five months are “dry” in most Central American countries.

• Febrero es el mes del amor y la amistad. — February is the month of love and friendship.
  
  

February is world-famous for being the month of love. Connection is a big theme during this month and people feel happy about it.

• En el mes del amor, te regalamos una cena con tu pareja. — In the month of love, we want to gift you a dinner with your partner.

Restaurants like to offer these kinds of promotions in February. It’s the perfect opportunity for them to bring in new clients.

• Mayo es el mes de la madre. — May is mother’s month.

As we all know, Mother’s Day is in May! In Latin America, this is a special month in which we make our mothers feel loved and spoiled.

• ¡Saca tu bandera en el mes de la independencia! — Take out your flag during independence month!

During independence month, people become more patriotic. Everybody wants to celebrate this month, and flying a flag is a patriotic way to do it.

• ¡Empezó octubre, el mes de las brujas! — October, the month of witches has begun!

People celebrate Halloween with parties, concerts, or gatherings with friends (and children go trick or treating, of course). 

• ¡Llegó la mejor época del año, navidad! — The best season of the year is here, Christmas!

Even though it gets cold, the vibe you feel in Latin America around Christmas is amazing. People feel happy about it, have a lot of gatherings and parties, and enjoy time with their families. For many people, this is the best time of the year.

• ¡Es época de convivios! (It’s “parties/group meal” season!)

In Guatemala, convivios are parties that groups of friends organize during the Christmas season. They start in the first week of December and finish before Christmas. It’s a season that fills people with joy and celebration.

Practice Questions and Answer Key

After reading this guide to days, months, and dates in Spanish, make sure you remember everything by taking this quiz! The answers are at the bottom of the article.

What’s the month in Spanish?

1. January __________

2. February __________

3. March __________

4. April ___________

5. May __________

6. June _________

7. July __________

8. August __________

9. September __________

10.  October _____________

11.  November ___________

12.  December ___________

What’s the day in Spanish?

1. The second day of the week ____________

2. The fourth day of the week _____________

3. The seventh day of the week ______________

4. The first day of the week ________________

5. The fifth day of the week ______________

6. The third day of the week _____________

7. The sixth day of the week ______________

Translate from numbers to words in Spanish

1. 1500 _________________

2. 1790_________________

3. 1815_________________

4. 1942_________________

5. 1985_________________

6. 2002_________________

7. 2008_________________

8. 2012_________________

9. 2021_________________

10.  2035 _________________

Translate from Spanish to English

1. En invierno hay mucho frío. _____________________________________

2. Mi estación favorita es verano. ___________________________________

3. ¿En tu país hay estaciones? ____________________________________

4. Tenemos que ir a la estación de bus. _______________________________

5. En mayo inicia la temporada lluviosa. _______________________________

6. En noviembre inicia la temporada fría. ______________________________

7. ¿Ya viste la temporada tres de “Friends”? ____________________________

8. Lo mejor del año es la temporada de mangos. _________________________

Answer Key

Months in Spanish

1. enero

2. febrero

3. marzo

4. abril

5. mayo

6. junio

7. julio

8. agosto

9. septiembre

10.  octubre

11.  noviembre

12.  diciembre

Days in Spanish

1. martes

2. jueves

3. domingo

4. lunes

5. viernes

6. miércoles

7. sábado

Numbers to Words

1. mil quinientos

2. mil setecientos noventa

3. mil ochocientos quince

4. mil novecientos cuarenta y dos

5. mil novecientos ochenta y cinco

6. dos mil dos

7. dos mil ocho

8. dos mil doce

9. dos mil veintiuno

10.  dos mil treinta y cinco

Sentences from English to Spanish

1. In winter, it’s very cold.

2. My favorite season is summer.

3. Are there seasons in your country?

4. We have to go to the gas station.

5. The rainy season begins in May.

6. The cold season begins in November.

7. Have you seen the third season of “Friends”?

8. The best time of year is mango season.

Practice live!

Now you´re ready to practice what you learned today! Sign up for a free class at Homeschool Spanish Academy, where we have native Spanish speakers who are happy to help you become fluent in Spanish. We look forward to serving you!

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Mariana Gómez

Freelance writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Native Spanish speaker and Industrial Psychology student in Guatemala, I love studying the nuances of Latin culture, its family values, and the Spanish language. Writing is my passion; it's my avenue for connecting ideas and sharing important information with readers. My goal is to make of this world a better place with far more multilingual people!

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