How to easily say and write dates in Spanish

Learning how to say and write the dates in Spanish will improve your ability to communicate with confidence. Dates in Spanish also adhere to specific rules that are different from English. For example, the months of the year are not capitalized in Spanish and the day always comes before the month. We’ll look at the easiest and the fastest ways you can learn the dates in Spanish. 

SAYING THE DATES IN SPANISH

To learn how to say dates in Spanish, it is important to understand a few basic rules of grammar. In Spanish, you will first say the number of the associated day, then the month followed by the year. 

When communicating a date in Spanish you would say: 

Hoy es el dieciséis de agosto / Hoy es dieciséis de agosto

Which translates to: 

Today is August sixteenth. 

If you are referring to the current year or today’s date in Spanish, you would drop the year as reflected in the following example: 

¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? (What is Today’s Date?)

The correct answer would be:

Hoy es el quince de abril / Hoy es quince de abril (Today is April fifteenth)

USE CARDINAL NUMBERS WHEN SAYING THE DATES IN SPANISH

When communicating the number we use cardinal numbers to refer to the day or date we want to say in Spanish. 

Cardinal numbers include: dos, catorce, and veintidós; however, should you refer to the first of the month, you will only use primero (first), which is an ordinal number. 

WRITING THE DATE IN SPANISH

To understand how to write the date in Spanish, it is important to learn three important language rules: 

• Dates in Spanish can be written in numbers alone.
• Dates in Spanish can combine numbers and words. 
• The months in Spanish are never capitalized.

Writing the Date in Spanish with Numbers Only 

When writing a date in Spanish with numbers, you write the number, the month, then the year. You can include a 0 numeral before the corresponding day of a singular number, followed by the year. For example:

• 10/05/2001  (day/month/year)

Writing the Date in Spanish with Numbers and Words

In Spanish, the date is always written with the number first and the addition of a “de” or an “el” in the format: The number (day) + de + month + de + year.  For example:

• 15 de octubre de 2017 (October 15, 2017)
• 4 de junio de 1995 (June 4, 1995)

In letters and emails is common to use the combination of numbers and words to say the dates. 

THE CORRECT WAYS TO WRITE AND SAY DATES IN SPANISH

A cardinal rule for writing the date in Spanish is that the day will always come before the month. When saying dates in Spanish, be sure to include the relevant ‘de’ or ‘el’ in the format and communicate the number (of the day) before the month and the year. When you remember the general language rules for saying and writing the date in Spanish, it becomes easier to communicate and to have fun while improving your language skills.

Now that you know how to write and say dates in English correctly, discover the colours in Spanish!

EXERCISES  

Time is Up!

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