Spanish Date Formats Explained: How To Say and Write Dates Like a Native

Dates look simple… until you switch languages. As an English speaker, your brain is used to “April 5, 2025” or “04/05/2025,” which may or may not mean April 5th depending on the country. In Spanish, the logic is different—but once you learn the patterns, it’s actually very consistent.

By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to write and say dates in Spanish, how to read “weird” number formats, what to do with day and month names, and how to avoid classic mistakes that instantly reveal you’re thinking in English.

Quick Primer

Three big rules for Spanish dates:

The normal order is day–month–year, never month–day–year.
Dates usually use cardinal numbers, not ordinals: el 2 de mayo, not el segundo de mayo (with one important exception).
Months and days of the week are not capitalized in Spanish: abril, lunes.

The key word is fecha /ˈfe.tʃa/ — date (calendar date).

The Standard Written Date in Spanish

The most standard pattern is:

el + day (number) + de + month + de + year

Spanish | IPA | English
el 5 de abril de 2025 | /el ˈθiŋ.ko ðe aˈβɾil ðe do{s} mil baˈin.toˈsin.ko, el ˈsiŋ.ko…/ | April 5, 2025

Some more examples:

el 1 de enero de 2024
/el ˈu.no ðe eˈne.ɾo ðe do{s} mil beˈin.toˈkua.tɾo/
January 1, 2024

el 15 de julio de 1998
/el ˈkin.se ðe ˈxu.ljo ðe mil no.βjen.to{s} no.βenˈta i ˈo.tʃo/
July 15, 1998

Usage notes:

You’ll often see the year without “de” in informal writing, but el 5 de abril de 2025 is always correct.
You can drop el in certain formal headings, but with sentences like Hoy es el 5 de abril, keep it.

Saying Dates Out Loud

When speaking, you follow basically the same pattern:

el + day + de + month (optional de + year)

Hoy es el 3 de marzo.
/oj es el tɾes ðe ˈmaɾ.so/
Today is March 3rd.

Mi cumpleaños es el 10 de octubre de 1995.
/mi kum.ple.aˈɲos es el ˈdjejz ðe okˈtu.βɾe ðe mil no.βjen.to{s} no.βenˈta i ˈθiŋ.ko, ˈsiŋ.ko/
My birthday is October 10, 1995.

The special exception:

For the first day of the month, Spanish often uses primero /pɾiˈme.ɾo/:

el primero de mayo
/el pɾiˈme.ɾo ðe ˈma.ʝo/
the first of May

You will also hear el 1 de mayo, which is common and correct.

Days of the Week and Months

To talk about dates, you need the building blocks: days and months.

Days of the Week

Hoy es lunes 7 de agosto.
/oj es ˈlu.nes ˈsjete ðe aˈɣos.to/
Today is Monday, August 7.

Months of the Year

Remember: in Spanish, months and days are written with lowercase letters unless they start the sentence.

Speaking About Dates in Conversation

Some very useful patterns:

Hoy es… /oj es/ — Today is…
¿Qué día es hoy? /ke ˈdi.a es oj/ — What day is it today?
¿A cuántos estamos? /a ˈkwan.tos esˈta.mos/ — What’s today’s date? (Spain, very common)
Estamos a 12 de junio. /esˈta.mos a ˈdo.se ðe ˈxu.njo/ — It’s June 12th.

Examples:

Hoy es miércoles 20 de septiembre.
/oj es ˈmjɛɾ.ko.les ˈβeinte ðe sepˈtjɛm.bɾe/
Today is Wednesday, September 20.

Mañana es 1 de febrero.
/maˈɲa.na es ˈu.no ðe feˈβɾe.ɾo/
Tomorrow is February 1.

Numeric Date Formats (Short Forms)

In Spanish-speaking countries, the numeric format is typically:

day / month / year

So:

03/04/2025 = 3 April 2025, not March 4th.
12/10/2024 = 12 October 2024.

You might also see:

3-4-2025 or 3.4.2025, depending on the country and style.

Examples you’ll find on forms or tickets:

Spanish | IPA | English
14/07/2025 | /ˈkatoɾ.se de ˈxu.ljo de do{s} mil baˈin.toˈsin.ko/ | 14 July 2025
01/01/2024 | /pɾiˈme.ɾo, ˈu.no de eˈne.ɾo de do{s} mil beˈin.toˈkua.tɾo/ | 1 January 2024

Usage notes:

Leading zeros are common in digital formats: 01/09/2024.
When in doubt, assume DD/MM/YYYY in Spanish contexts.

Formal vs Informal Date Styles

In letters, documents, or certificates, you’ll often see:

City, a + day + de + month + de + year

Madrid, a 3 de mayo de 2024
/maˈðɾið a tɾes ðe ˈma.ʝo ðe do{s} mil beˈin.toˈkua.tɾo/
Madrid, May 3, 2024

Or simply:

3 de mayo de 2024

In everyday messages, people might write:

3/5/24 (still day/month/year)
3 de mayo
el 3/5

Voice stays the same structure; it’s just shorter on the page.

Prepositions and Little Words That Matter

Dates in Spanish love de /de/ and el /el/:

el 10 de abril — the 10th of April
el 25 de diciembre de 2023 — December 25, 2023

To say “on” a particular day or date, Spanish often just uses el:

Nos vemos el lunes.
/nos ˈβe.mos el ˈlu.nes/
See you on Monday.

Tengo examen el 12 de marzo.
/ˈteŋ.go ekˈsa.men el ˈdo.se ðe ˈmaɾ.so/
I have an exam on March 12.

To talk about “in” a month or year, use en /en/:

Voy a viajar en agosto.
/boj a bjaˈxaɾ en aˈɣos.to/
I’m going to travel in August.

Terminé la universidad en 2019.
/teɾ.miˈne la u.ni.βeɾ.siˈðað en do{s} mil dieˈnwe.βe/
I finished university in 2019.

Common Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

Using month–day–year order.
Don’t say abril 5, 2025 with English logic. Use: 5 de abril de 2025.
Overusing ordinals.
Spanish normally uses cardinals: el 2 de junio, not el segundo de junio.
Only el primero de… is really common as an ordinal.
Capitalizing days and months.
enero, febrero, lunes, martes all stay lowercase in Spanish.
Forgetting “de”.
el 4 abril 2025 sounds wrong. You want: el 4 de abril de 2025.

Region Notes

Spain:

You’ll hear ¿A cuántos estamos? and Estamos a 10 de… very often.
Formal documents may use the “City, a 3 de mayo de 20XX” line consistently.

Latin America:

Hoy es… and ¿Qué fecha es hoy? /ke ˈfe.tʃa es oj/ are common everywhere.
The structure el 5 de abril de 2025 is standard across the region.

Numeric DD/MM/YYYY is the norm in both Spain and Latin America.

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Asking the Date

¿Qué fecha es hoy?
/ke ˈfe.tʃa es oj/
What’s today’s date?

Hoy es 18 de noviembre de 2025.
/oj es die.θjoˈtʃo, dje.sjoˈtʃo ðe noˈβjɛm.bɾe ðe do{s} mil beˈin.toˈsin.ko/
Today is November 18, 2025.

Dialogue 2: Making an Appointment

¿Cuándo tienes tiempo, el viernes o el sábado?
/ˈkwan.do ˈtje.nes ˈtjem.po el ˈbjeɾ.nes o el ˈsa.βa.ðo/
When do you have time, Friday or Saturday?

El sábado 12 de marzo, por la tarde.
/el ˈsa.βa.ðo ˈdo.se ðe ˈmaɾ.so poɾ la ˈtaɾ.ðe/
Saturday, March 12, in the afternoon.

Dialogue 3: Talking About a Birthday

¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
/ˈkwan.do es tu kum.pleˈa.ɲos/
When is your birthday?

Es el primero de julio.
/es el pɾiˈme.ɾo ðe ˈxu.ljo/
It’s on the first of July.

Quick Reference

Spanish | IPA | English
el 5 de abril de 2025 | /el ˈθiŋ.ko ðe aˈβɾil ðe do{s} mil baˈin.toˈsin.ko/ | April 5, 2025
Hoy es 3 de marzo. | /oj es tɾes ðe ˈmaɾ.so/ | Today is March 3rd.
¿Qué fecha es hoy? | /ke ˈfe.tʃa es oj/ | What’s today’s date?
¿A cuántos estamos? | /a ˈkwan.tos esˈta.mos/ | What’s today’s date? (Spain)
Estamos a 12 de junio. | /esˈta.mos a ˈdo.se ðe ˈxu.njo/ | It’s June 12th.
el lunes 7 de agosto | /el ˈlu.nes ˈsjete ðe aˈɣos.to/ | Monday, August 7
en enero | /en eˈne.ɾo/ | in January
en 2024 | /en do{s} mil beˈin.toˈkua.tɾo/ | in 2024
3/4/2025 | /tɾes ðe aˈβɾil ðe do{s} mil baˈin.toˈsin.ko/ | 3 April 2025

Five-Minute Practice Plan

Write today’s date in Spanish three ways: full sentence (Hoy es…), long form (el … de … de …), and numeric (DD/MM/AAAA).
Create five fake events (exam, trip, party, interview, birthday) and write the date of each in the long format.
Say the dates aloud, paying special attention to de and el: el 14 de febrero, el 30 de junio.
Translate five English dates (like “April 1, 2025”) into Spanish, making sure you switch to day–month–year.
Record yourself answering: ¿Qué fecha es hoy? and ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? and listen for missing de or el.
Look at a calendar in Spanish and practice saying all the dates in one week out loud.

Yak-Style Closing Spark

Once you understand Spanish date formats, you stop fighting with numbers and start hearing the rhythm: el 5 de abril de 2025, el lunes 7 de agosto… It’s one of those small skills that quietly makes everything easier—booking trips, making plans, filling out forms, and remembering birthdays in the language you’re learning to love.