Knowing how to talk about time is one of the most immediately practical skills in Spanish. Within your first week of learning, you will need to say what day it is, make plans for a specific date, describe when something happened, and ask what time something starts. This guide covers all of it: days, months, seasons, dates, and the most common time expressions.
Days of the Week (Los Días de la Semana)
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation (Australian guide) | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| lunes | Monday | LOO-ness | Luna (Moon) |
| martes | Tuesday | MAR-tess | Marte (Mars) |
| miércoles | Wednesday | MYAIR-ko-less | Mercurio (Mercury) |
| jueves | Thursday | HWEH-vess | Júpiter (Jupiter) |
| viernes | Friday | VYAIR-ness | Venus |
| sábado | Saturday | SAH-bah-doh | Sabbath |
| domingo | Sunday | doh-MEEN-goh | Dominus (Lord) |
Key differences from English:
- Days of the week are not capitalised in Spanish (unlike English)
- The week starts on Monday (lunes), not Sunday
- Days are masculine: el lunes, el martes, etc.
- To say "on Monday" use el lunes (not "en lunes"): El lunes tengo clase.
- To say "on Mondays" (habitual) use los lunes: Los lunes voy al gimnasio.
Days in Sentences
- ¿Qué día es hoy? — What day is it today?
- Hoy es miércoles. — Today is Wednesday.
- La reunión es el jueves. — The meeting is on Thursday.
- Los viernes salimos a cenar. — On Fridays we go out for dinner.
- El fin de semana voy a Barcelona. — At the weekend I am going to Barcelona.
- Mañana es lunes. — Tomorrow is Monday.
- El próximo martes. — Next Tuesday.
- El martes pasado. — Last Tuesday.
Months of the Year (Los Meses del Año)
| Month | Spanish | Season in Australia | Season in Spain |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | enero | Summer ☀️ | Winter ❄️ |
| February | febrero | Summer ☀️ | Winter ❄️ |
| March | marzo | Autumn 🍂 | Spring 🌸 |
| April | abril | Autumn 🍂 | Spring 🌸 |
| May | mayo | Autumn 🍂 | Spring 🌸 |
| June | junio | Winter ❄️ | Summer ☀️ |
| July | julio | Winter ❄️ | Summer ☀️ |
| August | agosto | Winter ❄️ | Summer ☀️ |
| September | septiembre | Spring 🌸 | Autumn 🍂 |
| October | octubre | Spring 🌸 | Autumn 🍂 |
| November | noviembre | Spring 🌸 | Autumn 🍂 |
| December | diciembre | Summer ☀️ | Winter ❄️ |
Note for Australian learners: When planning travel to Spain, remember that seasons are reversed. July (Australia's winter) is Spain's peak summer. December and January (Australia's summer) are Spain's coldest months.
Like days, months are NOT capitalised in Spanish.
Months in Sentences
- ¿En qué mes naciste? — In what month were you born?
- Nací en marzo. — I was born in March.
- Viajo a España en septiembre. — I am travelling to Spain in September.
- En julio hace mucho calor en Madrid. — In July it is very hot in Madrid.
- La Navidad es en diciembre. — Christmas is in December.
The Four Seasons (Las Cuatro Estaciones)
| Season | Spanish | Typical months in Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | la primavera | March, April, May |
| Summer | el verano | June, July, August |
| Autumn | el otoño | September, October, November |
| Winter | el invierno | December, January, February |
- En primavera, los árboles florecen. — In spring, the trees blossom.
- El verano en España es muy caluroso. — Summer in Spain is very hot.
- El otoño es mi estación favorita. — Autumn is my favourite season.
- En invierno, nieva en la sierra. — In winter, it snows in the mountains.
Telling Dates
Dates in Spanish use cardinal numbers (not ordinals, except for the first):
- Hoy es el quince de julio. — Today is the fifteenth of July.
- Mi cumpleaños es el tres de marzo. — My birthday is the third of March.
- Llegamos el primero de agosto. — We arrive on the first of August. (primero = first, as ordinal)
- ¿Qué fecha es hoy? — What is today's date?
- ¿A cuántos estamos? — What date is it? (colloquial alternative)
Writing Dates
Spanish dates follow the order: day / month / year
15/07/2024 = el quince de julio de dos mil veinticuatro
Time Expressions You Must Know
Talking About Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| hoy | today |
| ayer | yesterday |
| anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| mañana | tomorrow (also: morning) |
| pasado mañana | the day after tomorrow |
| esta mañana | this morning |
| esta tarde | this afternoon |
| esta noche | tonight |
| mañana por la mañana | tomorrow morning |
Weeks and Months
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| esta semana | this week |
| la semana pasada | last week |
| la semana que viene / la próxima semana | next week |
| este mes | this month |
| el mes pasado | last month |
| el mes que viene / el próximo mes | next month |
| dentro de dos semanas | in two weeks |
| hace dos semanas | two weeks ago |
Years and General Time
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| este año | this year |
| el año pasado | last year |
| el año que viene / el próximo año | next year |
| hace dos años | two years ago |
| dentro de un año | in a year / in one year's time |
| en aquel entonces | at that time / back then |
| en aquella época | in those days |
| actualmente / hoy en día | currently / nowadays |
| últimamente | lately / recently |
| pronto | soon |
| ya | already / now |
| todavía / aún | still / yet |
| por fin | finally / at last |
| de repente | suddenly |
| enseguida | immediately / right away |
| tarde o temprano | sooner or later |
| algún día | some day |
Parts of the Day
- el amanecer — dawn / sunrise
- la mañana — morning
- el mediodía — midday / noon
- la tarde — afternoon / early evening
- el atardecer — sunset / dusk
- la noche — night / evening
- la madrugada — early hours of the morning (midnight to ~5am)
- la medianoche — midnight
Frequency Adverbs
- siempre — always
- normalmente / generalmente — normally / generally
- a menudo / frecuentemente — often / frequently
- a veces — sometimes
- de vez en cuando — from time to time / occasionally
- raramente / pocas veces — rarely / seldom
- nunca / jamás — never
- cada día / todos los días — every day
- una vez a la semana — once a week
- dos veces al mes — twice a month