What are the months in Spanish?

Enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre. All twelve are lowercase and grammatically masculine.

How do I say in May or in January in Spanish?

Use en + month: en mayo (in May), en enero (in January). Always en, never a or de for general references.

How do you write a date in Spanish?

Pattern: el + day + de + month + de + year. El 5 de mayo de 1990. Day comes BEFORE month (opposite of US English). Numeric format is also day/month/year: 15/3/2024.

Why are months not capitalized in Spanish?

Spanish convention treats months and days as common nouns. They're always lowercase unless starting a sentence. Different from English, where they're always capitalized.

Should I say el primero or el uno for the 1st of the month?

Both are correct. Latin America prefers el primero (ordinal): el primero de mayo. Spain prefers el uno (cardinal): el uno de mayo. Pick the one matching your target dialect.

Spanish grammar · Beginner

Months in Spanish

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Spanish has twelve months, all lowercase and all masculine: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre. Use en for in May or en for dates with day + de.

Mi cumpleaños es en mayo.

My birthday is in May.

What it is

Spanish has twelve months, all lowercase and all masculine: enero (January), febrero (February), marzo (March), abril (April), mayo (May), junio (June), julio (July), agosto (August), septiembre (September), octubre (October), noviembre (November), diciembre (December). Use en + month for in May; use day + de + month + de + year for full dates.

Mi cumpleaños es en mayo (My birthday is in May). Nací el 5 de mayo de 1990 (I was born on May 5, 1990).

How to spot it

Months are always lowercase (unlike English). They take en (in) for general references, and are written as day-de-month-de-year for full dates.

En enero hace frío. — In January it's cold.
Vamos a Italia en julio. — We're going to Italy in July.
El 15 de marzo es mi aniversario. — March 15 is my anniversary.

Some Spanish speakers use setiembre as an alternative spelling for septiembre. Both are accepted; septiembre is more common.

Months in Spanish Quick Reference

Months in Spanish

English	Spanish
January	enero
February	febrero
March	marzo
April	abril
May	mayo
June	junio
July	julio
August	agosto
September	septiembre (or setiembre)
October	octubre
November	noviembre
December	diciembre

Common Months in Spanish Examples in Spanish

Months in real Spanish contexts:

En + Month, In [Month]

En enero hace frío.: In January it's cold.
Nos vemos en agosto.: See you in August.
En diciembre tengo vacaciones.: In December I have vacation.

Use en (in) before a month for general timeframes.

Full Dates, Día De Mes De Año

El 5 de mayo de 1990.: May 5, 1990.
Nací el 12 de octubre.: I was born on October 12.
El 1 de enero de 2025.: January 1, 2025.

Pattern: el + day + de + month + de + year. The day comes BEFORE the month (opposite of US English).

First of the Month, El Primero / El Uno

El primero de enero. (Latin America): January 1st.
El uno de enero. (Spain): January 1st.

Latin America uses el primero (ordinal) for the first of the month. Spain uses el uno (cardinal). Both correct.

Months Are Lowercase

El 4 de julio. (NOT Julio): July 4.
Llueve mucho en abril. (NOT Abril): It rains a lot in April.

Spanish convention: months always lowercase, unless they start a sentence.

How to Use Months in Spanish

Lowercase and Masculine

Spanish months are always lowercase (unlike English) and grammatically masculine, though the article is rarely needed.

enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre.

Same twelve months, same order as English.

Capitalize only at the start of a sentence.

En + Month for General Reference

To say in May, in January, use en + month.

En mayo hace calor. Voy a Madrid en julio.

In May it's hot. I'm going to Madrid in July.

Always en, never a or de when stating in a month.

Writing Full Dates

Spanish dates follow: el + day + de + month + de + year. Day comes BEFORE month (international convention).

el 15 de marzo de 2024.

March 15, 2024.

When writing numerically: 15/3/2024 (day/month/year), not US 3/15/2024 (month/day/year).

The First of the Month

Latin America uses el primero de + month for the 1st (ordinal). Spain uses el uno de + month (cardinal). Both correct within their regions.

El primero de enero. (LatAm) / El uno de enero. (Spain)

January 1st.

All other days use cardinal numbers: el dos, el tres, el cuatro de [month].

Common Mistakes with Months in Spanish

Incorrect: En Enero hace frío. — In January it's cold. (wrong, months are lowercase)

Correct: En enero hace frío. — In January it's cold.

Spanish months are always lowercase, unlike English. Only capitalize at the start of a sentence.

Incorrect: El mayo 5 de 1990. — May 5, 1990.

Correct: El 5 de mayo de 1990. — May 5, 1990.

Spanish dates put DAY before MONTH. Pattern: el + day + de + month + de + year.

Incorrect: A julio voy de vacaciones. — In July I'm going on vacation.

Correct: En julio voy de vacaciones. — In July I'm going on vacation.

Spanish uses en (not a) before months. En julio, en agosto, en septiembre.

Writing Dates: El 5 De Mayo De 2024

Full Date Pattern

El + day (cardinal) + de + month + de + year. The de is required twice.

El 4 de julio de 1776.: July 4, 1776.
El 25 de diciembre.: December 25.
El 14 de febrero.: February 14.

Drop the year for partial dates: el 25 de diciembre (Christmas).

Numeric Dates: Day / Month / Year

Spanish numeric dates are day/month/year, opposite of US English (month/day/year).

15/3/2024 = el 15 de marzo de 2024.: March 15, 2024.
1/1/2025 = el 1 de enero de 2025.: January 1, 2025.

If you see 3/15/2024 in a Spanish context, it's confusing, the writer is using US format. Default Spanish is day/month/year.

First of the Month, Primero vs. Uno

Latin America: el primero de + month. Spain: el uno de + month. Both refer to the 1st.

El primero de mayo. (LatAm): May 1st.
El uno de mayo. (Spain): May 1st.

All other days use cardinal numbers in both dialects: el dos de mayo, el tres de mayo, etc.

Months in Spanish FAQs

What are the months in Spanish?: Enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre. All twelve are lowercase and grammatically masculine.
How do I say in May or in January in Spanish?: Use en + month: en mayo (in May), en enero (in January). Always en, never a or de for general references.
How do you write a date in Spanish?: Pattern: el + day + de + month + de + year. El 5 de mayo de 1990. Day comes BEFORE month (opposite of US English). Numeric format is also day/month/year: 15/3/2024.
Why are months not capitalized in Spanish?: Spanish convention treats months and days as common nouns. They're always lowercase unless starting a sentence. Different from English, where they're always capitalized.
Should I say el primero or el uno for the 1st of the month?: Both are correct. Latin America prefers el primero (ordinal): el primero de mayo. Spain prefers el uno (cardinal): el uno de mayo. Pick the one matching your target dialect.