Learning how to say the 12 months of the year in Spanish is part of your language learning journey. It’s important to not only know how to say all the months in Spanish but also how to talk about them correctly. Correctly saying dates in Spanish or planning vacations in the future are an exciting part of learning Spanish. We’ll cover some important grammar rules, helpful expressions for talking about the months in Spanish, and some fun facts about the origins of each month’s name!
Table of Contents
What are the 12 months in Spanish?
Many of the names for the months in Spanish will look and sound familiar to English speakers, even though English isn’t a Romance language like Spanish. The similarities come from the shared Latin roots that used to denote the number of the month or a specific name of the month that honored a Roman god. Take a look at this list of the months in Spanish before seeing how to talk about them in complete sentences.
| Spanish | Pronunciation | English |
| enero | eh-neh-roh | January |
| febrero | feh-breh-roh | February |
| marzo | mahr-soh | March |
| abril | ah-breel | April |
| mayo | mah-yoh | May |
| junio | hoo-nyoh | June |
| julio | hoo-lyoh | July |
| agosto | ah-gohs-toh | August |
| septiembre or setiembre | sehp-tyehm-breh or seh-tyehm-breh |
September |
| octubre | ohk-too-breh | October |
| noviembre | noh-byehm-breh | November |
| diciembre | dee-syehm-breh | December |
The trick to “September” in Spanish
Notice that the month of September in Spanish can be spelled in two different ways: septiembre and setiembre. The spelling varies thanks to the natural evolution of a language that’s used across huge geographic areas of the world and large sets of populations. The septiembre spelling is the most common spelling, but there are some countries like Costa Rica where setiembre is more widely used. This is just one example of how Spanish dialects can vary from one country or region to another!
How to correctly use the months of the year in Spanish
Now that you know the words for the months of the year in Spanish and English, you’ll need to learn a few of the grammar rules in Spanish to use and write them correctly.
The months in Spanish are not capitalized
Unlike in English, the months in Spanish are not capitalized. The only exception is when they’re used at the start of a sentence or part of a title.
The months in Spanish are masculine
All of the months in Spanish are masculine singular nouns, following the gender rules in Spanish. That means you’ll use the masculine articles (el, un) and the masculine form of adjectives when describing months in Spanish.
- El próximo junio, voy a cumplir treinta años. = Next June, I will turn 30.
- Fue un julio caluroso. = It was a hot July.
But unless you’re using adjectives, like the two examples above, you don’t need to use a Spanish article when talking about the months in Spanish.
- ¡Vamos a México en enero! = Let’s go to Mexico in January!
- Las clases no empiezan hasta septiembre. = Classes don’t begin until September.
How to say the date in Spanish
In Spanish, the day always comes before the month no matter if you’re writing or speaking Spanish. The way to write dates in Spanish is el + [day] + de + [month] + de + [year].
- El diez de abril = April 10 (literally, the tenth of April)
- El siete de noviembre de 2022 = November 7, 2022 (literally, the seventh of November)
If this pattern is a little confusing to you, it helps to know that the format for writing dates with numerals in most Spanish-speaking countries is day/month/year.
- 10/04 = April 10
- 07/11/2022 = November 7, 2022
Need a refresher on your Spanish numbers? Learn how to count in Spanish!
How to use the months in Spanish in a sentence
Now that you know how the rules for using the months in Spanish, let’s look at some helpful vocabulary, common Spanish phrases, and example sentences for talking about the months. These words and phrases will help you communicate your plans and expectations more clearly when referring to events in the past or future tense.
In (en)
To express that something will happen in a particular month, use en + [month].
- Ellos siempre van a México en noviembre. = They always go to Mexico in November.
You generally don’t need to use an article when talking about the months in Spanish. For example, you wouldn’t say en el noviembre in the sentence above.
Every (cada)
To talk about something that happens every month, use cada + [month].
- Mis padres me visitan cada mayo. = My parents visit me every May.
Before (antes de)
The Spanish word for “before” is antes. To use it in a sentence, add de as a preposition. The correct structure is antes de + [month].
- Tengo que terminar el proyecto antes de marzo. = I need to finish the project before March.
After (después de)
The Spanish word for “after” is después, and you also need to add de as a preposition. Say después de + [month] to express that something is happening after a particular month.
- Después de agosto, voy a vivir en Madrid. = After August, I am going to live in Madrid.
Since (desde)
To talk about an event that started in the past, say desde + [month].
- Estoy aprendiendo español desde septiembre. = I have been studying Spanish since September.
Until (hasta)
Use hasta + [month] to talk about something happening through a certain period of time before it stops.
- Voy a estar en Buenos Aires hasta febrero. = I am going to be in Buenos Aires until February.
Next (próximo or que viene)
To express the next or upcoming month in Spanish, you can use próximo or que viene interchangeably. Unlike the previous phrases in this list, you do need to include the article el when talking about “next month” in Spanish. That’s because “next” is used as an adjective.
Use el + próximo + [month] or el + [month] + que viene to talk about something that is happening in a future month.
- Voy a viajar a Colombia el próximo octubre. = I will travel to Colombia next October.
- El octubre que viene, voy a viajar a Colombia. = Next October, I will travel to Colombia.
Last (pasado)
Just like “next,” “last” is also an adjective, which is why you need to include the article el. In addition, pasado works like a traditional adjective in Spanish so it’s placed directly after the noun.
To talk about something that occurred in a previous month, use el + [month] + pasado.
- El diciembre pasado, celebramos la navidad en Ecuador. = Last December, we celebrated Christmas in Ecuador.
Origins of the names of the months in Spanish
As a Romance language, Spanish contains a number of words with Latin origins that are remnants of the language from the Roman Empire. The names of the first eight months come from Roman culture.
- Enero is named after the Roman god Janus who was a god with two faces, looking to both the past and the future.
- Febrero is named after purification ceremonies that typically took place during this month.
- Marzo is named after Mars, the Roman god of war.
- Abril is named after the verb abrir (meaning “to open”) in Spanish, which correlates to the month of spring in Rome.
- Mayo is named after Maia, the nurturing mother.
- Junio is named after Juno, the goddess of the home.
- Julio is named after Julius Caesar.
- Agosto is named after Caesar Augustus.
The remaining months are named by their order in the months of the year. September, the ninth month in our calendar, was actually the seventh month prior to Julius Caesar’s change to make January the first month of the new year. October (octo meaning eight in Latin) was the eighth month, and so on. The names of these months are different from their ordinal counterparts in Spanish, but it is easy to see how they are related.
- Septiembre was the seventh month (Spanish: séptimo).
- Octubre was the eighth month (Spanish: octavo).
- Noviembere was the ninth month (Spanish: noveno).
- Diciembre was the tenth month (Spanish: décimo).
Go beyond the months in Spanish in your conversations
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