Time and Dates in Spanish

Q: How do you ask what time it is in Spanish?

¿Qué hora es? ("What time is it?"). To ask when something happens, say ¿A qué hora…?: ¿A qué hora empieza la película? ("What time does the movie start?").

Q: How do you say the date in Spanish?

El + the day + de + the month: el cinco de mayo ("May fifth"). Add the year with another de: el cinco de mayo de dos mil veintiséis. The first of the month is el primero in most of Latin America and often el uno in Spain.

Q: Are days and months capitalized in Spanish?

No. Days of the week and months are lowercase in Spanish: lunes, enero. They're only capitalized at the start of a sentence.

Q: How do you say AM and PM in Spanish?

In speech, add de la mañana for AM, and de la tarde or de la noche for PM: las ocho de la mañana, las ocho de la noche. In writing, you'll see a. m. and p. m., and schedules often use the 24-hour clock.

Adapted from The Animated Book of Spanish, an interactive Spanish grammar book.

To ask the time in Spanish, say ¿Qué hora es? The answer starts with es la or son las, then the hour, and adds the minutes with y (past) or menos (to).

¿Qué hora es?What time is it?

Es la una.It’s one o’clock.
Son las tres.It’s three o’clock.
Son las tres y cuarto.It’s quarter past three.
Son las tres y media.It’s three thirty.
Son las cuatro menos cuarto.It’s quarter to four.
Son las cuatro menos diez.It’s ten to four.

Dates are further down: days, months, and how to say the date.

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Es la una, son las dos

For one o'clock, use es la. For every other hour, use son las, because there's more than one hour. To say exactly, add en punto.

Es la una.It’s one o’clock.
Son las dos.It’s two o’clock.
Son las siete en punto.It’s seven o’clock on the dot.
Son las doce.It’s twelve o’clock.

Minutes: y and menos

Up to half past, add the minutes with y. After half past, go to the next hour and subtract with menos. A quarter is cuarto, and half is media.

Son las cuatro y cinco.It’s five past four.
Son las cuatro y veinte.It’s four twenty.
Son las cinco menos veinte.It’s twenty to five.
Son las cinco menos cinco.It’s five to five.

At what time? a las…

To say when something happens, use a la or a las. To ask, use ¿A qué hora…?

¿A qué hora sale el tren?
What time does the train leave?
La clase empieza a las nueve.
Class starts at nine.
Nos vemos a la una y media.
See you at one thirty.

Morning, afternoon, and night

Spanish doesn't use AM and PM in speech. Instead, add the part of the day after the time.

de la mañanain the morning (AM)
de la tardein the afternoon, early evening
de la nocheat night
de la madrugadain the early hours
el mediodíanoon
la medianochemidnight

Me levanto a las siete de la mañana.
I get up at seven in the morning.
Son las cuatro de la tarde.
It’s four in the afternoon.
Llegamos a las dos de la madrugada.
We got in at two in the morning.

De la mañana or por la mañana?

Both translate as in the morning, but they're used differently. Use de right after a specific time. Use por when there's no clock time, just the part of the day.

With a time: deWithout a time: por
With a time: de
Me levanto a las siete de la mañana.
I get up at seven in the morning.
Without a time: por
Me levanto temprano por la mañana.
I get up early in the morning.
With a time: de
Trabajo hasta las tres de la tarde.
I work until three in the afternoon.
Without a time: por
Trabajo por la tarde.
I work in the afternoon.
With a time: de
Llegamos a las diez de la noche.
We arrived at ten at night.
Without a time: por
Salimos mucho por la noche.
We go out a lot at night.

Days of the week

The Spanish week starts on Monday. Days are lowercase, and they're all masculine. To say on Monday, use the article, not a preposition.

lunesMonday
martesTuesday
miércolesWednesday
juevesThursday
viernesFriday
sábadoSaturday
domingoSunday

Hoy es miércoles.
Today is Wednesday.
El sábado vamos a la playa.
On Saturday we’re going to the beach.
Tengo clase los martes y los jueves.
I have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Months and seasons

Months are lowercase too. To say in a month, use en.

eneroJanuary
febreroFebruary
marzoMarch
abrilApril
mayoMay
junioJune
julioJuly
agostoAugust
septiembreSeptember
octubreOctober
noviembreNovember
diciembreDecember

The seasons usually take an article, like most nouns: Me encanta el verano. After en (in), the article is optional: en invierno and en el invierno are both correct.

la primaveraspring
el veranosummer
el otoñofall
el inviernowinter

Mi cumpleaños es en julio.
My birthday is in July.
La primavera es mi estación favorita.
Spring is my favorite season.
En invierno hace mucho frío.
orEn el invierno hace mucho frío.
It’s very cold in winter.

Saying the date

A date is el, the day, de, and the month. Unlike English, the day always comes first, and it's a plain number, not fifth.

theel

daycinco

ofde

monthmayo

May fifthel cinco de mayo

Hoy es el cinco de mayo.
Today is May fifth.
La fiesta es el primero de enero.
The party is on January first.
Nací el doce de octubre de mil novecientos noventa.
I was born on October 12, 1990.

Today, tomorrow, yesterday

hoytoday
mañanatomorrow
ayeryesterday
pasado mañanathe day after tomorrow
anteayerthe day before yesterday
el fin de semanathe weekend
esta semanathis week
la semana pasadalast week
el año que vienenext year

Common mistakes English speakers make

Using son for one o’clock
Incorrect:Son la una.
Correct:Es la una.
One o'clock is singular, so it takes es.
Using es for the other hours
Incorrect:Es las tres.
Correct:Son las tres.
Every hour after one is plural: son las.
Leaving out the article
Incorrect:Llego a ocho.
Correct:Llego a las ocho.
Times always take la or las.
Putting the month first
Incorrect:Hoy es mayo cinco.
Correct:Hoy es el cinco de mayo.
Spanish dates put the day first, then de and the month.
Using en with days of the week
Incorrect:Te veo en el lunes.
Correct:Te veo el lunes.
On Monday is just el lunes, with no preposition.

Questions about time and dates

How do you ask what time it is in Spanish?

¿Qué hora es? ("What time is it?"). To ask when something happens, say ¿A qué hora…?: ¿A qué hora empieza la película? ("What time does the movie start?").

Why is it es la una but son las dos?

The verb matches the number of hours. One o'clock is singular, so it's es la una. Every other hour is plural: son las dos, son las tres. The article is feminine because it refers to la hora ("the hour").

How do you say the date in Spanish?

El + the day + de + the month: el cinco de mayo ("May fifth"). Add the year with another de: el cinco de mayo de dos mil veintiséis. The first of the month is el primero in most of Latin America and often el uno in Spain.

Are days and months capitalized in Spanish?

No. Days of the week and months are lowercase in Spanish: lunes, enero. They're only capitalized at the start of a sentence.

How do you say AM and PM in Spanish?

In speech, add de la mañana for AM, and de la tarde or de la noche for PM: las ocho de la mañana, las ocho de la noche. In writing, you'll see a. m. and p. m., and schedules often use the 24-hour clock.

Next upSubject pronounsYo, tú, usted, and the rest: when to leave them out, tú vs. usted, and vos.

Es la una, son las dos

Minutes: y and menos

At what time? a las…

Morning, afternoon, and night

De la mañana or por la mañana?

Days of the week

Months and seasons

Saying the date

Today, tomorrow, yesterday

Common mistakes English speakers make

Using son for one o’clock

Using es for the other hours

Leaving out the article

Putting the month first

Using en with days of the week

Questions about time and dates

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