The Months of the Year in Spanish.

What have the Romans ever given us?

You’ll notice that the months of the year in Spanish look a lot like their English equivalents. We have the Romans to thank for that as they gave us the Julian calendar from which all modern calendars are derived.  And yes, the Spanish year has twelve months too!

In the audio file you’ll be able to hear how a madrileña (someone from Madrid) pronounces the names of the months.

No capital letters

In Spanish we do not use capital letters for the months of the year.

Correct: septiembre, octubre…
Incorrect: Septiembre, Octubre…

A note on pronunciation

Be careful how you pronounce ‘noviembre’. The ‘v’ in Spanish is pronounced like a ‘b’. We cover this, and other quirks of Spanish pronunciation, in our famous Idiot’s Guide to Spanish Pronunciation.

In spoken and written Spanish we’ll often use the preposition ‘en’ with the months of the year.

Some examples

• El nuevo curso empieza en septiembre.
  The new academic year starts in September.
• Tradicionalmente, las empresas españolas cierran en agosto.
  Traditionally, Spanish companies close in August. 
• Vendrán muchas turistas en julio.
  Many tourists will come in July.
• Creo que mayo es el mejor mes para visitar Madrid*
  I think May is the best month for visiting Madrid.

* This is true! Madrid can get very hot in summer (+35º) and quite cold in winter, but the month of May is usually just right in terms of the temperature.

Abbreviations

There are no ‘official’ abbreviations for the months of the year in Spanish. However, in written Spanish it is most common to see the months abbreviated to three letters, as follows:

Don’t forget to include the full stop after the third letter.

The dates in Spanish

Now that you know how to write and pronounce the months of the year in Spanish, why not find out how to talk about dates?

The Spanish you already know

The months aren’t the only things which are similar in Spanish and English.  In fact, English has taken vast numbers of words from Latin, and many of these look, and even sound, like their Spanish counterparts.  We explain more in our article on the Spanish you already know (but didn’t realise).

Free months of the year infographic

Here’s a free-to-download infographic with the names of the months of the year in Spanish.