Ultimate Guide: Months of the Year in Spanish (+ Useful Expressions & Sayings)

No matter what your proficiency level is, there's one thing every Spanish learner should know - the months of the year in Spanish.

So, in this post, we will teach you the months in Spanish, but we'll also show you some related words, expressions, and sayings you may find useful.

Let's dive in.

The Months of the Year in Spanish

As most of you already know, but it can't hurt mentioning, the names on the months in Spanish are:

• Enero - January

• Febrero - February

• Marzo - March

• Abril - April

• Mayo - May

• Junio - June

• Julio - July

• Agosto - August

• Septiembre - September

• Octubre - October

• Noviembre - November

• Deciembre - December

Abbreviations of The Months in Spanish

Just like English, Spanish uses abbreviations for the names of the months.

The abbreviations of the months in Spanish are:

• Enero- Jan.

• Feb.- Feb.

• Marzo- Mar.

• Abr.- Apr.

• Mayo- May

• Jun.- June

• Jul.- July

• Agosto- Aug.

• Set.- Sept.

• Oct.- Oct.

• Nov.- Nov.

• Dic.- Dec.

Expressions Related to The Spanish Months

En (In)

The preposition 'en' has its English equivalent, which is 'in.'

So, like in English, we use this preposition when we want to talk about something that happens during a particular month.

Example: Yo siempre voy a la playa en julio.

    I always go to the beach in July.

De (Of)

When you are talking about a particular day in a particular month, you use the preposition ‘de’ between the day and the month.

This Spanish prepositions also has its ideal English equivalent, ‘of.’

Example: Mi cumpleaños es el tres de agosto.

    My birthday is the third of August.

Por (Around)

This preposition has many different meanings, depending on the context.

When used with months, it means ‘around’ or ‘approximately.’

Example: Ella stuvo aquí por febrero.

    She was here around February.

A Principios De (At The Beginning)

The preposition ‘a principios de’ is mainly clear in which cases to use, so we’ll give you an example: Vamos a Londres a principios de agosto.- We’re going to London at the beginning of August.

A Fin De (At The End)

Whether you use ‘a fin de’ or ‘a finales de,’ the meaning is the same, that is, ‘at the end.’

Example: La escuela termina a finales de junio.- The school finishes at the end of June.

Cada (Every)

The word ‘cada’ in every context means ‘every,’ so just like you would use it with days or other nouns, you can use it to express ‘every month.’

Example: Cada junio voy a Paris.- Every June, I go to Paris.

Pasado (Last)

The preposition, in the meaning ‘last’, is mainly used with past tenses, such as in the following example: Mi hija nació el abril pasado.- My daughter was born last April.

Durante (During)

In Spanish, this preposition expresses a time duration, so that’s why it is a little hard to find an appropriate English equivalent.

Example: Estuve en Alemania durante junio.- I was in Germany during June.

Desde (Since)

The preposition ‘desde’ refers to a period of time in the past. This preposition is used to express a specific point in time.

On the other hand, the preposition ‘hace’ also refers to a period of time in the past. This proposition, however, refers to a duration of time.

Example: He vivido en Alemania desde marzo.

    I’ve lived in Germany since March.

Mensual (Monthly)

The word ‘mensual’ in the meaning ‘monthly’ is an adjective. The adverb of the noun ‘month’ is ‘mensualmente.’

It can be used in different contexts, such as in the following example: Es un evento mensual. - It is a monthly event.

What You Should Know About The Months in Spanish

The Similarity Between English And Spanish Months

It is true that summer in Spain is better than in other countries, or that in autumn it's raining more often in the UK. But some things are similar in every country.

Spanish and English share many cognates, the words with similar meanings and pronunciation. The names of the months are a part of this group. For beginners, this information can be more than helpful when starting their Spanish language journey.

The Differences Between Spanish And English Months

What makes the names of the months easy to memorize are exactly the similar names in both languages. In Spanish, however, you have only one exception, 'enero.'

One more vital difference you should remember is that names of months in Spanish aren't capitalized.

Some Spanish Months Can Be Both Nouns And Adjectives

Three months of the year can be used as adjectives.  You won’t hear them often, but you may find them in the books or at a particular time of that month.

Those months are:

• abrileño (abril)

• marzal (marzo)

• agosteño (agosto)

If you want to use other months as these three, you can’t use them the same way, but if you want to achieve the same point, you can use the preposition ‘de’ and the month’s name.

Final Thoughts

We didn’t want to mention at the beginning, but these were some unexpected ways to learn Spanish and help you memorize everything you need to know about the months of Spanish and have a little fun.

After all, when you get the chance to talk to native Spanish speakers, saying some of these expressions will knock them off their feet.