día, mes, año
/ˈdia ˈmes ˈaɲo/word by word
The phrase for "day, month, year" in Spanish is día, mes, año.
These three words represent the basic units used to track time on a calendar. When expressing specific dates, the day precedes the month, such as in 10 de mayo.
How does it change in a sentence?
All three nouns in this phrase, día, mes and año, are masculine. In Spain, especially in formal contexts, it is common to use Roman numerals for the day, such as in día V de junio de 2023.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈdia ˈmes ˈaɲo/
Did you know?
- The phrase año nuevo for 'new year' is often associated with the custom of eating twelve grapes at midnight, one for each mes of the coming year.
- While día is masculine, it ends in the letter a, which usually signals feminine nouns in Spanish. This makes it a common example used to teach students that gender is not always determined by the final letter.
- The Spanish word día is actually a distant relative of the word for 'sky' or 'heaven' in ancient Indo-European languages. It traces back to a root meaning the bright light of the heavens.
