primero de julio
/pɾimeɾo de xuljo/from spelling rules
July 1st in Spanish is primero de julio.
This phrase is used to denote the first day of the seventh month of the year.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico and some Central American countries, it is common to hear el día uno de julio in formal settings.
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to the date as a specific point in time, such as 'on July 1st', you must include the definite article el before primero to get el primero de julio. While primero is the ordinal form used specifically for the first day of the month, all other days of the month use cardinal numbers, such as dos de julio for July 2nd. In written Spanish, it is very common to use the numeral 1 instead of the word primero, appearing as el 1 de julio.
Did you know?
- While the month is named after the Roman leader Julius Caesar, the word julio also sounds identical to the physics term 'joule' in Spanish. This means a scientist discussing energy units and a person discussing the calendar might sound exactly the same.
- The name of the month julio is considered a 'semi-learned' term. This means it was likely re-introduced into the Spanish language by scholars from Latin rather than evolving naturally through common speech over centuries.
- The word primero is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'primary'. Both words trace their ancestry back to the same Latin root, meaning they both relate to the concept of being 'first' or 'most important'.
Examples in context
- Hoy celebramos nuestro aniversario el primero de julio.Today, we celebrate our anniversary on July 1st.
- Quedemos el uno de julio.Let's meet up on July 1st.
- Me voy de vacaciones el primer día de julio.I'm leaving for my vacation on July 1st.
- Mi cumpleaños es el primero de julio.My birthday is July 1st.
- La reunión es el primero de julio.The meeting is on July 1st.
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are looking at a calendar to plan a trip.
- Mateo¿Cuándo es nuestra cita?When is our appointment?
- SofíaEs el primero de julio.It is July 1st.
- MateoPerfecto, lo anotaré en mi agenda.Perfect, I will write it in my planner.
- SofíaMuy bien, Mateo.Very well, Mateo.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, julio, primero, CC BY-SA 4.0.
