la fecha de hoy
/la fet͡ʃa de oi/from spelling rules
In Spanish, today's date is la fecha de hoy.
When writing out a date in Spanish, remember that months are not capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a title. If you are writing the date numerically, use cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3) rather than ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of la fecha (the date) and de hoy (of today).
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to state the date, such as saying "today's date is…", use the third person singular form of the verb ser (e.g., la fecha de hoy es…).
How do you pronounce it?
/la fetʃa de oi/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using el día de hoy to refer to the calendar date. While día means day, you should use fecha when asking for or stating the specific calendar date (day, month and year).
Did you know?
- While la fecha de hoy is the standard way to state the date, many Spanish speakers use the expression ¿A qué santo estamos? to ask for the date. This literally asks 'Which saint are we on?' based on the Catholic liturgical calendar.
- The word fecha shares its roots with the English word 'fact' through the Latin 'facta', which refers to things that have been 'done' or 'made'.
- When saying the date, Spanish speakers use the definite article el before the number, such as el 5 de mayo. This is different from English, where 'the' is usually omitted when stating the date in conversation.
Examples in context
- ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy?What is today's date?This sentence is useful for asking for the specific calendar date using la fecha de hoy.Tatoeba #332137 by Aerhus, translation #687364 by lukaszpp
- Hoy es martes, 3 de agosto de 2023.Today is Tuesday, August 3, 2023.
- Hoy es 3 de agosto.Today is August 3.
- Hoy es miércoles, 14 de julio de 2022.Today is Wednesday, July 14, 2022.
- Hoy es sábado, 19 de noviembre de 2023.Today is Saturday, November 19, 2023.
- Escribe la fecha de hoy en el cuaderno.Write today's date in the notebook.
- No recuerdo la fecha de hoy.I don't remember today's date.
Example conversation
Javier and María are at an office desk.
- Javier¿Sabes cuál es la fecha de hoy, María?Do you know what today's date is, María?
- MaríaSí, es el doce de mayo.Yes, it is May 12th.
- JavierGracias, necesito anotar la fecha de hoy.Thanks, I need to note down today's date.
- MaríaDe nada, Javier.You're welcome, Javier.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, fecha, hoy, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
