qué fecha es
/ke fet͡ʃa es/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "what date it is" is expressed as qué fecha es.
The phrase qué fecha es is used to ask for the current day of the month and the year. While this phrase serves this purpose, you can also use ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? as a straightforward way to ask for the date.
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between asking for the calendar date and the day of the week. Use qué fecha es to ask for the specific date (day/month/year), whereas qué día es is used to ask for the day of the week, such as Monday or Tuesday.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, one way to ask for the date is ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy, por favor? In Argentina, one way to ask for the date is ¿Me decís qué día es hoy?
How do you pronounce it?
/ke fetʃa es/
When do people say it?
When asking for the date among acquaintances, a friendly and common way to phrase the question is ¿Sabes qué día es hoy?
Did you know?
- Unlike English, which can use 'date' to mean a romantic outing, fecha is never used in this way. A romantic date is instead called una cita.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, if you ask ¿Sabes qué día es hoy?, the person might think you are referring to a special holiday or a personal anniversary rather than the calendar date.
- The English word 'fact' and the Spanish word fecha share the same Latin root, meaning that a 'fact' is essentially something that has been 'done' or 'made' in time.
Examples in context
- Hoy es el cinco de mayo.Today is May 5th.
- La fiesta será el veintiuno de julio.The party will be on July 21st.
- ¿Qué día es tu cumpleaños?What day is your birthday?
- Mañana será primero de enero.Tomorrow will be January 1st.
- Hoy es doce de mayo.Today is May 12th.
- No recuerdo, ¿qué fecha es?I don't remember, what date is it?
Example conversation
Daniel is checking his calendar in the office and asks Elena.
- DanielElena, ¿qué fecha es hoy?Elena, what date is it today?
- ElenaEs el quince de mayo.It is the fifteenth of May.
- DanielGracias, se me olvidó por completo.Thanks, I forgot completely.
- ElenaNo te preocupes, Daniel.Don't worry, Daniel.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries es, fecha, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
