¿qué día es hoy?
In Spanish, "what day is it?" is said as ¿qué día es hoy?
The phrase ¿qué día es hoy? is a question used to ask for the current date or day of the week. You can also use related variations to ask about different days, such as ¿Qué día es mañana? for "What day is tomorrow?" or ¿Qué día fue ayer? for "What day was yesterday?" Common answers include the days of the week: Lunes (Monday), Martes (Tuesday), Miércoles (Wednesday), Jueves (Thursday), Viernes (Friday), Sábado (Saturday) and Domingo (Sunday).
How does it change in a sentence?
When answering the question ¿qué día es hoy?, you should use the third-person singular form of the verb ser, which is es, followed by the day of the week. For example, you would say Es [day of the week].
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes mistakenly try to use the verb tener (to have) to ask for the date. However, in Spanish, you must use the verb ser (to be) to ask what day it is.
When do people say it?
When someone asks you what day it is, a standard response follows the pattern Es [day of the week].
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, people might answer ¿qué día es hoy? by referring to a saint's day, as the liturgical calendar is historically as important as the numerical date.
- The words for the first five days of the week in Spanish are derived from the names of celestial bodies and planets.
- The word hoy descends from the Latin hodiē, which is a contraction of the phrase meaning 'this day'.
Examples in context
- No sé, ¿qué día es hoy?I don't know, what day is it today?
- Perdón, ¿qué día es hoy?Excuse me, what day is it today?
Example conversation
Javier and Elena are talking in the kitchen.
- JavierHola Elena, ¿qué día es hoy?Hi Elena, what day is it today?
- ElenaHoy es lunes, Javier.Today is Monday, Javier.
- Javier¿En serio? Pensaba que era martes.Really? I thought it was Tuesday.
- ElenaNo, todavía es lunes.No, it is still Monday.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries día, es, hoy, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
