¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy?
The English phrase 'what is the date today?' is translated into Spanish as ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy?
This question is used to ask for the current day of the month and year. When answering this question, a native speaker typically uses the structure 'Hoy es el [number] de [month]' (Today is the [number] of [month]). For example, you might use months like Enero (January), Marzo (March), Abril (April), Mayo (May), Junio (June), Julio (July), Agosto (August), Septiembre (September), Octubre (October), Noviembre (November) or Diciembre (December).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? literally translates to 'Which is the date of today?'
Which one should you use?
If you only want to know the day of the week (for example, Lunes (Monday), Martes (Tuesday), Miércoles (Wednesday), Jueves (Thursday), Viernes (Friday), Sábado (Saturday) or Domingo (Sunday)) rather than the full calendar date, use ¿Qué día es hoy? instead.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use cómo (how) instead of cuál (which) by saying ¿Cómo es la fecha de hoy?
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word fecha can also mean a 'deadline'.
- Unlike in English, Spanish does not capitalize the names of months like enero or marzo unless they start a sentence.
- The word fecha shares a common ancestor with the English word 'fact', as both come from the Latin 'facta', meaning 'things done'.
Examples in context
- Perdone, ¿cuál es la fecha de hoy?Excuse me, what is the date today?
- No sé, ¿cuál es la fecha de hoy?I don't know, what is the date today?
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are at a cafe and Elena needs to check her calendar.
- ElenaAlejandro, ¿cuál es la fecha de hoy?Alejandro, what is the date today?
- AlejandroEs el doce de octubre.It is October twelfth.
- Elena¡Qué rápido pasa el tiempo!How fast time flies!
- AlejandroSí, es verdad.Yes, it's true.
