qué día es hoy
/ke dia es oi/from spelling rules
The English phrase "what is today" is translated into Spanish as qué día es hoy.
If you need to ask for the exact date in a more formal manner, you can use ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? instead.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase qué día es hoy translates literally to "what day is today".
How does it change in a sentence?
In written Spanish, the question must be enclosed by both an inverted opening question mark and a standard closing question mark: ¿qué día es hoy?
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying qué es hoy to mean "what is today". While this might be understood, it is grammatically unnatural when asking for the date or the day of the week. Instead, use qué día es hoy.
When do people say it?
A standard way to answer this question is to start with Hoy es… followed by the day of the week.
Did you know?
- Although the English word 'day' and the Spanish word día look similar, they are not related. While 'day' comes from a different Germanic root, día traces back to the Proto-Indo-European word for 'heaven' or 'sky'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, if you ask qué día es hoy and the answer is a holiday, the speaker might follow the date with a specific religious or national celebration name.
- The word qué comes from the Latin word quid, which is the same root used in the English phrase 'quid pro quo'.
Examples in context
- Buenos días, ¿qué día es hoy?Good morning, what day is today?
- Disculpe, ¿cuál es la fecha de hoy?Excuse me, what is today's date?
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué día es hoy?Hi! What day is today?
- Oye, ¿qué día estamos?Hey, what day are we on?
- Perdone, ¿qué día es hoy exactamente?Excuse me, what day is it today exactly?
- No sé qué día es hoy.I don't know what day it is today.
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are at home in the morning.
- MateoSofía, ¿qué día es hoy?Sofía, what is today?
- SofíaEs lunes, Mateo.It is Monday, Mateo.
- Mateo¡Ah, qué rápido pasa el tiempo!Ah, how fast time passes!
- SofíaSí, ya es lunes.Yes, it is already Monday.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries día, es, hoy, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
