¿en qué mes estamos?
The phrase "what month is it" in Spanish is expressed as ¿en qué mes estamos?
This phrase is used to ask for the current month of the year. In Spanish, it is more idiomatic to use the verb estar (to be) with the preposition en (in) to express the current time or date than to use a direct translation of 'is it'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase ¿en qué mes estamos? literally translates to "In what month are we?"
Which one should you use?
For formal contexts, you may use the phrases ¿Cuál es el mes actual? (What is the current month?) or ¿En qué mes nos encontramos? (In which month are we?).
When do people say it?
When responding to this question, you can say Es (nombre del mes). (It's [month name]) or Nos encontramos en (nombre del mes). (We are in [month name]). The months include enero (January), marzo (March), abril (April), mayo (May), junio (June), julio (July), agosto (August), septiembre (September), octubre (October), noviembre (November) and diciembre (December).
Did you know?
- Unlike English, Spanish does not capitalize the first letter of the months, such as enero or marzo, unless they begin a sentence.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, when answering ¿en qué mes estamos?, people may refer to the month by its agricultural or religious significance rather than just its name.
- The question ¿en qué mes estamos? treats time as a physical space or container that people occupy, rather than an abstract concept.
Examples in context
- Estamos en mayo.We are in May.
- No recuerdo, ¿en qué mes estamos?I don't remember, what month is it?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking while looking at a calendar.
- MaríaOye Javier, ¿en qué mes estamos?Hey Javier, what month is it?
- JavierEstamos en mayo.It is May.
- María¡Qué rápido pasa el tiempo!Time passes so fast!
- JavierEs verdad, María.It's true, Maria.
