¿Qué fecha es hoy?
To ask "what's the date?" in Spanish, say ¿Qué fecha es hoy?
¿Qué fecha es hoy? asks for today's date, the day and month.
What does it mean word for word?
Qué means "what", fecha means "date", es means "is" and hoy means "today".
How does it change in a sentence?
Spanish questions start with an upside down question mark, as in ¿Qué.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use fecha for a romantic date. It only means a calendar date.
When do people say it?
In answers, Spanish speakers say the day number before the month and use plain numbers, except that the first of the month is often said as "the first".
Did you know?
- While English speakers often ask 'What is the date?', a Spanish speaker might also ask ¿A cuánto estamos?, which literally translates to 'To how much are we?'
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to use the phrase ¿A qué santo le toca hoy? to ask about the date by referring to the Catholic saint of the day.
- The word fecha comes from the Latin 'facta', which relates to things that have been 'done' or 'made'.
Examples in context
- Disculpe, ¿qué fecha es hoy?Excuse me, what's the date today?
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are talking in the living room.
- DanielSofía, ¿qué fecha es hoy?Sofía, what's the date today?
- SofíaHoy es primero de mayo.Today is May first.
- Daniel¡Ah, es nuestro aniversario!Ah, it's our anniversary!
- Sofía¡Es cierto, qué despistado eres!It's true, how forgetful you are!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries es, fecha, hoy, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
