So, you’re standing in a cafe in Mexico City or maybe just filling out a form for a flight, and you realize you have no clue how to actually say what is today's date in spanish without sounding like a textbook from 1994. It's one of those things that feels like it should be a direct translation. It isn't.
Most people just swap words. They think "Today is..." becomes a simple word-for-word trade. But Spanish is finicky about its calendar. If you say "Hoy es el doce de enero," you're fine. But the second you try to ask the question, things get weird. You’ve probably seen ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? in every Spanish 101 book. Sure, it works. But honestly? In the real world, native speakers usually say something like ¿A qué estamos hoy? It literally translates to "At what are we today?" which sounds insane in English, but it’s the gold standard for natural conversation.
The weird math of what is today's date in spanish
Writing the date is where most English speakers mess up first. In the US, we’re obsessed with the Month-Day-Year format. It's ingrained. But if you’re looking for what is today's date in spanish, you have to flip your brain. It is always Day-Month-Year. Always. No exceptions.
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If you write 05/04/2026, an American thinks May 4th. A Spaniard or a Colombian sees April 5th. This isn't just a minor "oopsie." It’s the difference between catching your train and watching it pull out of the station while you’re still at the hotel eating breakfast.
The structure you need is: el [number] de [month] de [year].
Example: el 18 de enero de 2026.
Notice something? The months aren't capitalized. In English, we treat January like a VIP. In Spanish, enero is just another noun, like perro or mesa. Lowercase is king.
That annoying "Primero" rule
Here is the one spot where the rules take a left turn. When it’s the first of the month, you don't say "uno." Nobody says el uno de mayo. Well, maybe some people do, but it sounds "off." You use the ordinal number: el primero.
- Hoy es el primero de mayo. (Correct)
- Hoy es el uno de mayo. (Technically okay, but feels like you're reading a spreadsheet)
For every other day—2 through 31—you just use the regular cardinal numbers. El dos, el tres, el diez. It’s a strange little linguistic quirk that sticks around because of tradition.
The question of "Ser" vs. "Estar"
You probably remember your high school teacher sweating over the difference between ser (permanent) and estar (temporary). Dates sit in a weird middle ground.
When you use the verb ser, you’re stating a fact.
- Hoy es domingo. (Today is Sunday.)
- ¿Qué fecha es hoy? (What date is today?)
But if you use estar, you have to add the preposition a.
- Estamos a 18 de enero. (We are at January 18th.)
It’s a subtle shift in vibe. Estamos a feels much more like "Where are we in the month?" whereas Hoy es is just a cold, hard calendar fact. If you’re at a dinner party and someone asks for the date, Estamos a makes you sound like you’ve actually spent time living in a Spanish-speaking country rather than just clicking through a language app.
Regional variations you'll actually hear
Spanish isn't a monolith. A guy in Madrid isn't going to use the same slang as a girl in Buenos Aires. While the date format stays Day-Month-Year across the board, the way people talk about it changes.
In Spain, you might hear "de" and "del" used interchangeably before the year. 18 de enero de 2026 or 18 de enero del 2026. Both are fine. Technically, the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE)—the guys who literally police the language—says you don't need the del for years after 1999, but people still use it because it sounds more rhythmic.
In some parts of Latin America, people might drop the "de" entirely when speaking fast, but if you're writing it down, keep those "de"s in there. They are the glue holding the sentence together.
Common mistakes that make you look like a tourist
Don't use "en" for the date. In English, we say "on January 18th." In Spanish, if you say "En 18 de enero," you're basically saying "Inside January 18th." It makes no sense. Use el.
- Nos vemos el lunes. (See you on Monday.)
- La fiesta es el 20 de marzo. (The party is on March 20th.)
Another big one is the year. We say "Twenty twenty-six." In Spanish, you have to say the whole number. Dos mil veintiséis. There are no shortcuts. You can't just say "veinte veintiséis." If you do, people will look at you like you've just grown a second head.
Why this matters for SEO and Digital Life
If you’re setting up a website or an app and you’re trying to localize for a Spanish-speaking audience, getting the date wrong is the fastest way to lose trust. It looks sloppy. It looks like you used a cheap translator.
When people search for what is today's date in spanish, they aren't just looking for the words. They are looking for the cultural context. They want to know how to fill out a customs form at the airport in Bogotá without the agent rolling their eyes.
Quick Cheat Sheet for the Months
Since you can't have the date without the months, here’s the quick list. Remember: no capital letters!
- enero
- febrero
- marzo
- abril
- mayo
- junio
- julio
- agosto
- septiembre
- octubre
- noviembre
- diciembre
Notice septiembre? Some people say setiembre (dropping the 'p'). Both are technically allowed by the RAE, but the version with the 'p' is more common in formal writing.
Actionable Steps for Mastering the Date
If you want to stop thinking about this and just know it, you need to change your environment.
Change your phone's language settings to Spanish. It’s annoying for the first 48 hours. You’ll struggle to find your settings or your alarm clock. But every single time you look at your lock screen, you’ll see the date staring back at you in the correct format. Domingo, 18 de enero. Start writing the date in Spanish on your to-do lists. Instead of "1/18," write "18 ene." It forces your brain to prioritize the day first.
When you’re practicing, don't just say the numbers. Say the whole phrase. Hoy estamos a dieciocho de enero de dos mil veintiséis. It builds the muscle memory for the prepositions, which are usually the first thing to fall out of your head when you're nervous.
Lastly, remember that the "primero" rule is your secret weapon. If you use it correctly on the 1st of the month, you instantly separate yourself from the people who just finished their first week of Duolingo. It’s a small detail, but in language, details are everything.