Oiga, señor Kramer, hoy es 22 de diciembre.
Listen, Mr. Kramer, today is December 22.
In the last month of the year everyone is in a rush, and the date is said day first: 22 de diciembre.
From Kramer vs. Kramer · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "December" in Spanish
diciembre
nounmasculinelowercase
"December" in Spanish is diciembre, written with a small d. Spanish dates start with the day, so Christmas is el 25 de diciembre. The night before is la Nochebuena, and December 31 is la Nochevieja.
Hear "diciembre" in a real movie scene
One scene where someone says it. The video starts and stops on that line.
December's big days
Holiday words you'll hear all month in Spain.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la Nochebuena | Christmas Eve, December 24 |
| la Navidad | Christmas, December 25 |
| el Día de los Santos Inocentes | December 28, a day for pranks, like April Fools' Day |
| la Nochevieja | New Year's Eve, December 31 |
| las doce uvas | the twelve grapes people in Spain eat at midnight on December 31 |
| las vacaciones de Navidad | the Christmas holidays |
Tip: The months on either side are noviembre and enero. All months are lowercase and masculine.
Grammar: diciembre and dates
Four points for the last month of the year.
Small d, masculine
Write diciembre with a small d. When it takes an article, it's masculine: el diciembre pasado (last December).Day before month
Say the number, then de diciembre: el 22 de diciembre. A year joins on with one more de: el 7 de diciembre de 1941.Until and since
hasta diciembre means until December: Guardo el regalo hasta diciembre. Desde diciembre means since December.Two correct sounds
In Latin America the ci sounds like s: dee-SYEM-breh. In most of Spain it sounds like English th: dee-THYEM-breh.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
En diciembre hace frío.
It's cold in December.
Aquí dice: el cinco de diciembre.
It says here: December 5.
Desde diciembre del 85.
Since December of '85.
Guardo el regalo hasta diciembre.
I'm keeping the gift until December.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Nos vemos en Diciembre
✓Nos vemos en diciembre
Spanish writes the names of months with a small letter.
✗el 31 de diciembre es Nochebuena
✓el 24 de diciembre es Nochebuena
Nochebuena is Christmas Eve. The night of the 31st is Nochevieja.
✗deciembre
✓diciembre
English starts with de-, but Spanish starts with di-.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
Diciembre starts like diez, ten. In the old Roman calendar, December was the tenth month.
Questions about "December" in Spanish
How do you say December in Spanish?
Diciembre, written in lowercase. "In December" is en diciembre.
How do you say December 25 in Spanish?
El 25 de diciembre, read as el veinticinco de diciembre. That day is also la Navidad, Christmas.
How do you say Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in Spanish?
La Nochebuena is December 24, and la Nochevieja is December 31.
Is diciembre capitalized in Spanish?
No. It keeps a small d, even in a date like el 25 de diciembre. Only the start of a sentence gets a capital.
