Digo enero de 2011.
I mean January 2011.
Someone trying to pin down the date of an old meeting gets it wrong, then corrects it with digo, I mean. De links the month to the year.
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "January" in Spanish
enero
nounmasculinelowercasein January: en enero
"January" in Spanish is enero, written in lowercase like every month. Say en enero for in January, and give a date as day, then de, then the month: el cinco de enero is January 5.
Hear "enero" in real scenes
Two looks back at old dates. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Enero de 2009.
January 2009.
Going back over an old case, the month and the year are enough. If you need the day too, it goes in front: el cinco de enero.
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Dates and phrases with enero
How to name a day, a year or part of the month.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| en enero | in January |
| el uno de enero / el primero de enero | January 1, New Year's Day |
| el cinco de enero | January 5, the night the Three Kings arrive |
| el seis de enero | January 6, Three Kings Day (Día de Reyes) |
| a principios de enero | in early January |
| enero de 2011 | January 2011 |
Tip: The other months work the same way: lowercase and no article, as in en febrero, en marzo, en abril.
Grammar: en enero, el cinco de enero
Four rules for months and dates.
Lowercase
Write enero, not Enero, unless it starts a sentence.In January
en enero, with no article between en and the month.Day, de, month
el cinco de enero. The article goes before the number. Add the year with another de: el cinco de enero de 2009.Until January
hasta enero means until January. In Mexico it often means not until January: Tu siguiente consulta es hasta enero.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
El cinco de enero.
January 5.
Hoy es el seis de enero.
Today is January 6.
Digo enero de 2011.
I mean January 2011.
Tu siguiente consulta dental es hasta enero.
Your next dental appointment isn't until January.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗el 5 de Enero
✓el 5 de enero
Months are lowercase in Spanish.
✗en el enero
✓en enero
After en, a month takes no article.
✗enero cinco
✓el cinco de enero
Spanish puts the day first, then de and the month.
Real conversation: the night of the Kings
A short chat with your neighbor on the stairs.
You run into your neighbor Tomás in the stairwell, and you start talking about January 5.
¿Qué haces el cinco de enero?
What are you doing on January 5?
Pues, llegan los reyes.
Well, the Three Kings arrive.
¡Claro! ¿Y el seis por la mañana?
Of course! And on the morning of the sixth?
Your turn to answer
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The other 21 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Enero starts like energy. A new year starts in enero, and so does your new energy.
Questions about "January" in Spanish
How do you say January in Spanish?
Enero, pronounced eh-NEH-roh. Like all months, it's written in lowercase.
How do you say a date like January 5 in Spanish?
El cinco de enero. The day comes first, then de and the month. In writing you'll often see 5 de enero.
Is enero capitalized in Spanish?
No. Write enero in lowercase unless it starts a sentence.
How do you say "in January" in Spanish?
En enero, with no article in between.
