Cumplo dieciséis en mayo.
I turn sixteen in May.
Plenty of birthdays fall in May. To say in May, Spanish puts en straight in front of the month.
From Ni idea · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "May" in Spanish
mayo
nounmasculinelowercasetwo syllables
"May" the month is mayo in Spanish, written in lowercase: Cumplo dieciséis en mayo. For the English verb "may", as in "it may rain", Spanish uses puede que or quizás. And mayo never means mayonnaise, which is la mayonesa.
Hear "mayo" in real movie scenes
A birthday and a shaky guess. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Eh, mm, ¿mayo?
Uh, um, May?
The exact month won't come to mind, so mayo comes out as an unsure guess, said on its own with rising intonation.
From Cómo ser un latin lover · Spanish audio
Mayo the month, and the other "may"
The first three rows are about the month. The last two show how Spanish handles the English verb.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| en mayo | in May |
| a mediados de mayo | in mid-May |
| el primero de mayo | May 1, Labor Day |
| Puede que llueva. | It may rain. |
| ¿Puedo pasar? | May I come in? |
Tip: If you want mayonnaise on your sandwich, ask for mayonesa. Mayo on its own will only get you a month.
Grammar: en mayo, el 5 de mayo
Four points for months and dates.
Lowercase, masculine
Write mayo with a small m. Like all the months, it's masculine: un mayo muy caluroso.In May
en mayo, with no article. Nos vemos en mayo means see you in May.Day before month
el 5 de mayo: the number first, then de, then the month. Read it aloud as el cinco de mayo.The y in mayo
Here the y is a consonant, like the y in yes: MAH-yoh. In Argentina and Uruguay it sounds closer to the s in measure or to sh.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Me gusta mayo.
I like May.
Cumplo dieciséis en mayo.
I turn sixteen in May.
El cumpleaños de la niña es en mayo.
The little girl's birthday is in May.
Era cinco de mayo.
It was May 5.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗en el mayo
✓en mayo
Months take no article after en.
✗mayo 5
✓el 5 de mayo
The day goes first, joined to the month with de.
✗un sándwich con mayo (meaning mayonnaise)
✓un sándwich con mayonesa
The short form mayo is English. In Spanish, mayo only means the month.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
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How to remember it
Add an o to May and you get mayo. Picture that o as a round birthday cake for everyone born in May.
Questions about "May" in Spanish
How do you say May in Spanish?
Mayo, written in lowercase. In May is en mayo, with no article.
How do you say "it may" or "maybe" in Spanish?
For something possible, use puede que with the subjunctive, Puede que llueva, or quizás. To ask permission, use poder: ¿Puedo pasar?
What is Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo means May 5. It marks Mexico's victory at the Battle of Puebla, and it is not Mexico's Independence Day.
Does mayo mean mayonnaise in Spanish?
No. Mayo is only the month, and mayonnaise is la mayonesa.
