13 de octubre cayó en domingo.
October 13 fell on a Sunday.
October is the first real month of fall, when things calm down after the summer festivals. Caer en tells you which weekday a date lands on.
From Como si fuera la primera vez · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "October" in Spanish
octubre
nounmasculinelowercase
"October" in Spanish is octubre, said ok-TOO-breh. Spanish has a u where English has an o: oc-tu-bre. Write it with a small o, and say en octubre for in October.
Hear "octubre" in real movie scenes
Two dates in October, said the Spanish way. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Es la madrugada del 26 de octubre de 1985.
It's the early morning of October 26, 1985.
Anyone recording a big moment says the full date, month included: the day, then de octubre, then de and the year.
From Volver al futuro · Spanish audio
Six ways to use octubre
From a national holiday to a full date with the year.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| en octubre | in October |
| el 12 de octubre | October 12, Spain's national holiday (la Fiesta Nacional) |
| el 31 de octubre | October 31, Halloween |
| hasta finales de octubre | until the end of October |
| octubre de 2017 / octubre del 2017 | October 2017 |
| ¿En qué día cae el 12 de octubre? | What day of the week is October 12? |
Tip: In Spain, October 12 is also called el Día de la Hispanidad, and many Latin American countries mark the same date under other names.
Grammar: octubre in dates
Four points for talking about October.
Small o, no article
Write octubre in lowercase and say en octubre for in October: El otro festival es en octubre.Which weekday?
Caer en tells you the weekday of a date: El 13 de octubre cayó en domingo. To ask, say ¿En qué día cae?Reading the year
Read a year as one big number: 1985 is mil novecientos ochenta y cinco, never two pairs of digits.Say it right
ok-TOO-breh: a short o, a clear k sound before the t, and a soft b.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Las fiestas son el doce de octubre.
The festivities are on October 12.
En octubre el barrio está más tranquilo.
The neighborhood is quieter in October.
Sí, octubre del 2017.
Yes, October 2017.
El otro festival es en octubre.
The other festival is in October.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗octobre
✓octubre
English and French have an o after the t. Spanish has a u: oc-TU-bre.
✗el duodécimo de octubre
✓el doce de octubre
Dates use plain numbers in Spanish, not ordinals. The first of the month is the only exception: el primero de octubre.
✗diecinueve ochenta y cinco (for 1985)
✓mil novecientos ochenta y cinco
Spanish reads a year as one whole number. Splitting it into pairs only works in English.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
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The other 25 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Octubre starts like octopus, and an octopus has eight arms. October was the eighth month of the old Roman year.
Questions about "October" in Spanish
How do you say October in Spanish?
Octubre, pronounced ok-TOO-breh. Write it with a small o: en octubre, in October.
How do you say October 12 in Spanish?
El 12 de octubre, read el doce de octubre. In Spain it's the national holiday, also called el Día de la Hispanidad.
How do you say Halloween in Spanish?
Most Spanish speakers just say Halloween, on el 31 de octubre. In Mexico, el Día de Muertos follows on November 1 and 2.
How do you say a full date like October 26, 1985 in Spanish?
El 26 de octubre de 1985: the day, de octubre, then de and the year, read as mil novecientos ochenta y cinco.
