Dates, Months and Seasons

Level 2

Say a date as month + -ren and day + -a: irailaren hogeita bosta (September 25th). For on or in, use -(e)an: irailaren 25ean (on September 25th), irailean (in September), udan (in summer).

How It Works

The months. Month names are written with a small letter and are usually given with the article: urtarrila (January), otsaila, martxoa, apirila, maiatza, ekaina, uztaila, abuztua, iraila, urria, azaroa, abendua (December). The final -a is the article, so other endings replace it.

Saying the date. The month takes the genitive -(r)en, and the day number takes the article: irailaren 25a, read irailaren hogeita bosta. Gaur irailaren 25a da (Today is September 25th). With a year, the year comes first with -ko: 2026ko irailaren 25a. The short form irailak 25 is only for headings and for a date set off by commas, as in Gaur, irailak 25, ...; inside a normal sentence use the -ren form.

On a date. To say when, the day takes -(e)an instead of -a: maiatzaren 3an (hiruan, on May 3rd), urriaren 5ean (bostean), abenduaren 10ean (hamarrean). Numbers that end in a consonant add -e-: bost → bostean, hamar → hamarrean. hamaika (eleven) already ends in -a, so it only adds -n: abenduaren 11n (hamaikan).

In a month, a season or a year. Months and seasons take the same ending: urtarrilean (in January), martxoan, irailean, abenduan. The seasons are udaberria (spring), uda (summer), udazkena (autumn) and negua (winter): udaberrian, udan, udazkenean, neguan. A year takes -(e)an too: 2026an (in 2026), 1995ean. In a date the year is read as an ordinary number, not an ordinal: 2026an, 1995eko.

Asking and linking. Ask Noiz? (When?) or Zer egunetan? (On what day?). To link a noun to a month or season, use -ko: abuztuko oporrak (the August holidays), udako arropa (summer clothes). See Time With -ko and Days and Times of Day.

Examples (6)

  1. Gaur irailaren 25a da.

    Today is September 25th.

    Read it as irailaren hogeita bosta: the month in -ren, the day with the article.

  2. Nire urtebetetzea maiatzaren 3an da.

    My birthday is on May 3rd.

    3an is read hiruan: on a date, the day takes -an.

  3. Urtarrilean hotz handia egiten du.

    It is very cold in January.

  4. Udan hondartzara joaten gara.

    In summer we go to the beach.

    uda + -an gives udan.

  5. Ikastaroa urriaren 5ean hasiko da.

    The course will start on October 5th.

    5ean is read bostean: bost ends in a consonant, so it adds -e-.

  6. 1995eko abenduaren 11n jaio nintzen.

    I was born on December 11th, 1995.

    hamaika already ends in -a, so the day is 11n (hamaikan).

Common Mistakes

  • Using the heading form inside a sentence.

    Otsailak 14 bilera egingo dugu.
    Otsailaren 14an bilera egingo dugu.

    otsailak 14 is only for headings and dates set off by commas. In a sentence the month takes -ren and the day takes -an: otsailaren 14an.

  • Adding an extra -a to eleven.

    Abenduaren 11an etorriko gara.
    Abenduaren 11n etorriko gara.

    hamaika already ends in -a, so on the 11th is hamaikan, written 11n.

  • Treating the -a of a month as part of the word.

    Uztailan oporretan egongo naiz.
    Uztailean oporretan egongo naiz.

    The -a of uztaila is the article. The word itself is uztail, which ends in a consonant, so in July is uztailean.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Dates, Months and SeasonsLevel 2

Learn This First

Dates need time words, numbers and the genitive.