Dates and Years
A date is an ordinal, then de, then the month.
How It Works
| Say | Written |
|---|---|
| la dua de novembro | la 2-a de novembro |
| la dek-kvina de decembro | la 15-a de decembro |
| en du mil dudek ses | en 2026 |
The ordinal stands for the day: la dua (tago) de novembro, the second day of November. That is why de comes before the month. A compound ordinal gets a hyphen: la dek-kvina.
To ask for today's date, say Kiun daton ni havas hodiaŭ? The answer is Hodiaŭ estas la 15-a de decembro.
Month names are written with a small letter in this course. You will also see a capital letter, as in Decembro, and both are understood.
Years are almost always written with digits: en 2026. To say that something happens on a date, use en: en la 15-a de decembro. A later entry shows the shorter form with -n.
Examples (5)
- Kiun daton ni havas hodiaŭ?
What is the date today?
Daton has -n because havas takes an object.
- Hodiaŭ estas la 15-a de decembro.
Today is the 15th of December.
The ordinal la 15-a is followed by de and the month.
- Morgaŭ estos la tria de novembro.
Tomorrow will be the third of November.
In words the ordinal is la tria; in digits it is la 3-a.
- La kongreso komenciĝas en la 20-a de julio.
The congress begins on the 20th of July.
En la 20-a de julio says when it happens.
- Zamenhof naskiĝis en 1859.
Zamenhof was born in 1859.
En comes before a year written with digits.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out de before the month.
Hodiaŭ estas la 15-a decembro.Hodiaŭ estas la 15-a de decembro.The ordinal stands for the day, so de joins it to the month.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A date names a month and uses an ordinal for the day.
Related Patterns
Practice Dates and Years in Bubblegum
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