Months of the year
January. The first month of the year.
February. The second month.
March. The third month.
April. The fourth month.
May. The fifth month.
June. The sixth month.
July. The seventh month.
August. The eighth month.
September. The ninth month.
October. The tenth month.
November. The eleventh month.
December. The twelfth month.
My birthday is in January.
We are going to the beach in July.
December is my favorite month.
What month are we in? We are in April.
The year has twelve months.
The names for the months of the year are the same across the entire Spanish-speaking world. There are no regional vocabulary differences.
While the words are the same, the pronunciation differs. The 'c' in 'diciembre' and the 'z' in 'marzo' are pronounced with a 'th' sound (like 'th' in 'thing'). For example, 'marzo' is 'MAR-tho'.
In Latin America, the 'c' (before e/i) and 'z' are pronounced like an 's'. For example, 'marzo' is 'MAR-soh'. This is known as 'seseo' and is standard throughout the region.
Capitalizing the months. In English, months are capitalized, but in Spanish, they are treated as common nouns and are not capitalized. — Incorrect: 'Voy a México en Diciembre.' Correct: 'Voy a México en diciembre.'
Forgetting the preposition 'en' (in). When saying something happens *in* a certain month, you must use 'en'. — Incorrect: 'Mi clase empieza agosto.' Correct: 'Mi clase empieza en agosto.'
Pronouncing 'j' and 'v' like in English. The Spanish 'j' (in 'junio', 'julio') sounds like the 'h' in 'hat'. The Spanish 'v' (in 'noviembre') sounds very similar to the Spanish 'b'. — Incorrect pronunciation of 'junio': 'JOO-nee-oh'. Correct: 'HOO-nyoh'. Incorrect pronunciation of 'noviembre': 'no-vee-EM-breh'. Correct: 'noh-BYEM-breh'.
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