Thinking how to say the months names of the year in Spanish including their origins? We have got your back! In this blog, we have broken down the months, its pronunciations and their origins!
How to say months name in Spanish?
Fortunately, due to their shared origin and roots, the names of Spanish months are surprisingly similar to their English counterparts.
January – Enero [eh-neh-ro]
February – Febrero [feh-bre-ro]
March – Marzo [mar-so]
April – Abril [a-bril]
May – Mayo [ma-yo]
June – Junio [hu-nio]
July – Julio [hu-lio]
August – Agosto [a-gos-to]
September – Septiembre [sep-tiem-bre]
October – Octubre [oc-tu-bre]
November – Noviembre [no-viem-bre]
December – Diciembre [di-siem-bre]
How to pronounce 'c' in Spanish?
When pronouncing "c" in the names of months, be aware of the difference between Latin American and European Spanish.
In Spain, "c" before "e" or "i" sounds like "th" in "think" (for example, Diciembre sounds like "di-thiem-bre".)
In Latin America, "c" is pronounced as "s" (so, Diciembre sounds like "di-siem-bre".)
Do we use capital letters for months in Spanish?
In Spanish, months are not capitalized unless they are used in the beginning of a sentence unlike in English where month names are capitalized.
The origins of months name in Spanish
Similar to English, the names of the months in Spanish are connected to Roman deities, ancient customs, and ancient calendars:
Enero comes from Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings
Febrero is derived from februa, linked to rites of purification
Marzo honors Mars, the god of war
Abril’s origins are disputed, but many believe the month takes its name from Aphrodite, the goddess of love
Mayo may celebrate Maia, an earth goddess
Junio is thought to honor Juno, the goddess of marriage
Julio pays tribute to Julius Caesar, reflecting his reform of the Roman calendar
Agosto is named after Augustus Caesar, commemorating his victories
Septiembre, Octubre, Noviembre, and Diciembre hark back to their positions in the old Roman calendar, based on the Latin words for seven, eight, nine, and ten, respectively.
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