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Saying dates and months in Portuguese

When English speakers write dates, they usually capitalize the month and use ordinal numbers like fifth or twenty-second. In Portuguese, things are a bit simpler but follow a different pattern.

If you want to talk about when something happens, like a birthday in janeiro or a holiday in fevereiro, you need to know two main rules. First, month names are written in lowercase. Second, you generally just use regular counting numbers instead of ordinal numbers to say the date.

Word list
abrilmA1 April cinco de abril = April 5th agostomA1 August cinco de agosto = August 5th catorzeA1 fourteen catorze de fevereiro = February 14th cincoA1 five cinco de maio = May 5th dezA1 ten dez de junho = June 10th dezanoveA1 nineteen dezanove de março = March 19th dezasseisA1 sixteen dezasseis de abril = April 16th dezasseteA1 seventeen dezassete de agosto = August 17th dezembromA1 December cinco de dezembro = December 5th dezenoveA1 nineteen dezenove de março = March 19th dezesseisA1 sixteen dezesseis de abril = April 16th dezesseteA1 seventeen dezessete de agosto = August 17th dezoitoA1 eighteen dezoito de junho = June 18th doismA1 two dois de maio = May 2nd dozemA1 twelve doze de outubro = October 12th fevereiromA1 February cinco de fevereiro = February 5th janeiromA1 January cinco de janeiro = January 5th julhomA1 July cinco de julho = July 5th junhomA1 June cinco de junho = June 5th maiomA1 May cinco de maio = May 5th marçomA1 March cinco de março = March 5th noveA1 nine nove de julho = July 9th novembromA1 November cinco de novembro = November 5th oitomA1 eight oito de março = March 8th onzeA1 eleven onze de setembro = September 11th outubromA1 October cinco de outubro = October 5th primeiromA1 first primeiro de janeiro = January 1st quatorzeA1 fourteen quatorze de fevereiro = February 14th quatroA1 four quatro de julho = July 4th quinzeA1 fifteen quinze de novembro = November 15th seisA1 six seis de janeiro = January 6th seteA1 seven sete de setembro = September 7th setembromA1 September cinco de setembro = September 5th trêsmA1 three três de junho = June 3rd trezeA1 thirteen treze de maio = May 13th trintaA1 thirty trinta de abril = April 30th vinteA1 twenty vinte de janeiro = January 20th vinte e doismA2 twenty-two vinte e dois de abril = April 22nd vinte e ummA2 twenty-one vinte e um de março = March 21st
Lowercase months and no articles

In Portuguese, months of the year are not capitalized unless they appear at the very beginning of a sentence. When you want to say that something happens in a certain month, you use the word em (in).

You will notice that we do not put words like the equivalent of English the before the month names. We just say em followed directly by months like março, abril, or maio.

Eu nasci em março.
(I was born in March.)
Temos férias em abril e em maio.
(We have holidays in April and in May.)
Using regular numbers for dates

In English, we say the fourth of July. In Portuguese, you use a regular counting number. You literally say four of July instead of fourth of July.

When giving a specific date, it is very common to include the phrase no dia (on the day) right before the number. Then, you link the number to the month using the word de (of). This structure works perfectly for junho, julho, agosto, setembro, outubro, novembro, and dezembro.

A reunião é no dia cinco de junho.
(The meeting is on June fifth.)
Vamos viajar no dia quatro de julho.
(We will travel on the fourth of July.)
O evento acontece no dia doze de agosto.
(The event takes place on August twelfth.)
As aulas começam no dia sete de setembro.
(Classes start on September seventh.)
O meu aniversário é no dia dez de outubro.
(My birthday is on October tenth.)
A loja abre no dia vinte de novembro.
(The store opens on November twentieth.)
O Natal é no dia vinte e cinco de dezembro.
(Christmas is on December twenty-fifth.)
The first of the month exception

There is exactly one exception to the regular number rule. For the very first day of the month, Portuguese uses the ordinal number primeiro (first) instead of the number one.

You will still use de to connect it to the month, and you will still keep the month name lowercase.

O Ano Novo é no dia primeiro de janeiro.
(New Year's is on January first.)
O contrato termina no dia primeiro de fevereiro.
(The contract ends on February first.)
Summary

To talk about dates in Portuguese, remember to write your months in lowercase and skip the definite articles. Use regular numbers for every day of the month except the very first day, which is always primeiro. Simply use de to connect your number to your month, and you are good to go.