Being able to talk about dates is an essential part of communication. Whether you're mentioning today’s date or referring to an important event, knowing how to express dates in Italian will help you sound fluent and confident. Luckily, the structure of dates in Italian is quite similar to English!
To ask What date is it today? in Italian, there are two common ways:
Che giorno è oggi?
What day is it today?
Here, giorno means day.
Che data è oggi?
What date is it today?
Here, data means date.
When answering, the format is as follows:
First, say the day using the article il.
Then, say the month.
Finally, state the year.
For example:
13/04/1995 Oggi è il tredici luglio duemilaventi.
Today is the 13th of July, 2020.
22/12/2022 Ieri era il dieci agosto.
Yesterday was the 10th of August.
Il mio compleanno è il ventiquattro gennaio.
My birthday is on the 24th of January.
Natale è il venticinque dicembre.
Christmas is on the 25th of December.
In Italian, unlike English, ordinal numbers e.g., primo, secondo, terzo, etc. are used when expressing dates. The only exception is for the number one, where primo is used instead of uno.
Here are some examples:
Il primo maggio
The first of May
Il due maggio
The second of May
Il tre maggio
The third of May
Notice that il is used before all numbers, since all numbers referring to dates are considered masculine.
If you want to include the day of the week, you place the day before the number, without using the article.
Oggi è lunedì tredici luglio duemilaventi.
Today is Monday, the 13th of July, 2020.
Domani sera martedì ventidue agosto.
Tomorrow evening is Tuesday, the 22nd of August.
Here are the names of the days of the week and months in Italian:
Days of the Week:
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Lunedì | Monday |
| Martedì | Tuesday |
| Mercoledì | Wednesday |
| Giovedì | Thursday |
| Venerdì | Friday |
| Sabato | Saturday |
| Domenica | Sunday |
Months of the Year:
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Gennaio | January |
| Febbraio | February |
| Marzo | March |
| Aprile | April |
| Maggio | May |
| Giugno | June |
| Luglio | July |
| Agosto | August |
| Settembre | September |
| Ottobre | October |
| Novembre | November |
| Dicembre | December |
In Italian, years are read as numbers. There’s nothing particularly special about saying years, you just read them out loud.
For example:
1965 Mille novecento sessanta cinque
Nineteen sixty-five
1876 Mille ottocento settantasei
Eighteen seventy-six
2022 Duemila ventidue
Two thousand twenty-two
When giving your birthdate or stating an event that happened in a particular year, you can use il before the day and month, followed by the year:
Mio padre è nato il venti ottobre mille novecento ottanta.
My father was born on the 20th of October, 1980.
Il duemilaventi è stato un anno difficile.
2020 was a difficult year.
The preposition used with years in Italian is in, and when combined with the article il, it becomes nel.
Sono nato nel mille novecento novantadue.
I was born in 1992.
Mi sono laureata nel duemiladue.
I graduated in 2002.
Mi sono sposata nel mille novecento novantasei.
I got married in 1996.
Centuries in Italian can be expressed in two ways:
When referring to centuries, use il since secolo is masculine and the preposition in, just like years.
Nell'ottocento non c'era l'elettricità.
In the 19th century, there was no electricity.
To talk about decades, use gli anni (the years) followed by the name of the decade:
Gli anni novanta
The 90s
Gli anni sessanta
The 60s
Gli anni ottanta
The 80s
Ho trascorso la mia infanzia negli anni novanta.
I spent my childhood in the 90s.
Questa canzone è degli anni sessanta.
This song is from the 60s.
Here are some common terms related to time periods:
Decennio
Decade
Lavoro in quest'impresa da un decennio.
I have been working in this company for a decade.
Secolo
Century
Un secolo dura cento anni.
A century lasts a hundred years.
Mi sembra che sia passato un secolo dall’ultima volta che ci siamo visti.
It feels like a century has passed since the last time we saw each other.
