Time and Dates in Catalan

Overview

Being able to tell the time, say dates, and use basic time expressions is essential at the A1 level. Catalan has its own system for expressing time that uses the feminine article les (because the implied noun is hores), and its days and months follow patterns familiar from other Romance languages.

Telling time in Catalan centers on the structure Quina hora és? (What time is it?). The answer uses és for one o'clock and són for all other hours. Days of the week and months are not capitalized in Catalan, and the week starts on Monday (dilluns), following the European convention.

Temporal expressions like avui (today), demà (tomorrow), and ahir (yesterday) are used constantly in conversation and are easy to learn.

How It Works

Telling Time

Time	Catalan
1:00	És la una.
2:00	Són les dues.
3:00	Són les tres.
3:15	Són les tres i quart.
3:30	Són les tres i mitja.
3:45	Són un quart de quatre.
12:00	Són les dotze. / És migdia.
00:00	És mitjanit.

Days of the Week

Catalan	English
dilluns	Monday
dimarts	Tuesday
dimecres	Wednesday
dijous	Thursday
divendres	Friday
dissabte	Saturday
diumenge	Sunday

Months of the Year

Catalan	English	Catalan	English
gener	January	juliol	July
febrer	February	agost	August
març	March	setembre	September
abril	April	octubre	October
maig	May	novembre	November
juny	June	desembre	December

Time Expressions

Catalan	English
avui	today
demà	tomorrow
ahir	yesterday
al matí	in the morning
a la tarda	in the afternoon
al vespre	in the evening
a la nit	at night

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Són les tres.	It is three o'clock.	Plural verb for 2+
dilluns, dimarts, dimecres	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday	Not capitalized
el mes de gener	the month of January	With article
avui, demà, ahir	today, tomorrow, yesterday	Basic temporal words
A quina hora comença?	At what time does it start?	Asking about time
El dissabte anem al mercat.	On Saturday we go to the market.	With article for habitual
Ens veiem dimecres a les cinc.	See you Wednesday at five.	Day + time
El 15 d'abril.	April 15th.	Date format
Són les vuit i mitja del matí.	It is eight thirty in the morning.	Time of day
L'any 2025.	The year 2025.	Year with article

Common Mistakes

Using "és" for all hours

• Wrong: És les tres.
• Right: Són les tres.
• Why: Use "és" only for one o'clock (És la una). All other hours use "són."

Capitalizing days and months

• Wrong: Dilluns, Gener
• Right: dilluns, gener
• Why: Unlike English, Catalan does not capitalize days or months.

Forgetting the article with days for habitual actions

• Wrong: Dissabte vaig al mercat. (habitual meaning)
• Right: El dissabte vaig al mercat.
• Why: For habitual actions, use the article: "el dilluns" (on Mondays). Without the article, it refers to a specific upcoming occurrence.

Practice Tips

1. Practice telling the time at random moments during the day. Look at a clock and say the time in Catalan.
2. Learn days and months by associating them with your weekly schedule: "Dilluns treballo, dimarts estudio català..."
3. Write your plans for the week using Catalan days and times: "Dimecres a les deu tinc classe."

Related Concepts

• Numbers — the number system used for telling time and dates
• Daily Routine — combining time expressions with daily activities