Months and Dates in Portuguese: Write and Say the Date in Brazil
Read a calendar date in Brazilian Portuguese and use it to make or confirm a plan.
Real Life Portuguese · 8 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
The Portuguese months are janeiro, fevereiro, março, abril, maio, junho, julho, agosto, setembro, outubro, novembro, and dezembro. Month names are usually written in lowercase unless they begin a sentence. Notice the spelling of março with ç and setembro with its Brazilian pronunciation.
Learn the twelve month names
Learn each month with an event or personal date instead of memorizing a list alone. This connects the word to a real calendar and gives you an easy sentence to use when someone asks about a plan.
Meu aniversário é em março.
My birthday is in March.
As férias começam em julho.
The vacation starts in July.
A reunião será em novembro.
The meeting will be in November.
Read Brazilian dates in day-month-year order
In Brazil, numeric dates commonly put the day before the month: 14/10/2026 means October 14, 2026. To say the date aloud, use the ordinal primeiro for the first day of the month and cardinal numbers for the other days: primeiro de maio, dois de maio, três de maio.
When writing to an international audience, spell the month out to reduce confusion between day-month and month-day formats. If a date matters for a reservation or deadline, confirm it in a message as well as saying it aloud.
Hoje é quatorze de outubro.
Today is October fourteenth.
A consulta ficou para primeiro de junho.
The appointment is set for June first.
A entrega será em vinte e dois de agosto.
The delivery will be on August twenty-second.
Ask when a plan or event takes place
Use Em que dia? (On what day?) or Qual é a data? (What is the date?). To ask which month, say Em que mês? If the answer includes a year, listen for mil novecentos e… or dois mil e… as appropriate. Ask for repetition when you need to save an exact date.
To say on a specific date, Portuguese often uses em with the date: em 14 de outubro or no dia 14 de outubro. For a month without a date, use em: em outubro. Learn the whole phrase with the event you are discussing.
Em que mês começa o curso?
In which month does the course start?
Qual é a data da sua viagem?
What is the date of your trip?
O festival acontece no dia cinco de setembro.
The festival takes place on September fifth.
Practice dates with appointments and birthdays
Write three dates that matter to you and say them aloud: a birthday, a trip, and an appointment. Then ask a partner when their event takes place. If the date is important, repeat the day, month, and year in the same order to confirm it.
Connect this lesson to Real Life Portuguese guides on days of the week, numbers, and scheduling. I Speak Portuguese teachers can help you pronounce month names and confirm a booking date in a role-play. Use the written month when speaking across different date conventions.
Meu voo é no dia doze de fevereiro.
My flight is on February twelfth.
A aula foi remarcada para três de abril.
The lesson was rescheduled for April third.
Pode confirmar: é dia vinte e um de maio?
Can you confirm: is it May twenty-first?
Put it into practice
Remember the month names and the day-month-year order. Write the month out when a date could be read differently by an international audience.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “In which month does the course start”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
Build on this guide with everyday expressions and native Brazilian audio. Choose iPhone, Android, or the web app.