---
title: "Days, months and dates"
level: A1
chapter: "Small words"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/days-months-dates
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Days, months and dates

In Dutch, the days of the week and the months start with a small letter: _maandag_, _januari_. You use _op_ before a day or a date (_op dinsdag_, _op 3 april_), and the number comes before the month. Years are said in hundreds (_negentienhonderdnegentig_) or, from 2000 on, with _tweeduizend_ plus the number.

## The pattern

> Inside a sentence, days and months are lowercase. Use _op_ before a day or a date: _op vrijdag_, _op 3 april_.

- Days: _maandag, dinsdag, woensdag, donderdag, vrijdag, zaterdag, zondag_.
- Months: _januari, februari, maart, april, mei, juni, juli, augustus, september, oktober, november, december_.
- A month or a year on its own takes _in_: _in mei_, _in 2025_. More in [Om, op, in: talking about time](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/time-prepositions).
- For the coming day, people often drop _op_: _Ik bel je dinsdag._
- A date is number plus month: _3 april_, said _drie april_. Formal speech sometimes uses an ordinal (a number that shows order, like third): _de derde april_.
- Years before 2000 are said in hundreds: _negentienhonderdnegentig_. From 2000 on, the usual form is _tweeduizend vierentwintig_. For recent years you also hear _twintig vierentwintig_.

## Examples

| Sanne gaat **op zaterdag** naar de markt. | Sanne goes to the market on Saturday. |
| Is de supermarkt **op zondag** open? | Is the supermarket open on Sunday? |
| Daan is **op 14 mei** jarig. | It's Daan's birthday on 14 May. |
| Het is vandaag **dinsdag 3 maart**. | Today is Tuesday 3 March. |
| Ik heb **op vrijdag 6 juni** een afspraak bij de huisarts. | I have a GP appointment on Friday 6 June. |
| Yara heeft **in augustus** vakantie. | Yara has time off in August. |
| De burgemeester opent de nieuwe bibliotheek **op de derde april**. | The mayor is opening the new library on the third of April. |
| Fatima is geboren in **negentienhonderdnegentig**. | Fatima was born in 1990. |
| Lotte werkt hier sinds **twintig tweeëntwintig**. | Lotte has worked here since 2022. |

## Why it works this way

Picture a wall calendar. A day or a date is one square, and you put your finger _op_ it. A month is a whole page and a year is the whole calendar: you are _in_ them. English works almost the same way (on Monday, in May), so you can mostly trust your instinct.

Remember: one square takes _op_, a whole page takes _in_.

As for the small letters: Dutch treats _maandag_ and _mei_ as ordinary nouns, like _fiets_ or _brood_. They get a capital at the start of a sentence, like any word, and in holiday names such as _Goede Vrijdag_. See [Capital letters](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/capital-letters).

Dates run from small to big: day, month, year. Dutch people write dates in figures the same way, so 3-4-2026 on a letter from the _gemeente_ means 3 April, not 4 March.

Years work like English nineteen ninety, except that Dutch keeps the word _honderd_ and writes it all as one word. In everyday writing you just use figures: _in 1990_. For building the numbers themselves, see [Numbers](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/numbers).

## Watch out

- Not: _Ik werk op Maandag thuis._ Say: _Ik werk op maandag thuis._ (days are lowercase, unlike in English and German)
- Not: _De afspraak is op mei 12._ Say: _De afspraak is op 12 mei._ (the number comes before the month)
- Not: _Ik ben op juni jarig._ Say: _Ik ben in juni jarig._ (a month on its own takes _in_)
- Not: _Mijn verjaardag is in 5 mei._ Say: _Mijn verjaardag is op 5 mei._ (a date takes _op_, just like a day)

## Quick check

1. Choose _op_ or _in_: _Ik ga ... juli op vakantie._
2. Choose _op_ or _in_: _Is de bibliotheek ... zaterdag open?_
3. Fix the two mistakes: _Mijn verjaardag is op Mei 4._
4. Write 1985 in words, the way people usually say it: _Sanne is geboren in ..._

## Answers

1. _in_: a month on its own takes _in_.
2. _op_: a day takes _op_.
3. _Mijn verjaardag is op 4 mei._ The month is lowercase and the number comes first.
4. _negentienhonderdvijfentachtig_: years before 2000 are said in hundreds, as one word.

## Use it today

Open your calendar and say three plans for this week out loud, with the day and the date, like _Op donderdag 15 oktober ga ik naar de tandarts._ Then ask a colleague: _Wanneer ben jij jarig?_

## Questions learners ask

**Are days of the week capitalized in Dutch?**

No. Dutch writes days and months with a small letter, such as maandag and januari, unless the word starts a sentence or is part of a holiday name like Goede Vrijdag.

**How do you write the date in Dutch?**

Put the number before the month and use a small letter: 3 april 2026. In figures this becomes 3-4-2026, with the day first, and you say it as drie april tweeduizend zesentwintig.

**How do you say 2024 in Dutch?**

The usual form is tweeduizend vierentwintig, and you also hear twintig vierentwintig. Years before 2000 are said in hundreds, so 1990 is negentienhonderdnegentig.

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.