Months in Portuguese: Names, Capitalization, and Dates — Practice

Learn the twelve months and keep them lowercase

Portuguese month names are janeiro, fevereiro, março, abril, maio, junho, julho, agosto, setembro, outubro, novembro, and dezembro. Unlike English, Portuguese normally writes these names with a lowercase first letter, except at the start of a sentence or in a title style that capitalizes every word.

Several names look similar to English, while others need a spelling check: março has a cedilla, and setembro and outubro end in -bro. Learning them in seasonal groups can make recall easier, even though Brazil’s weather seasons differ by region.

Use em for a month and de inside a full date

Use em + month for a general time: em julho (in July). In a full date, join the day and month with de, then the month and year with de: 20 de abril de 2027. The preposition em may appear before the full date when the sentence requires it: a prova será em 20 de abril.

Prepositions attach to the sentence, not to the month itself. Learn a full phrase such as nasci em novembro, viajo em setembro, or o prazo termina em… to speak about plans without building each part from English.

Remember: Write Portuguese month names in lowercase. Use em + month for a general time and de between the day, month, and year in a full date.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. My birthday is in March.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Meu aniversário é em março.

2. Classes start in August.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   As aulas começam em agosto.

3. December is usually a busy month.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Dezembro costuma ser um mês movimentado.

4. We’re going to travel in September.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente vai viajar em setembro.

5. The contract ends on December 31.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O contrato termina em 31 de dezembro.

6. She was born in 2001, in the month of January.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela nasceu em 2001, no mês de janeiro.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Write Portuguese month names in lowercase. Use em + month for a general time and de between the day, month, and year in a full date.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Months in Portuguese: Names, Capitalization, and Dates lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.