Every appointment, deadline, school holiday and plan needs a date. Dutch days, months and dates are mostly straightforward, with a few habits that catch English speakers out, starting with capital letters.
Days of the week (lowercase!)
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| maandag | Monday |
| dinsdag | Tuesday |
| woensdag | Wednesday |
| donderdag | Thursday |
| vrijdag | Friday |
| zaterdag | Saturday |
| zondag | Sunday |
Note the small letters. Unlike English, Dutch writes days (and months) in lowercase unless they start a sentence, as Onze Taal confirms. Writing Maandag mid-sentence is a giveaway English-speaker error.
To say on a day, use op: op maandag (on Monday). For something habitual, you may also hear ‘s maandags (on Mondays).
The months
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| januari / februari / maart | January / February / March |
| april / mei / juni | April / May / June |
| juli / augustus / september | July / August / September |
| oktober / november / december | October / November / December |
Also lowercase. To say in a month, use in: in januari, in december.
The four seasons
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| de lente / het voorjaar | spring |
| de zomer | summer |
| de herfst / het najaar | autumn |
| de winter | winter |
You go in a season too: in de zomer, in de winter.
Saying the date: day, month, year
Dutch dates run day-month-year, with plain cardinal numbers. As Dutch grammar references note, you do not add “the” or an ordinal in speech:
- 5 mei 2026 is spoken vijf mei tweeduizend zesentwintig.
- Written short it is 05-05-2026.
- Vandaag is het 5 mei (today is 5 May).
This day-first order matters: 05-06 means 5 June, not 6 May. Mixing it up with the American month-first habit causes missed appointments.
For pronunciation of the months and ordinals, Forvo has native recordings.
op, in, om: the three little time words
One simple system covers most time expressions:
| Word | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| op | a day or date | op maandag, op 5 mei |
| in | a month, season, year | in mei, in de zomer, in 2026 |
| om | a clock time | om drie uur |
So De afspraak is op maandag 5 mei om half drie (the appointment is on Monday 5 May at 2:30) uses all three.
Where it connects
Telling the date pairs naturally with telling the time and with saying numbers and prices. It also underpins booking anything by phone, like getting around an appointment line, and knowing which days shops shut, covered in Dutch opening hours.
The bottom line
Dutch days and months are lowercase (maandag, mei). Use op for a day, in for a month or season, om for a clock time. Dates run day-month-year with plain numbers: 5 mei 2026, written 05-05-2026. Remember the day comes first, learn the four seasons, and you can book, plan and confirm anything.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that drills the calendar words you organise life around, the days, the months, op maandag, in de zomer, plus reading a date like 05-05, in five-minute real-situation lessons, so booking appointments is effortless.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say the date in Dutch?
Dutch dates run day-month-year and use plain cardinal numbers. So 5 May 2026 is vijf mei tweeduizend zesentwintig, written 5 mei 2026 or 05-05-2026. You do not say ‘the fifth of May’; you just say vijf mei. Days and months are written in lowercase (maandag, mei), unlike English. The day comes first in writing, so 05-06 means 5 June, not 6 May.
Do Dutch days and months start with a capital letter?
No. Unlike English, Dutch writes days of the week and months in lowercase: maandag (Monday), dinsdag (Tuesday), januari (January), mei (May). You only capitalise them at the start of a sentence. This is a common writing mistake for English speakers, who instinctively capitalise Monday or January out of habit.
How do you say ‘on Monday’ or ‘in summer’ in Dutch?
Use op for a day and in for a month or season. Op maandag means ‘on Monday’, and op 5 mei means ‘on 5 May’. In januari means ‘in January’, and in de zomer means ‘in summer’. For repeated days you can also say ‘s maandags (on Mondays). Clock times use om: om drie uur (at three o’clock). So op, in and om cover almost every time expression.
What is the best app to learn Dutch days, months and dates?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it drills the calendar Dutch you use to run your life, the days, the months, op maandag, in de zomer, and reading a date like 05-05, in five-minute real-situation lessons, so making and confirming appointments is effortless.
