The 4 Seasons In Spanish (Vocabulary Guide & Related Terms)

Whether you’re visiting or living in a Spanish-speaking country, knowing how to identify the four seasons in Spanish is an important lesson.

Just like understanding the days of the week, the months of the year, or the Spanish numbers, you should know the seasons regardless of the hemisphere you’re in.

In this guide, you’ll learn the four seasons in Spanish (in order) and some bonus related vocabulary.

Let’s begin!

What are the four seasons in Spanish?

The four seasons in Spanish are: la primavera, el verano, el otoño and el invierno.

Here’s what Spaniards call these seasons in English.

• La primavera is spring 🌱
• El verano is summer ☀️
• El otoño is autumn 🍂
• El invierno is winter ❄️

How do you say seasons of the year in Spanish?

The phrase you’re looking for if you want to say “seasons of the year” in Spanish is estaciones del año.

The noun estaciones is the plural version of estación, which means “season”, and the noun año means year.

You can also say las cuatro estaciones if you’re talking about “the four seasons”.

Do the four seasons in Spanish always feature definite articles?

It’s important to remember that all the seasons feature definite articles, but not always.

This rule means that when you talk about spring, summer, autumn, or winter, you must use the definite article before the noun for most cases.

Primavera is the only feminine season and uses the article la. The other seasons use the article el as they’re masculine nouns.

For example, if you want to say that summer is coming, you would say viene el verano.

Sometimes you don’t have to use the definite article, such as when you mention a season in a sentence that follows ser, en or de.

For example, if you wanted to say that you’re going to travel in summer, you would say voy a viajar en verano.

In this sentence, you can see that you don’t have to use the article el.

In Spanish, how do you say “rainy season” and “dry season”?

To maximise your vocabulary, remember that “rainy season” in Spanish gives us estación lluviosa, where lluviosa means “rainy”.

You should also try to remember that “dry season” in Spanish gives us estación seca, where seca means “dry”.

For example, if you’re travelling to the Caribbean and you’re going during the rainy season, you could say voy a viajar al caribe durante la estación lluviosa.

What are the adjectival forms in Spanish of the four seasons?

If you want to use the adjectival forms of the four seasons in Spanish, you can either use the preposition de in front of the season you want to describe or use an alternative phrase (listed below in this section).

For example, if you want to say “it’s a spring-like day”, you would simply say parece un día de primavera.

Or if you want to say “it’s a summery night”, just say una noche de verano.

Here are the four phrases you can also use to mention the adjectival forms of the four seasons in Spanish:

• Primaveral (spring-like)
• Veraniego (summer-like)
• Otoñal (autumnal)
• Invernal (wintry)

What are the origins of la primavera?

The noun la primavera derives from the Latin word prima (which means first) and ver (which means “to see”).

When these words are combined, the result may refer to the first time you see animals being born in the year.

Which months of the year in Spanish belong to la primavera?

The months that belong to la primavera are:

• Marzo - March
• Abril - April
• Mayo - May

Check out our article on the months of the year in Spanish to learn more about this topic.

Which Spanish vocabulary do we associate with la primavera?

There are plenty of words that we associate with la primavera in Spanish, including the following vocabulary set:

• Los flores - the flowers
• Las plantas - the plants
• Nacer - to be born
• Fresquito - cool / fresh (weather)
• Los pájaros - the birds
• Primaveral - spring-like
• La naturaleza - nature

Watch out for these phrases as you grow your vocabulary set, and listen to how Spaniards use these words during springtime.

What are the main springtime holidays in Spanish?

Some of the main springtime holidays in Spanish include:

• Semana Santa means “holy week” and is also known as Pascua or “Easter” when Spaniards honour the life of Jesus Christ.
• El Día de la Madre refers to “Mother’s Day” when Spaniards celebrate and honour their mothers.
• El Día de la Primavera - this holiday refers to “Spring Day”, celebrated in some Latin American countries.

What are the origins of el verano?

El verano originates from the Latin word veranum.

Like la primavera, el verano contains the verb ver, which may connote the sight of longer days.

Which months of the year in Spanish belong to el verano?

The months of the year in Spanish that belong to el verano are:

• Junio - June
• Julio - July
• Agosto - August

Which Spanish vocabulary do we associate with el verano?

You’ll find some of the words we associate with el verano in the following vocabulary set:

• La playa - the beach
• La arena - the sand
• Los castillos de arena - the sandcastles
• El mar - the sea
• El calor - the heat
• Veraniego - summer-like
• El sol - the sun
• Los helados - the ice creams
• La fruta fresca - the fresh fruit

You’ll hear so many Spanish speakers talking about la playa or bañandose en el mar (swimming in the sea) or tomando helados (eating ice creams) so listen out for these phrases during the sweltering summer!

What are the main summertime holidays in Spanish?

Some of the main summertime holidays in Spanish that you should note include:

• El Día del Padre refers to “Father’s Day” when Spaniards celebrate and honour their fathers.
• San Juan refers to “Saint John’s Night”, where Spaniards celebrate the year’s longest day and shortest night. Bonfires on the beach are common during this celebration.
• La Tomatina - this holiday happens in Valencia, a festival of local entertainment and tomato fights on the street!

What does el estío mean in Spanish?

El estío is another noun that means summer in English, but it’s not used in everyday conversations.

Instead, if you’re an avid reader, you may encounter the phrase el estío in literary texts.

What are the origins of el otoño?

El otoño originates from the Latin noun autumnus, the exact origin of the English season “autumn”.

Which months of the year in Spanish belong to el otoño?

The months of the year in Spanish that belong to el otoño are:

• Septiembre - September
• Octubre - October
• Noviembre - November

Which Spanish vocabulary do we associate with el otoño?

The following vocabulary set contains vital words in Spanish that we associate with el otoño:

• Las hojas - the leaves
• El lodo - the mud
• Las castañas - the chestnuts
• Las nueces - the walnuts / the nuts
• Los árboles - the trees
• Las calabazas - the pumpkins
• Las manzanas - the apples
• Las tormentas - the storms
• El frío - the cold

Plenty of Spaniards will start talking about the return of el frio, noches largas (long nights) and días cortos (short days) at this time, so be prepared to hear this vocabulary a lot!

What are the main autumntime holidays in Spanish?

Some of the main autumntime holidays in Spanish include:

• Víspera de Todos los Santos Halloween is a more popular holiday in Latin America than in Spain and is referred to as “All Saint’s Day”.
• Día de los Muertos is a holiday widely celebrated in Mexico when people honour the deceased and celebrate the deceased’s lives.

What are the origins of el invierno?

The origin of the season el invierno is in the Latin season hibernum.

Hibernum is used to describe the winter season and is a verb root that refers to hibernation.

Which months of the year in Spanish belong to el invierno?

The months of the year in Spanish that belong to el invierno are:

• Diciembre - December
• Enero - January
• Febrero - February

Which Spanish vocabulary do we associate with* el invierno*?

Look at the vocabulary set below, which features the key vocabulary we associate with el invierno.

• El frío - the cold
• La nieve - the snow
• La lluvia - the rain
• Los guantes - the gloves
• La bufanda - the scarf
• Muñecos de nieve - snowmen
• Bolas de nieve - snowballs
• La escarcha - the frost

When el invierno comes, prepare for Spanish speakers talking about granizo (hailstones) and tormentas de invierno (winter storms) needing bufandas, botas, guantes, and gorros.

What are the main wintertime holidays in Spanish in el invierno?

Some of the main winter holidays in Spanish include:

• Nochebuena - this refers to Christmas Eve and literally means “Good Night”.
• La Navidad - this holiday is known as Christmas in English, during which Spaniards celebrate the birth of Jesus.
• Nochevieja - this holiday is referred to as New Year’s Eve when Spaniards commence the race to eat 12 grapes at midnight!
• Día de Año Nuevo refers to New Year’s Day, when Spaniards celebrate the new year.
• Día de Reyes - this refers to the “Day of the Three Kings”, where Spaniards celebrate the “Three Wise Men” known as the Reyes Magos. Young children receive presents and sweet treats on this day.
• Carnaval - this holiday (as you might notice due to the similar spelling) refers to the carnival that Spaniards celebrate in February.

Talk about the 4 seasons in Spanish with confidence

You’ve now got everything you need to know about the four seasons in Spanish.

Next on your list should be learning the days and months if you haven’t already.

It might seem like a lot to take in, but as each season passes, you’ll notice the exciting festivals and remember the vocabulary of Spanish culture.

Anything I missed?

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