How do you phrase the date?

What are you learning here?

• How to say days, months and full dates in Dutch.
• When to use op and when to use in.
• How to talk about holidays and special dates.
• How to answer and ask: Welke dag is het vandaag?

1. The three building blocks

To say a date in Dutch, you combine three elements:

• Dag van de week (Monday, Tuesday…)
• Dag van de maand (1, 2, 3…)
• Maand (January, February…)

In a full written date the order is always:

• dag (nummer) + maand + jaar
  12 augustus 2023

If you add the day of the week, it comes in front:

• dag van de week + dag (nummer) + maand (+ jaar)
  Maandag 3 april 2025

2. When to use op and when to use in

The main rule is simple. Think in two questions:

1. Do I talk about a specific day? → use op.
2. Do I talk about a period (month or year)? → use in.

Self-check: If you can answer in English with “on … day/date”, you almost always need op in Dutch. If you answer with “in … month/year”, you need in.

3. Full dates in sentences

When you talk about a specific event on a specific date, combine everything:

• op + dag van de week + dag (nummer) + maand + jaar

Examples:

• We hebben een teamvergadering op donderdag 3 april 2025.
  We have a team meeting on Thursday, April 3, 2025.
• Ik heb mijn examen op dinsdag 12 september 2024.
  I have my exam on Tuesday, September 12, 2024.

You can leave out the day of the week if it is not important:

• We hebben een teamvergadering op 3 april 2025.

4. Talking about today, tomorrow, dates

Very common questions and answers:

• Welke dag is het vandaag? – What day is it today?
• Het is donderdag 12 juli. – It is Thursday, July 12.

Structure of the answer:

• Het is + dag van de week + dag (nummer) + maand (+ jaar)

Examples:

• Het is maandag 25 december.
• Het is vrijdag 10 mei 2024.

Notice: in this type of answer we normally do not use op or in. We only say the date.

5. Holidays: with or without op?

With holidays you see two patterns. Both are used.

Both are correct. At A1 level, it is safe to use:

• Feestdag + is op + datum
  Pasen is op 31 maart 2024.

When you talk about what you do that day, you again use op:

• Wij werken niet, want het is Pasen op 31 maart 2024.

6. Typical problems and how to avoid them

• Problem 1: Using in with days of the week
  Ik werk in maandag.
  ✅ Ik werk op maandag.
• Problem 2: Using op with months or years
  Ik heb vakantie op juli.
  ✅ Ik heb vakantie in juli.
• Problem 3: English word order in dates
  English: April 3, 2025
  Dutch: 3 april 2025 (day first, then month)
• Problem 4: Adding a preposition in short answers with dates
  To the question Welke dag is het vandaag?
  Het is op donderdag 12 juli.
  ✅ Het is donderdag 12 juli. (no op)

7. Quick self-check

1. You talk about a period like a month or a year.
   • Do you use op or in?
   • Example: “I start my new job in 2026.” → Ik begin met mijn nieuwe baan in 2026.
2. You talk about a specific day or full date.
   • Do you use op or in?
   • Example: “The meeting is on Monday, April 3.” → De vergadering is op maandag 3 april.
3. You answer the question Welke dag is het vandaag?
   • Do you add op?
   • Correct form: Het is maandag 25 december.

If you can answer these three points correctly, you control the basic system for dates in Dutch.