How to Talk About the 4 Seasons in Spanish: Las Estaciones Del Año
Talking about the weather and seasons is a common conversation starter in Spanish. If you travel to any Spanish-speaking country, you will find different seasonal weather patterns directly linked to the time of the year.
But in order to speak about them, you need to count with basic vocabulary about the seasons of the year (“las estaciones del año”).
Effortless Answers
The word for seasons is Spanish is: las estaciones.
The 4 seasons in Spanish are:
• Primavera – Spring
• Verano – Summer
• Otoño – Autumn
• Invierno – Winter
You can learn how to speak about the seasons and weather in Spanish with the locals from the following video. You can also mention the festivals you will learn below in this article!
Here is all you need to know about the 4 seasons in Spanish (“las cuatro estaciones”) and how to discuss them in Spanish.
1. Autumn In Spanish: Otoño
Although the weather can vary greatly according to the region, autumn is generally the season where the days start to get shorter, the temperatures begin to drop, and the trees shed their leaves in preparation for winter.
In fact, the word “otoño” derives from the Latin word “autumnus”, which means “the fall of the leaves”.
In the Spanish-speaking world, several cultural and religious traditions are held in this season:
- Barcelona’s largest festival, La Mercé (“Mercé” is a catalan word) takes place in late September.
- This festival is dedicated to one of the city’s patron saints, Our Lady of Mercy, and it’s full of music, parades, and traditional dances.
- In Mexico, people celebrate el Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), on November 1st and 2nd.
- During these holidays, Mexicans honor their dead loved ones by visiting their graves or by placing the deceased’s favorite foods in home altars.
Autumn is also the time of year where many crops are harvested, and in some regions of Spain and Latin America, there are festivals and fairs related to that:
- For example, la Fiesta de la Vendimia Riojana is a grape harvest festival in La Rioja, Spain.
- In Mendoza, Argentina, there is a wine festival called La Fiesta de la Vendimia, where a harvest queen is selected. Similar events take place in Chile and Uruguay.
Autumn vocabulary words
| Leaves | |
| Cool | |
| Rain | |
| Wind | |
| Jacket | |
| Harvest | |
| Grapes |
Phrases that you can say or hear in autumn
| The days are getting shorter. | |
| The air is getting cooler. | |
| My sidewalk is full of leaves, I have to sweep them. | |
| This weekend is the grape harvest festival. We could watch the parade on TV. | |
| Who was crowned the harvest queen this year? |
2. Winter In Spanish: Invierno
Winter starts in December in Mexico, Spain, and other Spanish-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere. In Latin American countries in the Southern Hemisphere, it starts in July.
Winter is the coldest season everywhere, but depending on the region, it can also be the dry season (“la estación seca”), the rainy season (“la estación lluviosa”), or the snowy season (“la temporada de nieve”).
The snow typically enables winter sports such as skiing. This is common in the areas around the Pyrenees mountains in Spain and the Andes mountains in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. So, if you are planning a Spanish travel journey to Latin America, be prepared for this!
In Central America and Mexico, there is hardly any snow, but they celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve at this time of the year.
Winter vocabulary words
| Bufanda | Scarf |
| Abrigo | Coat |
| Guantes | Gloves |
| Botas | Boots |
| Nieve | Snow |
| Muñeco de nieve | Snowman |
| Trineo | Sled |
| Esquiar | Skiing |
Phrases that you can say or hear in winter
| Hace mucho frío afuera | It’s very cold outside |
| Vamos a tomar chocolate caliente para entrar en calor | Let’s have hot chocolate to warm up |
| ¿Quieres construir un muñeco de nieve? | Do you want to build a snowman? |
| Aprovechemos bien el día, se hace de noche temprano ahora | Let’s make the most of the day, it gets dark early now |
| Ha estado lloviendo/nevando todo el día | It’s been raining/snowing all day long |
| ¿Te gusta mi bufanda nueva? | Do you like my new scarf? |
| Déjame agarrar mi abrigo antes de salir | Let me grab my coat before we go out |
3. Spring In Spanish: Primavera
In the Spanish-speaking world, spring is a season linked to the rebirth of nature after the cold winter months.
On September 21st, the day where spring begins in the Southern Hemisphere, people from Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay celebrate El Día de la Primavera (Spring Day) in parks and other outdoor areas.
In general, as the temperatures get milder, outdoor activities start to prevail again.
Most Spanish-speaking countries are Christian, so people celebrate the Holy Week in April, which in Spanish-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs in spring. In the Northern Hemisphere, spring starts on the 21st of March.
Do you know what’s the best way to learn the Spanish seasons? It’s Conversation Based Chunking! With this method, you quickly learn chunks without memorizing grammar definitions so you can speak in real-life situations. Sign up to learn more about our Chunking Starter Pack!
Spring vocabulary words
| Flores | Flowers |
| Cálido | Warm |
| Mariposa | Butterfly |
| Sol / Soleado | Sun / sunny |
| Cerezo en flor | Cherry blossom |
| Cielo azul | Blue sky |
| Polen | Pollen |
Phrases that you can say or hear in spring
| ¿Cuál es tu estación favorita? La mía es la primavera | What’s your favorite season? Mine is spring |
| Las flores de mi jardín están floreciendo | My garden’s flowers are blooming |
| Vamos a tomar algo de sol al parque | Let’s go catch some sun at the park |
| Vamos a hacer un picnic en el parque | Let’s have a picnic in the park |
| ¡Qué lindo sol! | What a beautiful sun |
| ¡Por fin hace más calor! | It’s finally getting warmer! |
| Está lleno de mariposas aquí | It’s full of butterflies here |
4. Summer In Spanish: Verano
In Spanish-speaking countries, summer is a time when days are longer and warmer; people perform a lot of outdoor activities, visit the pool, and go on vacation.
Beaches in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Tenerife (Spain), Cancun (Mexico), and Punta del Este (Uruguay) are full of swimmers and water sportists during summer months.
In Spain, the famous Running of the Bulls festival (simply called “encierro” in Spain; a Spanish word for “confinement”) and La Tomatina festival (where people throw tomatoes at each other) takes place in the summer (in July).
People in Argentina, Uruguay, Brasil, Peru, Chile, and Colombia, celebrate the carnivals (“carnavales”) in the summer, mainly in February.
Summer vocabulary words
| Calor | Heat |
| Sudor | Sweat |
| Playa | Beach |
| Arena | Sand |
| Mar | Sea |
| Nadar | To swim |
| Helado | Ice cream |
| Sombrilla | Beach umbrella |
| Aire libre | Outdoors |
Phrases that you can say or hear in summer
| Me estoy asando. | I’m roasting. |
| María fue a la playa y se bronceó. | María went to the beach and got tanned. |
| Ponte las chanclas, la arena está caliente. | Put on your flip-flops, the sand is hot. |
| Tengo que comprarme un traje de baño para ir a la piscina. | I have to buy a swimsuit to go to the pool. |
| Hace mucho calor afuera, el sol quema. | It’s very hot outside, the sun is burning. |
| Me quemé con el sol. | I got sunburned. |
| Vamos a nadar. | Let’s go swimming. |
5. Learn The Four Seasons In Spanish: Months, Weather And Seasons In Spanish
Months of the year in Spanish
| Enero | January |
| Febrero | February |
| Marzo | March |
| Abril | April |
| Mayo | May |
| Junio | June |
| Julio | July |
| Agosto | August |
| Septiembre | September |
| Octubre | October |
| Noviembre | November |
| Diciembre | December |
Furthermore, you can learn all 12 months in Spanish with this video brought to you by the Spring Spanish YouTube channel. Spring Spanish is part of the multi-language teaching website called Spring Languages (which I’m a co-founder).
And one more thing, although we already mentioned some of them in this article: there are numerous holidays in Spanish speaking countries that are full of fun and laughter. Make sure to check them out!
These are the seasons in Spanish-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere (Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela)
Seasons in Spanish-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere
| Otoño – Autumn | 21 de septiembre – 21 de diciembre |
| Invierno – Winter | 21 de diciembre – 21 de marzo |
| Primavera – Spring | 21 de marzo – 21 de junio |
| Verano – Summer | 21 de junio – 21 de agosto |
These are the seasons in Spanish-speaking countries in the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brasil, Paraguay, Bolivia, parts of Peru, and parts of Ecuador)
Seasons in Spanish-speaking countries in the Southern Hemisphere
| Otoño – Autumn | 21 de marzo – 21 de junio |
| Invierno – Winter | 21 de junio – 21 de septiembre |
| Primavera – Spring | 21 de septiembre – 21 de diciembre |
| Verano – Summer | 21 de diciembre – 21 de marzo |
6. Practice the four seasons in Spanish with flashcards
Practice makes perfect, right?! So, it’s time to check out our flashcard set made for this blog post. Fill in the blanks with the correct Spanish words and phrases for seasons in Spanish!
And this isn’t even everything we have to offer: click the button now and request access to our Full Practice Worksheet Library, where you can access tons of exercises for other topics, too.
7. Learn More About The Seasons With Conversation Based Chunking
I trust that this article has helped you talk about the four seasons in Spanish.
To learn Spanish, the Conversation Based Chunking™ approach is the simplest way. This method, which has aided numerous students worldwide in achieving great success, may be found in my book.
Would you like to learn more?
Be sure to download your free Spanish Chunking Starter Pack, which includes a four-step process for learning Spanish without memorizing word lists and grammar regulations. It includes instructional videos for Conversation Based Chunking™, a list of resources to help you get started, and much more.
If you want to become proficient in Spanish, I recommend downloading the free starter pack and beginning to use the methodology in your studies.
