The posts in this section cover dating in Spanish from the first words you say to each other, to going on a date, to breaking up. It includes ways to find out more about them and their interests, making plans together and phrases while at bars, clubs and movies.

Oddly, there isn’t really an exact translation for either the noun “date” or the verb “dating” in Spanish. The translation for the noun “date” is cita but it also can mean appointment, like an appointment you have with your doctor. In some countries the word cita is hardly ever used when talking about a date. There is also no direct translation of “dating” either. Instead they use salir which means “go out.” I’ll go over “date” and “dating” more below.

The noun “date”

In Spanish they use the word cita for both “date” and “appointment.” Because cita can mean “date” or “appointment” that might be why you don’t hear it as much in Spanish when talking about people dating.

So if you say this:

Tengo una cita con mi dentista mañana.

It could mean:

I have an appointment with my dentist tomorrow.

Or it could mean:

I have a date with my dentist tomorrow.

It’s not 100% clear without more context. That could be the reason why in Spanish if you are talking about a date it’s much more common to use the verb salir that translates to “go out” instead of using the noun “date.”

So instead of trying to say “I have a date with my dentist tomorrow” you could say:

I’m going out with my dentist tomorrow.
Voy a salir con mi dentista mañana.
voy ah sah-leer kohn mee dehn-tees-tah mahn-yah-nah.

Instead of saying “I had a date once with my dentist” you could say:

I went out once with my dentist.
Salí una vez con mi dentista.
sah-lEE oon-ah vehs kohn mee dehn-tees-tah.

In those examples it would be understood that you talking about a date with your dentist instead of an appointment.

Tener cita vs. tener una cita?

Tener means to have in Spanish. When you talk about an appointment you can use either tener cita – “to have appointment” or tener una cita - “to have AN appointment.” But when you are talking about dating you should only use tener una cita – “to have a date.” So if you are talking about an appointment it’s best to use tener cita even though you could say tener una cita because this would help clarify that you have an appointment and not a date since tener una cita can be either. That’s why it’s best to just avoid cita and say it like Spanish speakers and use “go out” – salir instead of a “date.”

What is the difference between “going on a date,” “having a date” or “making a date”?

I’m going out on a date.
Voy a salir a una cita.
voy a sah-leer ah oon-ah see-tah.

I have a date tonight.
Tengo una cita esta noche.
tehn-goh oon-ah see-tah ehs-tah noh-cheh.

I’m going to make a date with her.
Voy a hacer una cita con ella.
voy ah ah-sehr oon-ah see-tah kohn eh-yah.

If you feel it’s necessary to add context that the cita is a date and not an appointment you can just add an adjective and say cita romantica. Romantica means “romantic” so this would make it clear you are talking about a date and not an appointment.

What about a person that is your date? You can use cita for this also but it’s not used as much in Spanish. In some Spanish speaking countries it’s not used at all, depends on where you are.

Here comes my date.
Ya viene mi cita.
yah vee-ehn-eh mee see-tah.

What about the countries that don’t use cita when you are talking about the person who is your date? They probably use a word like pareja. Pareja means “couple” as in a guy and girl who are a couple.

Here comes my date.
Ya viene mi pareja.
yah vee-ehn-eh mee pah-reh-hah.

It sounds strange but what you are literally saying is “here comes my couple” even though you are just talking about the person who is your date.

Here’s some other translations:

When you are talking about “date” like “date of birth” or “what is the date today?” you don’t use cita you use fecha:

What is the date today?
¿Qué fecha es hoy?
¿kEH feh-chah ehs oy?

The verb “dating”

Above we talked about the noun “date” so let’s go over the verb “dating.” In Spanish there isn’t a direct translation for the word “dating.” Instead they use “going out” which is salir. If you want to tell someone that you and somebody else are dating you can say:

We’re dating.
Estamos saliendo. (We’re going out. )
ehs-tah-mohs sah-lee-ehn-doh.

I’m dating her.
Estoy saliendo con ella. (I’m going out with her.)
ehs-toy sah-lee-ehn-doh kohn eh-yah.

I’m dating him.
Estoy saliendo con él. (I’m going out with him.)
ehs-toy sah-lee-ehn-doh kohn EHl.

Here’s some other examples:

Is she dating anyone?
¿(Ella) está saliendo con alguien? (Is she going out with anyone?)
¿(eh-yah) ehs-tAH sah-lee-ehn-doh kohn ahl-gyeen?

Is he dating anyone?
¿(Él) está saliendo con alguien? (Is he going out with anyone?)
¿(EHl) ehs-tAH sah-lee-ehn-doh kohn ahl-gyeen?

Are you dating anyone?
¿Estás saliendo con alguien? (Are you going out with anyone?)
¿ehs-tAHs sah-lee-ehn-doh kohn ahl-gyeen?

Just like in English “going out” doesn’t have to be used only in the context of dating. In Spanish the verb salir is used in a lot ways that have nothing to do with dating. Example:

I’m going out with some friends tonight.
Voy a salir con unos amigos está noche.
voy ah sah-leer kohn oon-ohs ah-mee-gohs ehs-tAH noh-cheh.

Check out the links below for more posts related to dating in Spanish-