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Fecha vs. dato

Word practice demo
In Spanish, the words fecha and dato are often confused by learners, but they have distinct and separate meanings. Fecha is used exclusively for a calendar date, while dato refers to a piece of information or data in a more general sense.

Fecha

A1
Fecha specifically refers to a calendar date, which indicates a particular day, month, and/or year. It answers the question When?.
¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy?
(What is today's date?)
La fecha de la boda es el cinco de octubre.
(The date of the wedding is October fifth.)
Necesito saber tu fecha de nacimiento para el registro.
(I need to know your date of birth for the registration.)
Por favor, revisa la fecha de vencimiento del producto.
(Please check the expiration date of the product.)
Fijamos una fecha para la próxima reunión del equipo.
(We set a date for the next team meeting.)
Es una fecha histórica para nuestro país.
(It is a historic date for our country.)

Dato

A2
Dato refers to a piece of information, a fact, a figure, or data. It is a single unit of information and can be about anything, not just time.
Para completar el formulario, me falta un dato personal.
(To complete the form, I am missing a piece of personal information.)
El informe presenta un dato muy revelador sobre la economía.
(The report presents a very revealing piece of data about the economy.)
Como dato curioso, las hormigas no duermen.
(As a fun fact, ants do not sleep.)
La contraseña es un dato muy importante que debes proteger.
(The password is a very important piece of information that you must protect.)
El científico analiza cada dato con mucho cuidado.
(The scientist analyzes every piece of data very carefully.)
Necesito ese dato para poder ayudarte con tu problema.
(I need that piece of information to be able to help you with your problem.)

Summary

In short, use fecha only for a calendar date (e.g., December 25th, 2024). Use dato for any other piece of information, fact, statistic, or figure. While a date (fecha) can be considered a type of information (dato), a dato is almost never a fecha.