Most of the Spanish-speaking world talks about four seasons of the year (estaciones del año), just as in English:

As in English, seasons are deemed to begin and end—in a formal sense—on the year's longest and shortest days. For example, summer begins around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere but around Dec. 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. But in a popular sense, summer can also be thought of as including the hottest months, typically June, July, and August in the Northern Hemisphere, but December, January, and February in the Southern Hemisphere.

In much of the tropics, however, just two seasons are recognized locally:

The definite article (el or la) is almost always used with the names of the seasons. In many cases, it is used where it isn't in English:

The same rule applies in the plural form:

Determiners such as este (this) and un (one) can substitute the definite article.

The definite article can be omitted (but doesn't have to be) after forms of the verb ser and the prepositions en and de:

The main names of the four seasons in Spanish all come from Latin:

Most of the time, the equivalent of adjectives such as "wintry" and "summery" can be translated by combining the name of the season with de to create a phrase such as de invierno and de verano. There are also separate adjectival forms that are sometimes used: invernal (wintry), primaveral (springlike), veraniego (summery), and otoñal (autumnal).

Verano also has a verb form, veranear, which means to spend the summer away from home.