How to write the date 17 December in British English?

Writing date 17 December in English can be done in a variety of ways. Here are some common ways to write the date 17 December in British English.

In British English, which is mainly used in Australia, the day is followed by the month, which is then followed by the year. The 17th day of the month December, in the year 2019 , might be written in full (in order of complexity):


  • 17 Dec
  • 17 December 2019
  • 17th December 2019
  • the 17th of December 2019
  • the 17th of December, 2019

The last two date formats are more formal. The “the” and “of” are optional but if you do use them, you must add both “the” and “of.” It is incorrect to say only “17th of December” or “the 17th December.”

As for the year, commas are not necessary when you write the date in British English, but you can if you prefer this style.

If you wish to add the name of the day, it should come before the date, and should either be separated by a comma or joined by “the” and “of.”


  • seventeenth, 17 December 2019
  • seventeenth the 17th of December, 2019


17 December | Write the correct date format in British English words

How to write the date 17 December in numbers?

If you prefer to abbreviate the date, you can use the following style in British English. Again, the day comes first, then the month, then the year.


  • 17/12/19 or 17.12.19 or 17-12-19
  • 17Dec2019 or 17-Dec-19

The most commonly used separator in the all-numeric date format is a forward slash (/). However, you can also use a hyphen (-) or a period (.).



What is the correct date format (17 December) in English?

How you do this usually depends on whether you write a formal letter or an informal note; or whether your use the British or American date format. As you can see from the examples below, there are a number of ways in which you can write the same date.

A general rule: the more complicated the style of date, the more formal it is.



  • 17th or 17rd or 17st or 17nd
  • 17th or 17rd
  • 17th or 17st
  • 17th or 17nd
  • 17rd or 17th
  • 17rd or 17st
  • 17rd or 17nd
  • 17st or 17th
  • 17st or 17rd
  • 17st or 17nd
  • 17nd or 17th
  • 17nd or 17rd
  • 17nd or 17st
  • how do you write 17 December 2019
  • 17th of December
  • 17 December spelling
  • December in number form
  • 17th December or December 17th