Getting day suffix when using DateTime.ToString()

Question

Is it possible to include the day suffix when formatting a date using DateTime.ToString()?

For example I would like to print the date in the following format - Monday 27th July 2009. However the closest example I can find using DateTime.ToString() is Monday 27 July 2009.

Can I do this with DateTime.ToString() or am I going to have to fall back to my own code?

FYI, "[date] ordinal suffix" is what these are called. "Day" typically refers to Monday-Sunday — Richard Szalay, Mar 21 '17 at 00:40
@grenade I want this to be the answer so bad. I've been searching for the better part of an hour to format NodaTime as mentioned in the question, but as far as I can tell it doesn't work: https://nodatime.org/2.3.x/userguide/localdate-patterns (even in 2020) It looks like momentjs has this because they built their own localization model: https://momentjs.com/docs/#/i18n/ — Drew Delano, Aug 11 '20 at 02:07
https://nodatime.org/3.0.x/userguide/limitations Additionally, all our text localization resources (day and month names) come from the .NET framework itself. That has some significant limitations, and makes Noda Time more reliant on CultureInfo than is ideal. CLDR contains more information, which should allow for features such as ordinal day numbers ("1st", "2nd", "3rd") and a broader set of supported calendar/culture combinations (such as English names for the Hebrew calendar months). — Drew Delano, Aug 18 '20 at 17:57

score 271 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 28 '13 at 14:00

271

Another option using switch:

string GetDaySuffix(int day)
{
    switch (day)
    {
        case 1:
        case 21:
        case 31:
            return "st";
        case 2:
        case 22:
            return "nd";
        case 3:
        case 23:
            return "rd";
        default:
            return "th";
    }
}

edited Oct 28 '13 at 14:00

svick

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answered Feb 03 '12 at 14:24

Lazlow

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+1 Simple, easy to read, and most importantly, works for all cases. – Lynn Crumbling Apr 21 '13 at 22:13
24

@Lazlow In case you are wondering about the sudden activity: your answer was linked as an "how to do it right" example by [The Daily WTF](http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Remember,-Remember-the-ThirtyThird-of-November.aspx). – tobias_k Oct 28 '13 at 14:01
@tobias_k thanks - I wondered how my minuscule reputation had doubled so quickly! – Lazlow Nov 01 '13 at 09:39
1

For those who want the full date formatting: return date.ToString("dd MMMM yyyy").Insert(2, GetDaySuffix(date.Day)); //e.g 12th January 2020 – 1fuyouinfinite Aug 02 '20 at 19:29
Needed this and am I am glad I found it but just sad that this formatting hasn't been updated in .NET6 still. particularly because I need this with localization. – DVS Nov 18 '22 at 17:48

score 70 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 06 '21 at 15:19

70

As a reference I always use/refer to [SteveX String Formatting] 1 and there doesn't appear to be any "th" in any of the available variables but you could easily build a string with

string.Format("{0:dddd dd}{1} {0:MMMM yyyy}", DateTime.Now, (?));

You would then have to supply a "st" for 1, "nd" for 2, "rd" for 3, and "th" for all others and could be in-lined with a "? :" statement.

var now = DateTime.Now;
(now.Day % 10 == 1 && now.Day % 100 != 11) ? "st"
: (now.Day % 10 == 2 && now.Day % 100 != 12) ? "nd"
: (now.Day % 10 == 3 && now.Day % 100 != 13) ? "rd"
: "th"

edited Feb 06 '21 at 15:19

Jez

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answered Jan 12 '10 at 17:17

Bryan Bailliache

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This would need to be further expanded to cover the other cases, otherwise you'll end up with "21th", for example. – Kasaku Jul 27 '11 at 11:37
1

For what it's worth, Microsoft's official documentation of string formatting options can be found [here](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/fbxft59x%28v=vs.80%29.aspx). – Bobson Nov 14 '12 at 21:38
9

`DateTime.Now` is retrieved several times in the same expression, the values can be different if the code is executed around midnight. – AlexD Jul 05 '16 at 23:08
1

I fixed the code to work with numbers over 100 so you will now get `112th` instead of `112nd`. – Jez Feb 06 '21 at 15:20
2

@Jez I think there no Day of a Date above 100, check Microsoft Doc https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.datetime.day The Previous edit for answer must be the correct one: https://stackoverflow.com/revisions/2050854/4 and re-back your changes – ahmed hamdy Mar 22 '21 at 17:36
@Bobson That link is broken. – ryanwebjackson Sep 02 '21 at 14:47

Oundless · Answer 3 · 2019-06-10T16:30:49.120

Using a couple of extension methods:

namespace System
{
    public static class IntegerExtensions
    {
        public static string ToOccurrenceSuffix(this int integer)
        {
            switch (integer % 100)
            {
                case 11:
                case 12:
                case 13:
                    return "th";
            }
            switch (integer % 10)
            {
                case 1:
                    return "st";
                case 2:
                    return "nd";
                case 3:
                    return "rd";
                default:
                    return "th";
            }
        }
    }   

    public static class DateTimeExtensions
    {
        public static string ToString(this DateTime dateTime, string format, bool useExtendedSpecifiers)
        {
            return useExtendedSpecifiers 
                ? dateTime.ToString(format)
                    .Replace("nn", dateTime.Day.ToOccurrenceSuffix().ToLower())
                    .Replace("NN", dateTime.Day.ToOccurrenceSuffix().ToUpper())
                : dateTime.ToString(format);
        } 
    }
}

Usage:

return DateTime.Now.ToString("dddd, dnn MMMM yyyy", useExtendedSpecifiers: true);
// Friday, 7th March 2014

Note: The integer extension method can be used for any number, not just 1 to 31. e.g.

return 332211.ToOccurrenceSuffix();
// th

Thanks Buddy. Much Helpful. I have implemented in my project. :) — Chandan Kumar, May 15 '14 at 09:18
Your code kind of... forgets to check the `useExtendedSpecifiers` boolean :p — Nyerguds, May 25 '16 at 11:35
The most elegant solution. This is exactly what extension methods are designed for. Have added to my ever growing extension method library, thanks! — Radderz, Jun 27 '18 at 14:03

Anthony Walsh · Answer 4 · 2019-03-02T20:44:27.693

13

Another option is using the Modulo Operator:

public string CreateDateSuffix(DateTime date)
{
    // Get day...
    var day = date.Day;

    // Get day modulo...
    var dayModulo = day%10;

    // Convert day to string...
    var suffix = day.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);

    // Combine day with correct suffix...
    suffix += (day == 11 || day == 12 || day == 13) ? "th" :
        (dayModulo == 1) ? "st" :
        (dayModulo == 2) ? "nd" :
        (dayModulo == 3) ? "rd" :
        "th";

    // Return result...
    return suffix;
}

You would then call the above method by passing-in a DateTime object as a parameter, for example:

// Get date suffix for 'October 8th, 2019':
var suffix = CreateDateSuffix(new DateTime(2019, 10, 8));

For more info about the DateTime constructor, please see Microsoft Docs Page.

edited Mar 02 '19 at 20:44

answered Jan 28 '12 at 15:21

Anthony Walsh

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@Greg That's strange as `var suffix = CreateDateSuffix(new DateTime(2013, 10, 8));` returns '8th' in my case? – Anthony Walsh Oct 31 '13 at 01:40
1

If it were appending 'th' to the string 'eight' it would be wrong, but in this case since you used the digit 8 it is correct. – gcochard Nov 03 '13 at 23:04
The above method as it stands takes a _DateTime_ object and I cannot see how it could be instantiated with anything other than numeric values - in this case '**8**' representing the day of the month. – Anthony Walsh Nov 03 '13 at 23:51
In that case, it's correct. If you were to, I don't know, replace the numeric value with the textual representation of the number, it would be wrong. I suppose that's up to whoever is doing the replacing though, to know this and replace '8t' with 'eight', or more correctly, replace '8' with 'eigh'. – gcochard Nov 04 '13 at 00:36

score 8 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 17 '16 at 12:19

Taking @Lazlow's answer to a complete solution, the following is a fully reusable extension method, with example usage;

internal static string HumanisedDate(this DateTime date)
{
    string ordinal;

    switch (date.Day)
    {
        case 1:
        case 21:
        case 31:
            ordinal = "st";
            break;
        case 2:
        case 22:
            ordinal = "nd";
            break;
        case 3:
        case 23:
            ordinal = "rd";
            break;
        default:
            ordinal = "th";
            break;
    }

    return string.Format("{0:dddd dd}{1} {0:MMMM yyyy}", date, ordinal);
}

To use this you would simply call it on a DateTime object;

var myDate = DateTime.Now();
var myDateString = myDate.HumanisedFormat()

Which will give you:

Friday 17th June 2016

Piotr Lewandowski · Answer 6 · 2011-10-12T08:57:23.987

8

Here is extended version including 11th, 12th and 13th:

DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
string d2d = dt.ToString("dd").Substring(1);
string daySuffix =
    (dt.Day == 11 || dt.Day == 12 || dt.Day == 13) ? "th"
    : (d2d == "1") ? "st"
    : (d2d == "2") ? "nd"
    : (d2d == "3") ? "rd"
    : "th";

edited Oct 12 '11 at 08:57

answered Oct 11 '11 at 16:00

Piotr Lewandowski

365
3
10

and what about "11th", "12th" and "13th"? – sjngm Oct 11 '11 at 21:10
I must have missed this. I fixed that above. – Piotr Lewandowski Oct 12 '11 at 08:59
FYI if this was needed for numbers greater than `("dd")` would produce, use `string.PadLeft()` – maxp Feb 06 '12 at 13:20
@PiotrLewandowski - You not from Manchester by any chance? Cause I know one from there. Too freaky +1 btw – Piotr Kula Apr 08 '13 at 16:06

GFoley83 · Answer 7 · 2019-05-02T02:52:12.450

UPDATE

NuGet package:
https://www.nuget.org/packages/DateTimeToStringWithSuffix

Example:
https://dotnetfiddle.net/zXQX7y

Supports:
.NET Core 1.0 and higher
.NET Framework 4.5 and high

Here's an extension method (because everyone loves extension methods), with Lazlow's answer as the basis (picked Lazlow's as it's easy to read).

Works just like the regular ToString() method on DateTime with the exception that if the format contains a d or dd, then the suffix will be added automatically.

/// <summary>
/// Return a DateTime string with suffix e.g. "st", "nd", "rd", "th"
/// So a format "dd-MMM-yyyy" could return "16th-Jan-2014"
/// </summary>
public static string ToStringWithSuffix(this DateTime dateTime, string format, string suffixPlaceHolder = "$") {
    if(format.LastIndexOf("d", StringComparison.Ordinal) == -1 || format.Count(x => x == 'd') > 2) {
        return dateTime.ToString(format);
    }

    string suffix;
    switch(dateTime.Day) {
        case 1:
        case 21:
        case 31:
            suffix = "st";
            break;
        case 2:
        case 22:
            suffix = "nd";
            break;
        case 3:
        case 23:
            suffix = "rd";
            break;
        default:
            suffix = "th";
            break;
    }

    var formatWithSuffix = format.Insert(format.LastIndexOf("d", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase) + 1, suffixPlaceHolder);
    var date = dateTime.ToString(formatWithSuffix);

    return date.Replace(suffixPlaceHolder, suffix);
}

Surprised that this hasn't got more up votes, I prefer the fact that it's an extension. Makes it much easier to use and arguably more readable. — 0Neji, Feb 23 '16 at 17:03
That NuGet Package doesn't like formats which include `ddd` or `dddd` - ie the name of the weekday. If you want to display a date as 'Thursday 4th November 2021' you need to work around that limitation - eg `Console.WriteLine(DateTime.UtcNow.ToString("dddd")+" "+DateTime.UtcNow.ToStringWithSuffix("d MMMM yyyy")); ` — John, Nov 04 '21 at 10:37

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered Feb 18 '22 at 14:41

Simpler answer using a switch expression (since C# 8):

var daySuffix = dateTime.Day switch {
                    1 or 21 or 31 => "st",
                    2 or 22 => "nd",
                    3 or 23 => "rd",
                    _ => "th",
                };

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Jan 11 '13 at 11:44

2

I believe this to be a good solution, covering numbers such as 111th etc:

private string daySuffix(int day)
{
    if (day > 0)
    {
        if (day % 10 == 1 && day % 100 != 11)
            return "st";
        else if (day % 10 == 2 && day % 100 != 12)
            return "nd";
        else if (day % 10 == 3 && day % 100 != 13)
            return "rd";
        else
            return "th";
    }
    else
        return string.Empty;
}

answered Jan 11 '13 at 11:44

Duncan

21
2

Although this is a more general purpose method, for any number, not just month days (I think). – Duncan Feb 12 '13 at 22:42

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 14 '19 at 13:37

2

For those who are happy to use external dependencies (in this case the fantastic Humanizr .net), it's as simple as

dateVar.Day.Ordinalize(); \\ 1st, 4th etc depending on the value of dateVar

answered Nov 14 '19 at 13:37

Gumzle

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6
16

Wonderful suggestion. I wish this was built in to .NET. – ryanwebjackson Sep 02 '21 at 14:56

score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 21 '17 at 00:34

public static String SuffixDate(DateTime date) { string ordinal;

     switch (date.Day)
     {
        case 1:
        case 21:
        case 31:
           ordinal = "st";
           break;
        case 2:
        case 22:
           ordinal = "nd";
           break;
        case 3:
        case 23:
           ordinal = "rd";
           break;
        default:
           ordinal = "th";
           break;
     }
     if (date.Day < 10)
        return string.Format("{0:d}{2} {1:MMMM yyyy}", date.Day, date, ordinal);
     else
        return string.Format("{0:dd}{1} {0:MMMM yyyy}", date, ordinal);
  }

This version shows only the first digit of a day ie 1st March 2017 where I didn't want the day name first as in a long date and didn't want the 01st instead of 1st — Robert Peter Bronstein, Mar 21 '17 at 00:36

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Nov 11 '13 at 10:59

For what its worth here is my final solution using the below answers

     DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
        string d2d = dt.ToString("dd").Substring(1); 

        string suffix =
       (dt.Day == 11 || dt.Day == 12 || dt.Day == 13) ? "th"
       : (d2d == "1") ? "st"
       : (d2d == "2") ? "nd"
       : (d2d == "3") ? "rd"
       : "th";


        Date.Text = DateTime.Today.ToString("dddd d") + suffix + " " + DateTime.Today.ToString("MMMM") + DateTime.Today.ToString(" yyyy");

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Feb 13 '18 at 19:43

Get Date Suffix. (Static Function)

public static string GetSuffix(this string day)
{
    string suffix = "th";

    if (int.Parse(day) < 11 || int.Parse(day) > 20)
    {
        day = day.ToCharArray()[day.ToCharArray().Length - 1].ToString();
        switch (day)
        {
            case "1":
                suffix = "st";
                break;
            case "2":
                suffix = "nd";
                break;
            case "3":
                suffix = "rd";
                break;
        }
    }

    return suffix;
}

Reference: https://www.aspsnippets.com/Articles/Display-st-nd-rd-and-th-suffix-after-day-numbers-in-Formatted-Dates-using-C-and-VBNet.aspx

Drew Delano · Answer 14 · 2020-08-19T16:45:31.833

Check out humanizr: https://github.com/Humanizr/Humanizer#date-time-to-ordinal-words

new DateTime(2015, 1, 1).ToOrdinalWords() => "1st January 2015"
new DateTime(2015, 2, 12).ToOrdinalWords() => "12th February 2015"
new DateTime(2015, 3, 22).ToOrdinalWords() => "22nd March 2015"
// for English US locale
new DateTime(2015, 1, 1).ToOrdinalWords() => "January 1st, 2015"
new DateTime(2015, 2, 12).ToOrdinalWords() => "February 12th, 2015"
new DateTime(2015, 3, 22).ToOrdinalWords() => "March 22nd, 2015"

I realized right after posting this that @Gumzle suggested the same thing, but I missed his post because it was buried in code snippets. So this is his answer with enough code that someone (like me) quickly scrolling through might see it.

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered May 27 '22 at 11:19

A solution you can use in a razor template. It's probably not the most elegant way but it's quick and it works

@Model.Pubdate.ToString("dddd, d'th' MMMM yyyy").Replace("1th","1st").Replace("2th", "2nd").Replace("3th", "3rd").Replace("11st", "11th").Replace("12nd", "12th").Replace("13rd", "13th")

ToString("dddd, d'th' MMMM yyyy") adds "th" after the day number, eg "Tuesday, 31th May 2022". Then use a set of string replacements to change 1th, 2th and 3th to 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and another set to change 11st, 12nd and 13rd back to 11th, 12th and 13th.

score -1 · Answer 16 · edited Apr 04 '13 at 07:55

A cheap and cheerful VB solution:

litDate.Text = DatePart("dd", Now) & GetDateSuffix(DatePart("dd", Now))

Function GetDateSuffix(ByVal dateIn As Integer) As String

    '// returns formatted date suffix

    Dim dateSuffix As String = ""
    Select Case dateIn
        Case 1, 21, 31
            dateSuffix = "st"
        Case 2, 22
            dateSuffix = "nd"
        Case 3, 23
            dateSuffix = "rd"
        Case Else
            dateSuffix = "th"
    End Select

    Return dateSuffix

End Function

score -1 · Answer 17 · answered Mar 22 '13 at 11:13

I did it like this, it gets around some of the problems given in the other examples.

    public static string TwoLetterSuffix(this DateTime @this)
    {
        var dayMod10 = @this.Day % 10;

        if (dayMod10 > 3 || dayMod10 == 0 || (@this.Day >= 10 && @this.Day <= 19))
        {
            return "th";
        }
        else if(dayMod10 == 1)
        {
            return "st";
        }
        else if (dayMod10 == 2)
        {
            return "nd";
        }
        else
        {
            return "rd";
        }
    }

score -1 · Answer 18 · edited Feb 03 '21 at 21:16

string datestring;    
// datestring = DateTime.Now.ToString("dd MMMM yyyy"); // 16 January 2021

    // code to add 'st' ,'nd', 'rd' and 'th' with day of month 
    // DateTime todaysDate = DateTime.Now.Date; // enable this line for current date 
    DateTime todaysDate = DateTime.Parse("01-13-2021"); // custom date to verify code // 13th January 2021
    int day = todaysDate.Day;
    string dateSuffix;

    if(day==1 || day==21 || day==31){
        dateSuffix= "st";
    }else if(day==2 || day==22 ){
        dateSuffix= "nd";
    }else if(day==3 || day==23 ){
        dateSuffix= "rd";
    }else{
        dateSuffix= "th";
    }
    datestring= day+dateSuffix+" "+todaysDate.ToString("MMMM")+" "+todaysDate.ToString("yyyy");
    Console.WriteLine(datestring);

Jodda · Answer 19 · 2012-10-23T09:34:12.363

-4

Another option using the last string character:

public static string getDayWithSuffix(int day) {
 string d = day.ToString();
 if (day < 11 || day > 13) {
  if (d.EndsWith("1")) {
   d += "st";
  } else if (d.EndsWith("2")) {
   d += "nd";
  } else if (d.EndsWith("3")) {
   d += "rd";
  } else {
   d += "th";
 } else {
  d += "th";
 }
 return d;
}

edited Oct 23 '12 at 09:34

answered Oct 11 '12 at 13:19

Jodda

25
4

Thanks AakashM your right, I've editted to correct the mistake. – Jodda Oct 23 '12 at 09:35
Now it gives `1th`, `2th`, and `3th`. – AakashM Oct 23 '12 at 09:39

score -5 · Answer 20 · answered Jan 12 '10 at 17:22

in the MSDN documentation there is no reference to a culture that could convert that 17 into 17th. so You should do it manually via code-behind.Or build one...you could build a function that does that.

public string CustomToString(this DateTime date)
    {
        string dateAsString = string.empty;
        <here wright your code to convert 17 to 17th>
        return dateAsString;
    }

Getting day suffix when using DateTime.ToString()

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