Months of the Year in Japanese
Japanese months are the number plus 月, gatsu. January is month one. Three of the twelve use a reading you would not predict, and those three are the whole difficulty.
The twelve months
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一月 いちがつ ichigatsu
ee-chee-GAH-tsoo
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January
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二月 にがつ nigatsu
nee-GAH-tsoo
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February
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三月 さんがつ sangatsu
sahn-GAH-tsoo
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March
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四月 しがつ shigatsu
shee-GAH-tsoo
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April
shi, not yon. One of the three exceptions
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五月 ごがつ gogatsu
goh-GAH-tsoo
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May
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六月 ろくがつ rokugatsu
roh-koo-GAH-tsoo
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June
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七月 しちがつ shichigatsu
shee-chee-GAH-tsoo
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July
shichi, not nana. The second exception
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八月 はちがつ hachigatsu
hah-chee-GAH-tsoo
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August
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九月 くがつ kugatsu
koo-GAH-tsoo
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September
ku, not kyū. The third exception
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十月 じゅうがつ jūgatsu
joo-GAH-tsoo
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October
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十一月 じゅういちがつ jūichigatsu
joo-ee-chee-GAH-tsoo
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November
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十二月 じゅうにがつ jūnigatsu
joo-nee-GAH-tsoo
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December
The seasons
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春 はる haru
HAH-roo
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spring
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夏 なつ natsu
NAH-tsoo
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summer
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秋 あき aki
AH-kee
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autumn
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冬 ふゆ fuyu
FOO-yoo
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winter
Words that go with them
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今月 こんげつ kongetsu
kohn-GEH-tsoo
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this month
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来月 らいげつ raigetsu
rye-GEH-tsoo
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next month
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先月 せんげつ sengetsu
sehn-GEH-tsoo
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last month
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年 とし toshi
TOH-shee
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year
The three odd readings, and the date order
Four, seven and nine normally take the safe readings yon, nana and kyū. The months take the other ones: April is shigatsu, July is shichigatsu, September is kugatsu. Yongatsu and nanagatsu are simply wrong.
Everything else is regular. Number plus gatsu, and there are no month names to memorise at all.
月 has two readings doing different jobs here: gatsu names a month of the year, getsu means a month as a length of time, as in kongetsu, this month.
Japanese dates run from largest to smallest, the opposite of Europe: 2026年5月3日 is the third of May 2026, said nisen nijūroku nen gogatsu mikka.
- 誕生日は四月です。My birthday is in April.
- 六月に行きます。I'm going in June.
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