Updated by Valentina Rampazzo on November 20, 2024
How to say the months of the year in Italian
From gennaio (January) to dicembre (December), each month of the year wraps up traditional celebrations and holidays Italians cherish. Carnival, the Festa della Repubblica (Day of the Republic), Ferragosto and la vendemmia (harvest season) are all important events on the Italian calendar. If you don’t learn how to say the months of the year in Italian, you might just miss them! So, to keep the festivities going all year round, it’s best to get these nouns down pat.
In this guide, we’ll cover the names of the months in Italian and share some grammatical tips to apply when using them. We’ll also review some related terminology as well as a short limerick to help with memorization.
Let’s tackle the basics first. Below, you’ll find a list of the months of the year in Italian, plus guidance on how to pronounce them.
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
| January | gennaio | jen-nah-yo |
| February | febbraio | feb-brah-yo |
| March | marzo | mar-tsoh |
| April | aprile | ah-pree-leh |
| May | maggio | maj-joh |
| June | giugno | joo-ñyoh |
| July | luglio | loo-llyoh |
| August | agosto | ah-gos-toh |
| September | settembre | set-tehm-breh |
| October | ottobre | ot-toh-breh |
| November | novembre | noh-vem-breh |
| December | dicembre | dee-chem-breh |
Adding to the names of the months in Italian, here are some rules you should consider when using them in a sentence or conversation:
In Italian, the months of the year are considered common nouns rather than proper nouns. As such, they are never capitalized unless starting a sentence.
The months of the year are all masculine. Knowing this will be handy when you need to ensure noun-adjective agreement.
See two examples below:
In both instances, the adjective agrees with the noun and is declined in its masculine forms.
Months in Italian tend to go along with a few prepositions:
| Preposition | Use | Example |
| ‘in’ and ‘a’ | To describe something happening during a specific month. These prepositions are interchangeable. | L’anno scolastico inizia in settembre. (The school year starts in September.) A febbraio si celebra il Carnevale. (In February Carnival is celebrated.) or L’anno scolastico inizia a settembre. (The school year starts in September.) In febbraio si celebra il Carnevale. (In February Carnival is celebrated.) |
| ‘nel’ + ‘mese di…’ | It only works in the context of the phrase “nel mese di,” meaning “in the month of.” | Nel mese di maggio sbocciano i primi fiori. (In the month of May, the first flowers start to blossom.) |
| ‘da…a’ | To outline a range or a period between two months. | Siamo chiusi per rinnovo da marzo a maggio. (We are closed for renovations from March until May) |
| ‘da’ | It translates to “from…” or “starting from…”. | Da ottobre saremo nella nuova casa. (From October we’ll be in the new house.) |
To add specificity to your narration, you can use the adjectives prossimo (next) and scorso (last) to describe which month you refer to. If you do so, ensure to add the determinate article il or lo respectively before the adjective. Check the examples:
Note the structure: determinate article ‘il’ + prossimo (declined in masculine singular) + month
Here the structure shows: determinate article ‘lo’ + scorso (declined in masculine singular) + month
Exception: To translate the phrases “next month” and “last month”, use ‘il’ + prossimo/scorso + mese
Here are three ways to write correctly dates:
1. A specific date with no explicit day of the week: determinate article ‘il’ + date + month.
2. A specific date with an explicit day of the week: use the formula day + date + month, as shown below.
3. When using primo (first) – for this exception, you’ll need to add the article ‘il’ before the adjective.
Italian traditions and major events spread throughout the year and each month you’ll surely come across some celebrations. Some of them have a religious background, others are tied to historic events. With the country divided into 20 Italian regions, keep in mind that some recurrences might not occur in all of them. Let’s have a look at the major ones.
October is the best month to sample some of the delicacies Italy has to offer, from wine to white truffle and from Sicilian pistachios to the finest chocolate.
December is a month packed with celebrations, mainly religious ones. The main ones are:
They say every little bit helps when learning a new language. And that’s true of memorization techniques, too. Fortunately, there’s a short limerick designed to help you remember not only the name of the months in Italian but also their duration.
Trenta giorni ha novembre
con april, giugno e settembre.
Di ventotto ce n’è uno,
tutti gli altri ne han trentuno.
Translation:
November has 30 days,
along with April, June and September.
Only one month has 28 days.
All the others have 31 days.
We’ve nearly reached the end of this vocabulary guide on the months of the year in Italian. Before you go, though, here’s an additional gift: some related vocabulary that will prove useful in situations when you need to speak about this topic.
| English | Italian |
| month/months | il mese/i mesi |
| season/seasons | la stagione/le stagioni |
| spring | la primavera |
| summer | l’estate |
| autumn/fall | l’autunno |
| winter | l’inverno |
| week/weeks | la settimana/le settimane |
| calendar | il calendario |
| bank holiday | il giorno festivo |
The twelve months are gennaio (January), febbraio (February), marzo (March), aprile (April), maggio (May), giugno (June), luglio (July), agosto (August), settembre (September), ottobre (October), novembre (November) and dicembre (December). They are common nouns, so you don’t capitalize them unless they start a sentence. They are all masculine.
Ott. is the Italian abbreviation for the month of ottobre (October). The other months are abbreviated as follows: gen. (gennaio), feb. (febbraio), mar. (marzo), apr. (aprile), mag. (maggio), giu. (giugno), lug. (luglio), ago. (agosto), set. (settembre), nov. (novembre) and dic. (dicembre).
Knowing the months of the year will surely help you progress when learning Italian. If you are interested in studying this language, Lingoda is the solution for you. We offer Italian A1 courses, and we guarantee a full immersion from your very first day in class. Choose between private classes or the smallest group classes in the market and start practicing with our certified, native-level teachers. Remember that, while these names are usually used in particular situations, mastering their pronunciation and use will boost your confidence. With this terminology, you will for sure not miss out on any celebration or important event in the Italian calendar!
