Whether you’re a busy professional, a student, or simply someone who likes to stay organized, it’s important to have a clear understanding of the months of the year and the abbreviations used to represent them. This knowledge can help you plan your schedule, set reminders, and communicate effectively with others.
A comprehensive list of month names and abbreviations can serve as a handy reference guide, allowing you to quickly and easily check the spelling of a month, or confirm its abbreviation. It can also help you to avoid common mistakes, such as writing “Janurary” instead of “January.”
In this article, we’ll provide you with a detailed list of all twelve months of the year, along with the appropriate abbreviations to use when writing them.
What Are the Months of the Year
Just in case you need a bit of a refresher, here’s the months of the year in chronological order:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Comma Separated List of Months in Order
In case you need to copy and paste them, here are the months of the year separated by commas:
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
January,February,March,April,May,June,July,August,September,October,November,December
How Many Days Are in Each Month
January – 31 days
February – 28 days (or 29 days during leap years, which occur every 4 years except for years evenly divisible by 100, but not by 400)
March – 31 days
April – 30 days
May – 31 days
June – 30 days
July – 31 days
August – 31 days
September – 30 days
October – 31 days
November – 30 days
December – 31 days
How Do You Abbreviate Months of the Year
When writing the months of the year, it’s common to use their abbreviations. Unfortunately, people often confuse how to write the abbreviated months depending on their culture, the business environment, and other random factors (like simply forgetting!). So, here’s a simple chart showing the 2-letter and 3-letter abbreviations for all twelve months of the year.
Month | 3 Letter Abbreviation | 2 Letter Abbreviation |
---|---|---|
January | Jan | Ja |
February | Feb | Fe |
March | Mar | Ma |
April | Apr | Ap |
May | May | Ma |
June | Jun | Ju |
July | Jul | Ju |
August | Aug | Au |
September | Sep | Se |
October | Oct | Oc |
November | Nov | No |
December | Dec | De |
Note that not all months have a 2-letter abbreviation!
A common way to abbreviate the months of the year is to use the first three letters of each one. This is easy to remember and apply. However, there are a couple exceptions to this rule. May is only three letters long and thus does not need to be abbreviated. September can be shortened to Sep, but it is also sometimes written as Sept. which has four letters. Despite these exceptions, the rule to use the first three letters works well for most months and is worth remembering.
When to Use the Abbreviations
Abbreviations are typically used when it’s important to save space or reduce repetition. In this context, the above month abbreviations are mainly used in newspaper headlines, blogs, articles, reports, and presentations. Essentially, any place where saving space is important!
Additionally, the abbreviation of months is also common in calendars and devices that display the date, like clocks and phones.
It’s worth noting that some style guides have specific rules for abbreviating months.
The MLA and APA have different rules:
- MLA: All months are abbreviated as mentioned before, except for May, June, and July, which are written in full. Abbreviations begin with a capital letter and end with a period.
- APA: All months are spelled out in full and should be avoided abbreviating whenever possible.
It’s important to check and abide by the appropriate style guide depending on the context of your writing.
How Do You Abbreviate the Word Month?
The common short form of the word “month” is typically “mo.” However, as “month” is not a particularly long word, it’s not frequently abbreviated. “MTH” is mostly used in small displays, such as in clocks and calendars. Other less common abbreviations for “month” include:
- mth (mths if plural)
- mo/mos (MLA style)
- m’th
- m-th
- mo. (mos. if plural)
What’s the Definition of Month?
A month is a unit of time, used to measure the duration of a complete revolution of the Moon around the Earth. There are approximately 12 months in a year, with the exact number varying depending on the calendar system in use. In the Gregorian calendar, which is widely used around the world, a month is typically defined as a period of 28 to 31 days. E
ach month is named, with the first month of the year being January, the second month being February, and so on, ending with December as the twelfth month.
What Are the Months in French?
Here’s a list of the months in French:
English Month | French Month |
---|---|
January | Janvier |
February | Février |
March | Mars |
April | Avril |
May | Mai |
June | Juin |
July | Juillet |
August | Août |
September | Septembre |
October | Octobre |
November | Novembre |
December | Décembre |
What Are the Months in German?
Here’s a list of the months in German:
English Month | German Month |
---|---|
January | Januar |
February | Februar |
March | März |
April | April |
May | Mai |
June | Juni |
July | Juli |
August | August |
September | September |
October | Oktober |
November | November |
December | Dezember |
What Are the Months in Spanish?
Here’s a list of the months in Spanish:
English Month | Spanish Month |
---|---|
January | Enero |
February | Febrero |
March | Marzo |
April | Abril |
May | Mayo |
June | Junio |
July | Julio |
August | Agosto |
September | Septiembre |
October | Octubre |
November | Noviembre |
December | Diciembre |
What Are the Months in Chinese?
Here’s a list of the months in Chinese:
English Month | Chinese (Traditional) | Chinese (Pinyin) |
---|---|---|
January | 一月 | yī yuè |
February | 二月 | èr yuè |
March | 三月 | sān yuè |
April | 四月 | sì yuè |
May | 五月 | wǔ yuè |
June | 六月 | liù yuè |
July | 七月 | qī yuè |
August | 八月 | bā yuè |
September | 九月 | jiǔ yuè |
October | 十月 | shí yuè |
November | 十一月 | shí yī yuè |
December | 十二月 | shí èr yuè |
What Are the Months in Italian?
Here’s a list of the months in Italian:
English Month | Italian Month |
---|---|
January | Gennaio |
February | Febbraio |
March | Marzo |
April | Aprile |
May | Maggio |
June | Giugno |
July | Luglio |
August | Agosto |
September | Settembre |
October | Ottobre |
November | Novembre |
December | Dicembre |
What Are the Months in Arabic?
Note that Arabic month names are based on the Islamic calendar, and the order of the months and the length of the months may vary depending on the country or culture and their usage of it.
Here’s a list of the months in Arabic:
English Month | Arabic Month |
---|---|
January | كانون الثاني (kānūn ath-thānī) |
February | شباط (shubāṭ) |
March | آذار (ādhār) |
April | نيسان (nayyān) |
May | أيار (ayyār) |
June | حزيران (ḥizyarān) |
July | تموز (tammūz) |
August | آب (āb) |
September | أيلول (ayyūl) |
October | تشرين الأول (tashrīn al-awwal) |
November | تشرين الثاني (tashrīn ath-thānī) |
December | كانون الأول (kānūn al-awwal) |
What Are the Months in Hindi?
Here’s a list of the months names in Hindi (Hindu Calendar) and months in Devanagari:
English Month | Hindi (Hindu Calendar) | Devanagari |
---|---|---|
January | जनवरी (January) | जनवरी |
February | फ़रवरी (February) | फ़रवरी |
March | मार्च (March) | मार्च |
April | अप्रैल (April) | अप्रैल |
May | मई (May) | मई |
June | जून (June) | जून |
July | जुलाई (July) | जुलाई |
August | अगस्त (August) | अगस्त |
September | सितंबर (September) | सितंबर |
October | अक्टूबर (October) | अक्टूबर |
November | नवंबर (November) | नवंबर |
December | दिसंबर (December) | दिसंबर |
Note that the Devanagari script and Hindi language are written in left to right script and the Hindi language is widely spoken in India and Nepal, and Hindi and Devanagari script is also used for various other Indian Languages too
What Are the Solar Months in Astrology
In astrology, the solar months correspond to the twelve signs of the zodiac, which are based on the position of the sun relative to the earth. Each solar month is associated with one of the signs, and the dates during which the sun is in that sign are called the “dates of the solar month.”
In case you fancy studying something a bit more cosmic, here are all the solar months in astrology:
Solar Month | Zodiac Sign | Dates |
---|---|---|
Aries | Aries | March 21 – April 19 |
Taurus | Taurus | April 20 – May 20 |
Gemini | Gemini | May 21 – June 20 |
Cancer | Cancer | June 21 – July 22 |
Leo | Leo | July 23 – August 22 |
Virgo | Virgo | August 23 – September 22 |
Libra | Libra | September 23 – October 22 |
Scorpio | Scorpio | October 23 – November 21 |
Sagittarius | Sagittarius | November 22 – December 21 |
Capricorn | Capricorn | December 22 – January 19 |
Aquarius | Aquarius | January 20 – February 18 |
Pisces | Pisces | February 19 – March 20 |
If you enjoyed this piece, you might want to learn about what year it is and the stories behind all the different calendars in the world. Or maybe you want to know what year every generation was born in? Either way, thanks for reading!