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 months 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.

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The months in Italian

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.

Note that, 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.

• Il mio compleanno è in ottobre. (My birthday is in October.)
• Febbraio è il mese più corto dell’anno. (February is the shortest month of the year.)

Months gender and adjective agreement

In Italian, 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:

• Febbraio è il mese più corto dell’anno. (February is the shortest month of the year.)
• L’anno scorso abbiamo avuto un luglio ed agosto caldissimi. (Last year the months of July and August were very hot.)

In both instances, the adjective agrees with the noun and is declined in its masculine forms.

Which preposition should you use when talking about months in Italian?

Months in Italian tend to go along with a few prepositions:

‘In’ and ‘a’

To describe something happening during a specific month, you can use the Italian prepositions “in” and “a”:

• L’anno scolastico inizia in settembre. (The school year starts in September.)
• A febbraio si celebra il Carnevale. (In February Carnival is celebrated.)

These prepositions are interchangeable and the above sentences would also work as:

• L’anno scolastico inizia a settembre. (The school year starts in September.)
• In febbraio si celebra il Carnevale. (In February Carnival is celebrated.)

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‘Nel’ + ‘mese di…’

Another preposition you can use is “nel.” However, it will only work 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.)

A trick to remember the months in Italian

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.

Before you go

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:

• Il mese – month (masculine, singular)
• I mesi – months (plural)
• La stagione – season (masculine, singular)
• Le stagioni – seasons (plural)
• La primavera – spring (feminine)
• L’estate – summer (feminine)
• L’autunno – autumn/fall  (masculine)
• L’inverno – winter  (masculine)
• Il giorno – day (masculine, singular)
• I giorni – days (plural)
• La settimana – week (feminine, singular)
• Le settimane – weeks (plural)
• Il calendario – calendar (masculine, singular)
• Il giorno festivo – (bank) holiday (masculine, singular)

Don’t miss out on Italian celebrations 

Knowing the months of the year will surely help you progress when learning Italian. 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! 

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Valentina Rampazzo

Valentina Rampazzo is an Italian Content Manager and writer. She has lived in five countries across Europe and speaks as many languages. She is based in Berlin where she works at Lingoda. She also collaborates with a Portuguese association focused on helping the integration of migrants through languages by writing for their blog. Apart from writing, she enjoys cooking and experimenting with plant-based food, loves traveling and has a hard time saying no to cuddle time with her black cat.

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