Gennaio, febbraio, marzo…
Notice how Italian months are quite similar to English?
That’s handy, because you’ll use them all the time in Italy, from reserving your hotel, to finding out which fruits are in season at the mercato.
But learning the Italian months can be challenging – it takes work to remember them, and most students make pronunciation mistakes, even at an advanced level.
So in this quick and easy lesson, as well as learning the months of the year in Italian, you’ll get tips to:
- Help them stick in your brain
- Make sure you’re pronouncing them like a local
Cominciamo! Let’s get started.
How to Say the Months of the Year in Italian
| Month | Sounds like |
| 1. gennaio | JEN-NAH-YO |
| 2. febbraio | FEB–BRAH–YO |
| 3. marzo | MAR–TSO |
| 4. aprile | AH–PREE–LEH |
| 5. maggio | MAJ–JO |
| 6. giugno | JOON–YO |
| 7. luglio | LOOL–YO |
| 8. agosto | AH–GOS–TOH |
| 9. settembre | SET–TEM–BREH |
| 10. ottobre | OT–TOH–BREH |
| 11. novembre | NOH–VEM–BREH |
| 12. dicembre | DEE–CHEM–BREH |
Let’s see some examples of Italian months in everyday conversation:
Cosa c’è da fare a Milano a febbraio?
What is there to do in Milan in February?
Siete aperti a settembre?
Are you open in September?
Questo dicembre andiamo ai mercatini di Natale
This December we’re going to the Christmas markets
Visito Roma a maggio
I’m visiting Rome in May
La stagione delle albicocche inizia a giugno
Apricot season starts in June
Two small but important details
Notice anything interesting about how Italians write the months? The first letter is lowercase: gennaio, febbraio, marzo… this can take a bit of getting used to at first!
And how about the little word we use to describe when something happens (in January, in February ecc.)? In Italian, we can say in or a, but it’s more common to use a:
A gennaio – In January
A febbraio – In February
A marzo – In March…
Common Mistakes when Saying Italian Months
The months of the year in Italian are similar, but not the same as English. These differences often trip learners up and cause them to make pronunciation mistakes, even at advanced levels.
But not you! Follow these 5 tips to say the Italian months like a local:
1. Pay attention to double letters
In Italian, double letters like the NN in gennaio, should be nice and long. It helps to almost pause a little in the middle when you say them:
gen-naio
feb-braio
mag-gio
set-tembre
ot-tobre
2. Remember the L at the beginning of luglio
Students sometimes mix it up with the English “July” and say *juglio. Katie did this for a long time – it’s a stage all learners go through! Just remember that luglio starts with an L, like the English word “love”.
3. There’s no U in agosto
Even advanced learners make this mistake! In Italian, there’s no “u” in agosto, so it’s pronounced AH–GOS–TOH (not AU–GUS...). For more tips check out this episode on how to pronounce August in Italian.
4. Don’t insert phantom letters
Notice how there’s no P in settembre? And no C in ottobre? English speakers often sneak them in out of habit, but in Italian it should be a long double TT sound:
set-tembre
ot-tobre
5. Pay attention to the beginning of dicembre
Here’s another mistake advanced learners make. Notice how in Italian, dicembre starts with DI? It’s pronounced DEE, like in the English word “deep” (not like DE in “decade”). Katie made this mistake until quite recently – it’s one of those sneaky details you can miss for years without realising it!
Remember the Months of the Year in Italian
Now you know how to say Italian months, all you need to do is remember them!
We suggest starting with the ones that are most meaningful to you – for example, birthdays, anniversaries or important events. The more meaningful something is, the more likely you are to remember it. You’re also more likely to need it when talking to Italians about your life.
Once you feel confident with those, here are some tips to remember the rest of the Italian months:
- Whenever you have a few minutes to spare, if you’re walking somewhere, waiting for a friend, washing the dishes… practise saying the Italian months. If you’re afraid of getting funny looks in public, feel free to say them in your head!
- E very time you hear a month in English, say (or think) the Italian version. This will help you get used to remembering them quickly, in a random order.
- I f you have a paper calendar around the house, write the months in Italian on each page so you’ll see them regularly. Each time you see one, practise saying it aloud.
Months of the Year in Italian: Review
Ben fatto! Well done, you just learned how to say the months in Italian. Let’s see all 12 again:
gennaio – January
febbraio – February
marzo – March
aprile – April
maggio – May
giugno – June
luglio – July
agosto – August
settembre – September
ottobre – October
novembre – November
dicembre – December
You also learned how to avoid common pronunciation mistakes, and help them stick in your brain! For extra help learning the months of the year in Italian, you can move onto our learning materials below.
Months of the Year in Italian: Quiz and Vocabulary Cards
Check your understanding and remember everything you just learned! Here you’ll find a mini-quiz and some vocabulary cards to help it all go in.
Quiz
How much did you learn? Find out in the quiz!
Click here to take the quiz for this episode: Months of the Year in Italian
Vocabulary
gennaio = January
febbraio = February
marzo = March
aprile = April
maggio = May
giugno = June
luglio = July
agosto = August
settembre = September
ottobre = October
novembre= November
dicembre = December
Siete aperti a settembre? = Are you open in September?
Cosa c’è da fare a febbraio? = What is there to do in February?
Visito Roma a maggio = I’m visiting Rome in May
Flashcards: Months of the Year in Italian
Remember the vocabulary from this lesson by downloading the digital flashcards
Not sure how it works? Click here to watch the tutorial
Transcript: Months of the Year in Italian: A Quick and Easy Lesson
Please note, this is not a word for word transcript.
K: Ciao a tutti e benvenuti! Hi everyone and welcome to “Learn Italian with Joy of Languages”. I’m Katie.
M: And I’m Matteo 😪[poco entusiasta]
K: You sound like you need una vacanza.
M: A vacation? Sì.
K: Let’s talk about it. As you listen to the conversation at home, which months of the year can you hear?
M: Sono stanco, ho bisogno di una vacanza.
K: Tranquillo. Andiamo in Inghilterra tra poco.
M: Tra poco? Dicembre, gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio, giugno, luglio… Sono otto mesi!
K: Let’s break that down. Matteo said:
M: Sono stanco – I’m tired
Sono – I am
Stanco – tired
K: Then:
M: Ho bisogno di una vacanza – I need a vacation. Literally:
Ho – I have
Bisogno – need
Di – of
Una – a
Vacanza – vacation
K: Ho bisogno di, literally “I have need of”. This handy phrase is how Italians say “I need”.
M: Ho bisogno di.
K: Next, I said:
M: Tranquillo – Don’t worry. Literally “tranquil”. We use this to tell someone to not worry. Tranquillo!
M: Andiamo in Inghilterra tra poco – We’re going to England soon.
Andiamo – we go
In Inghilterra – to England. Italians use “in” with countries. In Inghilterra, in Italia etc.
Tra poco – soon. Two words tra and poco. Together they mean “soon”.
M: Katie is a very optimistic person, which isn’t always a good thing! In fact, I said:
Tra poco?
K: Soon? Then Matteo counts the months, from December to July.
Dicembre
Gennaio
Febbraio
Marzo
Aprile
Maggio
Giugno
Luglio
K: And he said:
M: Sono otto mesi! – That’s eight months! Literally:
Sono – they are
Otto – eight
Mesi – Months
K: Let’s listen to that whole conversation again:
M: Sono stanco, ho bisogno di una vacanza.
K: Tranquillo. Andiamo in Inghilterra tra poco.
M: Tra poco? Dicembre, gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio, giugno, luglio… Sono otto mesi!
K: Did you notice how a lot of Italian months are similar to English? We’ll go through them all now, and give you tips on how to avoid the common mistakes learners make.
M: If you already know them, try to say them before I do!
K: January is…
[...]
M: Gennaio (x2)
K: Look out for the double NN. Doubles are always long in Italian. It almost has a little pause in the middle.
M: Gen-naio
K: February
[...]
M: Febbraio (x2)
K: Here, there’s a double b, which should be long.
M: Feb-braio
K: March
[...]
M: Marzo (x2)
K: April
[...]
M: Aprile (x2).
Questo è il mio mese preferito a Milano. This is my favourite month in Milan. C’è bel tempo, there’s nice weather, ma non fa troppo caldo, it’s not too hot. And the mosquitoes haven’t arrived yet!
K: May
[...]
M: Maggio (x2)
K: There’s a double g, pronounced J, which should be nice and long.
M: Mag-gio
K: June
[...]
M: Giugno (x2)
K: There’s a G N in the middle, which sounds like the gn in lasagne. Kind of like an N followed by a Y. NY, NY. GiuGNo.
M: Giugno
K: Next, July
[...]
M: Luglio (x2)
K: Watch out for this one! Learners often get mixed up and say *giuglio. I did this for a while, it’s a phase we all go through! Just remember that in Italian, it’s L, luglio.
M: Luglio
K: August
[...]
M: Agosto (x2). Finalmente, il mese in cui andiamo in vacanza! Finally the month that Italians go on vacation!
K: Remember, there’s no U in the Italian agosto. AH – GOS – TO. So it’s A, not AU. And GOS, not GUS. AGOSTO.
M: Agosto.
K: September
[...]
M: Settembre (x2)
K: Here there’s a long double TT, SET-TEM-BRE. English speakers often insert a phantom P, like the English SEP-TEMBER. But in Italian, there’s no P. It’s SETTEMBRE.
M: Set-tembre
K: October
[...]
M: Ottobre (x2)
K: Same here, there’s no K sound like in the English “October”. There’s a long double TT. OT-TO-BRE.
M: Ottobre
K: November
[...]
M: Novembre (x2)
K: Finally, December. Listen carefully to the beginning:
M: Dicembre (x2)
K: In Italian, it starts with DEE, like the word “deep”. Not DEH, but DEE:
M: Dicembre
K: Let’s listen to all the months together. Say them with Matteo:
M: gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio, giugno, luglio, agosto, settembre, ottobre, novembre, dicembre
K: If you want to pronounce them correctly and avoid those little mistakes that tend to stick around, it really helps to see these Italian months written down. To get the list, together with tips on how to remember them, and bonus materials, like vocabulary cards and a quiz, you can head over to our website by clicking the link in the description.
M - See you next time.
K - Or as we say in Italian.
Alla prossima!
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