Months of the Year in Dutch
Dutch is linguistically situated right between English and German, making vocabulary acquisition remarkably fast for English speakers. The months of the year in Dutch are so close to English that you practically know them already!
To build a robust conversational foundation, be sure to also review the days of the week in Dutch. Understanding general facts like how many weeks in a year and how many days in each month will fully round out your time-telling skills.
Quick Answer: All 12 Months
| English | Dutch | Romanisation | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | januari | januari | |
| February | februari | februari | |
| March | maart | maart | |
| April | april | april | |
| May | mei | mei | |
| June | juni | juni | |
| July | juli | juli | |
| August | augustus | augustus | |
| September | september | september | |
| October | oktober | oktober | |
| November | november | november | |
| December | december | december |
How Months Are Named
Because Dutch also adopted the Gregorian calendar directly from Latin roots, the similarities are striking. While the spelling rules follow Dutch phonetic logic (like writing 'oktober' instead of 'october' to preserve the hard 'k' sound), the names are entirely recognizable. Note that the 'j' in januari, juni, and juli is pronounced like the English 'y' sound.
Cultural Notes
A very important spelling rule in the Netherlands and Flanders: months are written in lowercase letters. Capitalizing them in the middle of a sentence is grammatically incorrect. When expressing dates, the Dutch format is "day month year", such as "27 april 2024" (King's Day in the Netherlands).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are months capitalized in Dutch?
No, in Dutch, the months of the year are not capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
What is the Dutch word for month?
The Dutch word for month is 'maand' (plural: 'maanden').
How similar are Dutch months to English?
Extremely similar. April, september, and november are spelled identically, while others only vary by a couple of letters.
How do you say 'in January' in Dutch?
You use the preposition 'in' just like in English: 'in januari'.