Months of the Year in Italian
The twelve are gennaio to dicembre — and four of them are hiding numbers in plain sight. Settembre, ottobre, novembre, dicembre still mean seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth, a two-thousand-year-old leftover from a calendar that began in March. Tap any month below to hear it.
The four months that are secretly numbered
The earliest Roman calendar had only ten months and began in March, the start of the farming year. Count from there and the names make perfect sense: the seventh month was September (from septem, seven), the eighth October(octo), the ninth November (novem) and the tenth December (decem). Two more months — January and February — were later tacked on to cover the dead of winter, and eventually the year-start slid back to January. The numbered names never caught up, so they now sit two places out of step. English half-hides this, but Italian keeps it transparent: you can still hear sette, otto, nove and dieci sitting at the front of those four words.
Two months named after two men
Luglio and agosto are the only months named after real people. July was once Quintilis — "the fifth" — until it was renamed for Julius Caesar, who was born in it and overhauled the whole calendar in 46 BC. August was Sextilis, "the sixth", until it was renamed to honour Caesar's heir, the Emperor Augustus. Italian, sitting closest to Latin of all the big Romance languages, wears the connection on its sleeve: Giulio the name and luglio the month, Augusto and agosto, are barely a syllable apart.
Spot the hidden number
Eight of the twelve are named for gods or rituals; only the last four hide a number. See if you can tell which is which.
The little rule English speakers always break
Italian does not capitalise months. It's gennaio, not Gennaio — and the same goes for days of the week, languages and nationalities, all lowercase unless they open a sentence. Dates drop the "of" too: you say il 5 maggio for 5 May, with the one quirk that the first of the month takes primo — il primo maggio, which doubles as Italy's Labour Day. If the list looks oddly familiar, that's because Italian and Spanish both descend straight from Latin: marzo and agosto are spelled identically in the two languages. You can compare them on the Spanish months page.
Frequently asked questions
How many months are there in Italian?
Twelve, exactly as in English: gennaio, febbraio, marzo, aprile, maggio, giugno, luglio, agosto, settembre, ottobre, novembre, dicembre. The Italian calendar is the Gregorian one, so the structure is identical — only the names change.
Are Italian months capitalised?
No. Italian writes months in lowercase — "gennaio", not "Gennaio" — unless one starts a sentence. The same goes for days, languages and nationalities. Capitalising them is the most common mistake English speakers make.
Why do settembre, ottobre, novembre and dicembre look like numbers?
Because they once were numbers. The old Roman calendar began in March, so these were literally the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months — septem, octo, novem, decem. When the year-start moved to January the numeric names stuck, now two months out of step. Italian keeps the link visible: sette, otto, nove, dieci.
How do you say a date in Italian?
Use "il" + the number + the month, with no "of": il 5 maggio (5 May). The first of the month is the one exception — it takes "primo": il primo maggio (1 May). Months stay lowercase throughout.
- Latin month etymologies: Ianuarius (Janus), Februarius (februa), Martius (Mars), Maius (Maia), Iunius (Juno), and the numeric September–December (septem, octo, novem, decem).
- Early Roman calendar began in March with ten months; January and February were added later and the year-start moved to January, leaving the numbered months two places out of step.
- Quintilis renamed July for Julius Caesar; Sextilis renamed August for Augustus.
- Italian orthography: months, days, languages and nationalities are written in lowercase.
Four of the twelve months are counting out loud — they're just two numbers behind, and have been since Rome.