German Months (2024)

Fundamental to learning any language is becoming familiar with how to talk about days, weeks, months, and years. Mastering how to communicate about the calendar is an important elementary milestone when learning how to communicate in a new language and gives learners the ability to express when exactly an event took place (or will do).

Read on for more information about how to talk about the German months of the year, days of the week, and different seasons, as well as the best time of the year to visit Germany.

German Months of the year

What are the German months?

To start at the beginning, the German word for month isMonat(mor-nart), pluralMonate(mor-nart-a).Speakers of English and (certain other languages) might be relieved to see that the list of months in German doesn’t look too dissimilar from what they already know, but it is important to master both the exact spelling and pronunciation of the German month names, which will likely be quite different.

The German months of the year are spelt and pronounced as follows:

  • Januar(yah-noo-ahr) - January
  • Februar( fay-broo-ahr) - February
  • März(mehrtz) - March
  • April(ah-pril) - April
  • Mai(my) - May
  • Juni(yoo-nee) - June
  • Juli(yoo-lee) - July
  • August(ow-goost) - August
  • September(zehp-tehm-ber) - September
  • Oktober(ok-toh-ber) - October
  • November(no-vehm-ber) - November
  • Dezember(de-tsem-ber) - December

If you want to indicate that an event occurs in a certain month, use the wordim:im Januar(in January). Abbreviations of the months are expressed with the first three letters of the full name, e.g. the September abbreviation is "Sep".

See ourGerman Alphabetpage for a more specific guide on how certain letters in words are pronounced.

German days of the week

The days of the week or Wochentage (see below for exact translation) are written and pronounced as so:

  • Montag(mohn-tahk) - Monday
  • Dienstag(deens-tahk) - Tuesday
  • Mittwoch(mit-vock) - Wednesday
  • Donnerstag(don-ers-tahk) - Thursday
  • Freitag(fry-tahk) - Friday
  • Samstag(or less often, Sonnabend) (zahms-tahk) - Saturday
  • Sonntag(zon-tahk) - Sunday

Workdays and weekends in Germany

We said above thatWochentagemeans days of the week, which is true, but be careful: this is often used to describe weekdays, meaning Monday to Friday.This can also be expressed with the phraseunter der Woche(under the week), whereas working days are known specifically asArbeitstageorWerktage, which usually also refer to the Mon-Fri schedule. The word for weekend in Germany isWochenende.

All days of the week are masculine nouns in German:der Montag. To say that an event takes place on a certain day, precede the day witham:Am Dienstag(on Tuesday).

How are dates written in Germany?

In Germany, dates are written in the Day.Month.Year. format.This is in contrast to America, where dates are usually written in the Month.Day.Year format, or “October 25th, 2020,” In Germany this would be written as 25.10.2020, most often with points between the numbers, not slashes.

Working week in Germany

A working week in Germany is not always set as Monday to Friday for all jobs, but almost all people in employment in Germany will have Sunday free, if not Saturday, too, as well as most public holidays (Feiertage). Standard work contracts in Germany state that employees should have two free days a week, be they at the weekend or not.

German seasons

What are the seasons in German?

The Germanspringruns from March to May.Summeris from June through to August, andAutumnis during the months of September, October, and November. Germanwintersare between December and February. The German clock and calendar does adhere to the rules of daylight savings.

How to spell and pronounce the seasons in German:

  • Frühling(frew-ling) - spring
  • Sommer(zom-mer) - summer
  • Herbst(hehrpst) - autumn
  • Winter(vin-ter) - winter

What is the weather like in Germany all year round?

The weather in Germany is generally very seasonal.Summers are warm to hot, and winter, especially in the north-east, can be very cold, but this does vary over the relatively large nation. For example, northwestern and coastal Germany have a maritime climate, with cloudy, mild winters and warm summers.

The weather can also be quite changeable, especially in spring: be aware of the sayingApril, April, er macht, was er will(April, April, it does what it wants).

Summer in Germany

Summers in Berlin are warm with an average temperature of 73°F (23°C), and the atmosphere in the city in the hotter months make it one of the most fun and relaxed places to be in Germany, if not Europe!

What is the best time to visit Germany?

Germany is less crowded during the spring monthsof March to Mayand late October to November.In particular, April and late October are crowd free and less expensive for visitors. The cheapest time for air fares, resort stays, and hotel rooms is between mid-January to mid-March.

What is the hottest month in Germany?

The hottest months in Germany are the summer months from June to August.The spring months of March, April, and May are milder and can be rainy.

Plan in advance

If you want to enjoy the sights and sounds of Carnival (Karnival or Fasching) and Oktoberfest, you should make reservations during these scheduled events in the early spring or autumn respectively.

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German Months (2024)

FAQs

What are the 12 months in German? ›

Naming the months in German
  • Januar – January.
  • Februar – February.
  • März – March.
  • April – April.
  • Mai – Mai.
  • Juni – June.
  • Juli – July.
  • August – August.
Oct 6, 2023

How do you say the months of the year in Germany? ›

Months in German
  1. Januar - January.
  2. Februar - February.
  3. März - March.
  4. April - April.
  5. Mai - May.
  6. Juni - June.
  7. Juli - July.
  8. August - August.

How do you say months in German pronunciation? ›

German Months of the year
  1. Januar (yah-noo-ahr) - January.
  2. Februar ( fay-broo-ahr) - February.
  3. März (mehrtz) - March.
  4. April (ah-pril) - April.
  5. Mai (my) - May.
  6. Juni (yoo-nee) - June.
  7. Juli (yoo-lee) - July.
  8. August (ow-goost) - August.
Feb 15, 2024

What are the German seasons in months? ›

The Four Seasons (Die vier Jahreszeiten)
JahreszeitMonate
der Frühling das Frühjahr (Adj.) frühlingshaftMärz, April, Mai im Frühling - in the spring
der Sommer (Adj.) sommerlichJuni, Juli, August im Sommer - in the summer
der Herbst (Adj.) herbstlichSept., Okt., Nov. im Herbst - in the fall/autumn
1 more row

Is there a 13th month in Germany? ›

13th-month salary payments are customary in Germany and are paid on the December pay date.

Can I speak German in 3 months? ›

It is simply not possible. To practice your language skills in three months, you will have to juggle memorizing vocabulary, using it in a sentence, and actually speaking to a native German. When you only have 3-4 hours a day, if not less, time management is critical.

What is German for birthday? ›

The most common options are “Alles Gute zum Geburtstag”, “Alles Liebe zum Geburtstag”, and “Herzlichen Glückwunsch", but you can play around with this and get creative.

How do Germans write date of birth? ›

When writing a date in German, list the day of the month first, followed by the numeral for the month, followed by the year. Germany uses the Gregorian calendar, with 12 months from January through December. For example, if you saw 01.04. 2019 in German, this date is April 1st, 2019 – not January 4th.

How do I introduce myself in German? ›

To introduce one's self in German, the phrase Mein Name ist… ("My name is…") can be used. Then to say where one lives, use the phrase: Ich lebe aus… ("I live in…").

What's the longest word in German? ›

As explained above, the longest “official” word in German, in the sense that you could find it in a dictionary, is Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, weighing in at 63 letters long. This likely takes the top spot on any list of top 10 long German words.

How to greet someone in German? ›

German greetings
  1. Hallo! Hello!
  2. Guten Morgen! Good morning!
  3. Guten Tag! Good day!
  4. Grüß Gott! Good day! (Used mostly in southern Germany and Austria)
  5. Guten Abend! Good evening!
  6. Auf Wiedersehen! Goodbye! ( formal)
  7. Tschüss! Goodbye! ( informal)
  8. Ciao! Goodbye! ( borrowed from Italian; popular with younger Germans)

What is your name in Germany? ›

How to Say What Is Your Name in German. If you want to say “What is your name?” in German, you would either say, “Wie heißen sie?” (formal) or “Wie heißt du?” (informal).

Which month is best for German? ›

The best time to visit Germany is May or June.

How do you say baby in German? ›

baby
  1. Baby, das ~ Noun.
  2. Kindchen, das ~ Noun.
  3. Dingelchen, das ~ Noun.

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