The Japanese Months: A Crash Course in Sounding Smart (or Just Confusing Your Friends)

Ever tried to learn the months in Japanese, only to feel like you’ve accidentally joined an ancient clan with an overly complicated naming system? Don’t worry, I got you!

You’re about to discover that Japanese months are actually super easy—like “Why didn’t I learn this sooner?” easy. But don’t let that fool you. There’s still plenty of room for accidental mispronunciations that could turn “July” into “Ten Moons Rising Over Mt. Fuji” (okay, maybe not that dramatic, but you get the idea).

So, grab your tea (or sake, I won’t judge) and let’s dive in!

So, How Do You Say the Months in Japanese?

Here’s the big secret: Japanese months are literally just numbers + the word for month (gatsu, 月). That’s it. No fancy Latin-rooted names like “September” (which, let’s be honest, no one really remembers means “the seventh month” despite it being the ninth).

In Japanese, it goes like this:

January – Ichi-gatsu (一月)
February – Ni-gatsu (二月)
March – San-gatsu (三月)
April – Shi-gatsu (四月)
May – Go-gatsu (五月)
June – Roku-gatsu (六月)
July – Shichi-gatsu (七月)
August – Hachi-gatsu (八月)
September – Ku-gatsu (九月)
October – Juu-gatsu (十月)
November – Juuichi-gatsu (十一月)
December – Juunii-gatsu (十二月)

Boom. Done. Easy, right? Just count to twelve and add -gatsu at the end.

But of course, this wouldn’t be a proper Japanese lesson without a few weird exceptions…

The Tricky Parts (Because Japanese Can’t Let Us Have Nice Things)

April is NOT “Yon-gatsu” – In Japanese, the number four has two readings: shi and yon. But for April, they use shi-gatsu instead of “yon-gatsu.” (Why? No one really knows. Maybe it just sounds cooler?)
July and September: Watch Your Tongue! – July (shichi-gatsu) and September (ku-gatsu) are commonly mispronounced by beginners. Why? Because when you’re speaking fast, shichi can easily be mistaken for ichi (one), and ku can sound like kyuu (nine).
- Pro tip: When saying July, emphasize the shi (SHI-chi-gatsu), and when saying September, keep it short and crisp (Ku-gatsu, not Kyuu-gatsu).
There’s a Completely Different Set of Old-School Names – Oh, you thought that was all? Haha. No.Back in the day (we’re talking samurai-and-kimono days), Japanese had unique poetic names for each month. You don’t need to learn them, but if you do, you’ll instantly sound like a Japanese history buff at parties (which, let’s be honest, is always a flex). Here are a few:
- January: Mutsuki (睦月) – “Month of Affection”
- February: Kisaragi (如月) – “Month of Renewed Clothes”
- April: Uzuki (即月) – “Month of Deutzia Flowers” (a type of flower, in case you were wondering)
Cool? Yes. Useful in modern conversation? Eh…not so much. But hey, now you can impress that one person in your life who really loves obscure trivia.

How to Remember the Months Without Crying

Look, I get it. Language learning can feel like memorizing cheat codes for a game with no save points. But here’s how you can make Japanese months stick in your brain:

Associate numbers with events – If your birthday is in March, think of “San” as San Francisco (or “three” in Japanese). Bam. Easy.
Use them daily – Change your phone’s calendar language settings to Japanese. Now you have no choice but to learn them!
Practice with a buddy – Or, if you don’t have one, just yell random months at your cat. (“Shichi-gatsu!” “Nani?!”)
Write them down – Physically writing things reinforces memory. Old-school, but effective.

Why Learning the Months Actually Matters

You might be thinking, “Okay, cool, but why do I need to know the months in Japanese?” Well…

Booking a Trip to Japan – You don’t want to mix up your flight dates and end up in Tokyo six months late.
Reading a Japanese Calendar – Because yes, Japan does use a different year system for official documents, but at least the months are familiar.
Understanding Anime and J-dramas – Ever noticed how characters dramatically yell “Shichi-gatsu ka…” while staring into the distance? Now you’ll actually know what they’re talking about.

Final Thoughts: Now You Know, So Use It!

See? Japanese months aren’t so scary! Now, next time someone asks you what month it is in Japanese, you can confidently say “Juu-gatsu desu!” (It’s October!), instead of panicking and blurting out “Sushi-gatsu?” (which, sadly, is not a real month).

So go ahead—use these words in conversations, test them out, and most importantly, have fun with it!

And if you ever get stuck, just remember: It’s just counting plus “-gatsu.” You got this!