Months in Japanese
Updated July 5, 2026
The months in Japanese are formed by adding 月 (gatsu, month) to a number, so January is 1月 (ichigatsu) and December is 12月 (juunigatsu). Three readings are irregular: April, July, and September are shigatsu, shichigatsu, and kugatsu.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 1月 | Januaryichigatsu |
| 2月 | Februarynigatsu |
| 3月 | Marchsangatsu |
| 4月 | Aprilshigatsu; irregular reading |
| 5月 | Maygogatsu |
| 6月 | Junerokugatsu |
| 7月 | Julyshichigatsu; irregular reading |
| 8月 | Augusthachigatsu |
| 9月 | Septemberkugatsu; irregular reading |
| 10月 | Octoberjuugatsu |
| 11月 | Novemberjuuichigatsu |
| 12月 | Decemberjuunigatsu |
Want these to stick? Hear them in real context: LingoBinge surfaces words like these while you watch Japanese shows on Netflix, and saves them for spaced review.
Hear them in: Old Enough!, Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say the months in Japanese?
- Japanese months are a number plus 月 (gatsu). January is 1月 (ichigatsu). Watch three irregular readings: April is 四月 (shigatsu), July is 七月 (shichigatsu), and September is 九月 (kugatsu), not the regular number readings.
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