Seasons and Months in Italian
Learning how to talk about seasons and months of the year in Italian is a great way to expand your vocabulary related to time, weather, holidays, and travel. These words are used in everyday conversations, whether you’re describing the climate, setting up a schedule, or planning a trip to Italy.
In Italian, the names of months are not capitalized (unless at the beginning of a sentence), and seasons are usually used with a definite article when functioning as nouns. You’ll also find that many cultural and religious holidays in Italy are associated with specific months or seasons, so recognizing these terms can help you better understand calendars and traditions.
Seasons of the Year in Italian
| English | Italian with pronunciation volume_down |
|---|---|
| winter | inverno |
| spring | primavera |
| summer | estate |
| autumn | autunno |
Italian has four seasons, just like English. The definite article “la” or the elided form “l’” is typically used with the names of the seasons, especially when they serve as the subject or object in a sentence. For example:
- L’inverno è freddo. – Winter is cold.
- Mi piace l’autunno. – I like autumn.
Note that seasons are masculine nouns in Italian, except for “la primavera” which is feminine.
Names of the Months in Italian
| English | Italian with pronunciation volume_down |
|---|---|
| January | gennaio |
| February | febbraio |
| March | marzo |
| April | aprile |
| May | maggio |
| June | giugno |
| July | luglio |
| August | agosto |
| September | settembre |
| October | ottobre |
| November | novembre |
| December | dicembre |
The months in Italian are easy to learn because many of them resemble their English equivalents. They are always written in lowercase in the middle of a sentence. To talk about something happening in a certain month, Italian often uses the preposition “a” or “in”. Both are correct, though “in” is more common in standard usage:
- Andiamo in vacanza in agosto. – We go on holiday in August.
- Il mio compleanno è a gennaio. – My birthday is in January.
Months are also used in dates. Unlike English, the day comes before the month:
- Il 25 dicembre – December 25th
- Il 1º maggio – May 1st (note: the masculine ordinal is often written with the degree symbol)
Mastering the months and seasons in Italian will make it easier to understand calendars, plan events, and talk naturally about time throughout the year.