Days of the week in German, months and dates
Learn the days of the week in German and the months in German, the four seasons, the little words you need with them (am Montag, im Mai, um acht Uhr), how to say dates like am 3. Oktober – and which holidays Germany celebrates.
Days of the week in German
All seven days are masculine – der Montag, der Dienstag and so on – and like all German nouns they start with a capital letter. On calendars and timetables you will mostly see the two-letter short forms.
| English | German | Short |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | der Montag | Mo. |
| Tuesday | der Dienstag | Di. |
| Wednesday | der Mittwoch | Mi. |
| Thursday | der Donnerstag | Do. |
| Friday | der Freitag | Fr. |
| Saturday | der Samstag (north/east also: Sonnabend) | Sa. |
| Sunday | der Sonntag | So. |
Two nice details: Mittwoch literally means “mid-week”, and Donnerstag is the day of thunder (Donner). The weekend is das Wochenende – neuter, because the last part, Ende, is neuter. Useful words: heute (today), morgen (tomorrow), gestern (yesterday), übermorgen (the day after tomorrow).
Months in German
The months in German look very similar to English – the challenge is the pronunciation. They are all masculine too: der Januar, der Mai.
| English | German | Short |
|---|---|---|
| January | der Januar | Jan. |
| February | der Februar | Feb. |
| March | der März | März |
| April | der April | Apr. |
| May | der Mai | Mai |
| June | der Juni | Juni |
| July | der Juli | Juli |
| August | der August | Aug. |
| September | der September | Sept. |
| October | der Oktober | Okt. |
| November | der November | Nov. |
| December | der Dezember | Dez. |
Watch the spelling of März (with ä) and Mai (with ai). In Austria January is usually Jänner. And because Juni and Juli sound alike, many Germans say Juno and Julei when they speak.
The four seasons
The seasons are masculine as well. You will also hear das Frühjahr for spring.
| English | German | in … |
|---|---|---|
| spring | der Frühling | im Frühling |
| summer | der Sommer | im Sommer |
| autumn / fall | der Herbst | im Herbst |
| winter | der Winter | im Winter |
Practise with the short reading text Das Wetter in Deutschland (A1) or the weather vocabulary list.
am Montag, im Mai, um acht Uhr
English uses on, in and at. German uses am, im and um. am is short for an dem, and im is short for in dem – both are dative.
| For … | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| days | am | am Montag, am Wochenende |
| parts of the day | am – but in der Nacht | am Morgen, am Abend, in der Nacht |
| dates | am | am 3. Oktober (am dritten Oktober) |
| months and seasons | im | im Mai, im Winter |
| clock times | um | um 8 Uhr, um halb neun |
| years | no preposition or im Jahr | 2024 / im Jahr 2024 |
| every week | add -s, small letter | montags, freitags, sonntags |
Combine them from big to small: Am Montag, dem 3. Oktober, um 10 Uhr. Days and parts of the day join into one word: am Montagabend (on Monday evening). More time prepositions such as vor, seit, ab are on the page time prepositions.
Dates: am 3. Oktober
For dates you need ordinal numbers (erste, zweite, dritte…), which you can learn on our German numbers page. In writing, the ordinal gets a dot, and the day comes before the month: 03.10.2026 is 3 October 2026, not 10 March.
- Welcher Tag ist heute? – Heute ist Montag. (Which day is it today? – Today is Monday.)
- Der Wievielte ist heute? – Heute ist der dritte Oktober. (What's the date today? – Today is the third of October.)
- Wann hast du Geburtstag? – Am zwölften Mai. (When is your birthday? – On the twelfth of May.)
- Der Kurs geht vom 1. bis zum 5. Juni. – read: vom ersten bis zum fünften Juni.
Notice the endings: der dritte after ist, but am dritten after am. The full rules are on the page telling the time, days, months and dates.
German holidays you should know
These are some of the best-known holidays in Germany. Some other public holidays differ from one federal state (Bundesland) to another, so check the local calendar.
| Holiday | When | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Neujahr | 1 January | New Year's Day |
| Karfreitag & Ostermontag | March or April (date changes) | Easter – Ostern |
| Tag der Arbeit | 1 May | Labour Day |
| Tag der Deutschen Einheit | 3 October | German Unity Day, the national holiday since 1990 |
| Weihnachten | 25 and 26 December | Christmas – the big family evening is Heiligabend on 24 December |
| Silvester | 31 December | New Year's Eve – a big party night, but a normal working day |
Seasonal wishes: Frohe Weihnachten! (Merry Christmas!), Frohe Ostern! (Happy Easter!), Guten Rutsch! (said before New Year) and Frohes neues Jahr! (Happy New Year!). Read about a Christmas tradition in Mein erster Weihnachtsmarkt (A2).
Practise days, months and dates
- Learn them in order and say today's date out loud every morning: Heute ist Dienstag, der 14. Mai.
- Train your ear with the date and time drills in the listening gym.
- Write your week in German: Am Montag arbeite ich. Am Samstag gehe ich einkaufen. Get feedback in the writing studio, and read Mein Wochenende for ideas.
More German basics
German numbers 1–100
From eins to hundert, prices, years and phone numbers.
German alphabet
Letter names, Ä Ö Ü ß and spelling on the phone.
50 basic phrases
Greetings, shopping, restaurant and emergencies – du and Sie.
der, die, das rules
Gender endings, plural and the four cases in one table.
Use days and dates in real conversations
Lesson 7 of the free 30-day course is all about time and days – with audio, dialogues and exercises.
Open Lesson 7 →FAQ: days, months and dates in German
Are the days and months in German masculine?
Yes. All days of the week, all months and all four seasons are masculine: der Montag, der Mai, der Winter. That is why you say am Montag (an + dem) and im Mai (in + dem).
Do you capitalise days and months in German?
Yes, they are nouns, and all German nouns start with a capital letter: Montag, Januar. The only exception is the adverb form for regular habits, which is written small: montags (on Mondays), abends (in the evenings).
Is it Samstag or Sonnabend?
Both mean Saturday. Samstag is used everywhere and is the safe choice. Sonnabend is common in northern and eastern Germany.
How do I say the date in German?
Use an ordinal number: Heute ist der dritte Oktober (Today is the third of October). For on a date, say am dritten Oktober. In writing, put a dot after the number and the day before the month: am 3. Oktober or 03.10.2026.
Why do Germans say Juno and Julei?
Juni and Juli sound very similar, especially on the phone. To avoid confusion, many people say Juno for June and Julei for July in spoken German. In writing, always use Juni and Juli.