A few years ago, when I was still living in Germany, I went with friends to Oktoberfest. They told me that it was the biggest festival of the year and under no circumstances should I miss it. We sat at a table and drank Oktoberfestbier, the traditional beer served during this celebration. As a philology student, at some point I began to wonder about the origin of the word. Oktober is, after all, “October” in German, and the holiday takes place in September. So I asked my German friends about it, and it turned out that the answer was very simple: originally the festivities were held just in October, but because of the cold October weather in Munich, it was decided to move it to the end of September to take advantage of the last warm days of autumn. After the festivities were over, I started thinking about how else the names of the months and seasons in German are related to their traditions and customs.
In this article, in addition to tips for learning German vocabulary, I’ve prepared some interesting facts for you. You will also learn how to use time terms and build sentences with them.
Seasons in German – die Jahreszeiten
Here are the names of the four basic seasons. In German, words for seasons and months are capitalized and always masculine.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Sommer | summer |
| der Herbst | fall/autumn |
| der Winter | winter |
| der Frühling | spring |
In addition to these official names, there are also folk names in German that refer to specific times of the year. One of the most well-known is goldener Herbst (golden autumn), which means beautiful autumn days when the sun shines in a yellowish-reddish color and the leaves shimmer with gold. We also have Altweibersommer (Indian summer) or simply Spätsommer (late summer), which means warm and sunny September days. The name Altweibersommer is often mistakenly translated as “summer of the old women”; in fact the name is derived from Old High German and refers to the spider threads that float in the air during this period.
If we want to be even more accurate, we can create phrases such as “late autumn” or “early winter” with the words früh- (early) or spät- (late). See the table:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Altweibersommer | Indian summer |
| der goldene Herbst | golden fall/autumn |
| der Spätsommer | late summer |
| der Spätherbst | late fall/autumn |
| der Frühwinter | early winter |
| der Frühsommer | early summer |
Summer, winter, fall, spring … and carnival
Germans are considered a serious and disciplined nation. However, at least once a year, a large part of the country really gets caught up in the madness.
Karneval is a time of magical and immense significance. It has even earned the name fünfte Jahreszeit, or “fifth season”. It begins at 11:11 a.m. on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. If one were to drop a newcomer into one of Germany’s carnival capitals, he would think the whole world had gone completely mad. And he wouldn’t be wrong at all. The streets are filled with enthusiastic Narren, or “jesters” or “fools”, as real carnival-goers are called, dressed as clowns, ghosts and unicorns. Singing and dancing, they parade through the city streets in seemingly endless performances, while all the bars are practically bursting at the seams.
Normal, everyday life is suspended for a while, leaving the casual observer with only one viable option: to join in the fun. Not all of Germany participates in this madness. The main areas where this tradition is cultivated are along the Rhine and in southern Germany, in parts of Swabia and Bavaria. Farther north, you can find Germans who even shake their heads with disapproval when hearing about the carnival.
Months in German – die Monate
In the table below you will find the names of the months in German. Remember that, just like the names of the seasons, we write them with a capital letter!
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Januar | January |
| der Februar | February |
| der März | March |
| der April | April |
| der Mai | May |
| der Juni | June |
| der Juli | July |
| der August | August |
| der September | September |
| der Oktober | October |
| der November | November |
| der Dezember | December |
Tip: Use a well-known children’s song to learn the names of the months. This way, not only will you immediately learn the correct pronunciation, but the words will “enter” your head on their own! For more on this topic, read the article on learning language from songs. As a German tutor, I encourage you to get acquainted with this method of learning, because its results are really delightful!
Be sure to also check out the recordings in the Taalhammer app, where you can listen to the recording and practice your pronunciation. By engaging more of your senses to learn, you’ll remember new vocabulary much better.
Abbreviated month names
You can write the names of the months (except for März and Mai, which are already very short) as abbreviations. Just use the first three letters of the month and add a period to them.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Januar | Jan. |
| Februar | Feb. |
| März | – |
| April | Apr. |
| Mai | – |
| Juni | Jun. |
| Juli | Jul. |
| August | Aug. |
| September | Sep. |
| Oktober | Okt. |
| November | Nov. |
| Dezember | Dez. |
Interesting fact: In Germany, there are specific traditions associated with particular months or seasons. For example, the Bavarian region hosts Oktoberfest, which is the largest folk festival in the world. Another important event is the May 1 holiday – Der Erste Mai, the equivalent of our May Day. On the night of April 30 to May 1, many celebrations and events are held. The motto of this night is Tanz in den Mai, or “Dance into May”.
Sample sentences in German: Learn how to use time expressions in a sentence
You have already learned the vocabulary associated with the names of the seasons and months. Now I’ll show you how to easily learn how to build sentences with them. This is a useful part of learning German, and mastering the basics related to sentence construction will help you make appointments and talk about different dates without any problems.
To say that something happened at a certain time, e.g. “in winter” or “in January”, use the preposition im. Im is a combination of the preposition in (in) with the genitive dem (i.e. der in the nominative). See the following examples:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| im Januar | in January |
| Im Januar fällt Schnee. | It snows in January. |
| im Juni | in June |
| Ich fahre im Juni in den Urlaub. | I’m going on vacation in June. |
| im Winter | in winter |
| Im Winter gehe ich Skifahren. | In the winter I go skiing. |
| im Herbst | in autumn |
| Im Herbst ist es oft regnerisch. | It is often rainy in autumn. |
If you are going to make an appointment, you need to learn how to give the exact date in German. To do this, use the preposition am, for example, am 14. Juni or am vierzehnten Juni (the fourteenth of June). In this case, you are using ordinal numerals, so it is important that you include a period right after the number or use the ending –ten if you write the number verbally. To remind yourself of the rules for forming numbers in German, go to this article.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| am 29. August | August 29 |
| Mein Geburtstag ist am 29. August. | My birthday is on August 29. |
| am 24. Dezember | December 24 |
| Am 24. Dezember feiern wir Heiligabend. | On December 24 we celebrate Christmas Eve. |
| am dritten März | third of March |
| Können wir uns am dritten März treffen? | Could we meet on the third of March? |
| am ersten Juni | first of June |
| Am ersten Juni fahre ich in den Urlaub. | I leave for vacation on the first of June. |
Useful vocabulary related to the months and seasons in German
At the very end, I have prepared for you a list of vocabulary words, phrases and sentences that you may find very useful on this topic. I have included them below in the form of whole sentences for a reason. We at Taalhammer have written many times about the benefits of learning in whole sentences. We believe that this is the most effective method for mastering a new language, and we have confirmed this time and again when helping our students achieve language fluency. When tutoring, I always use it with my students, so that we manage to achieve visible results and, consequently, learning satisfaction. Also, thanks to the messages from the participants of the online German course, which the whole Taalhammer team and I value very much, we know that many of our students have managed to break the language barrier and improve their communication skills – which is what we care about most!
| German | English |
|---|---|
| monatlich | monthly |
| Ich erhalte mein Gehalt monatlich. | I receive my salary monthly. |
| wöchentlich | weekly |
| Wir gehen wöchentlich einkaufen. | We go shopping weekly. |
| in einem Monat | in a month |
| In einem Monat habe ich meine Abschlussprüfungen. | I have my final exams in a month. |
| dieser Monat | this month |
| Dieser Monat ist besonders heiß. | This month is particularly hot. |
| jeden Monat | each month |
| Wir treffen uns jeden Monat zum Kaffeeklatsch. | We meet each month for gossip over coffee. |
| letzten Monat | last month |
| Letzten Monat habe ich Geburtstag gefeiert. | I celebrated my birthday last month. |
| nächsten Monat | next month |
| Nächsten Monat plane ich einen Kurzurlaub. | I am planning a short vacation next month. |
| der Geburtstag | birthday |
| Wann ist dein Geburtstag? | When is your birthday? |
| Mein Geburtstag ist im Januar. | My birthday is in January. |
| wann | when |
| Zeit haben | have time |
| Wann haben Sie die Zeit dazu? | When do you have time to do this? |
| Wir haben am Wochenende Zeit. | We have time on the weekend. |
| Ich habe diese Woche keine Zeit. | I don’t have time this week. |
| frei haben | have time off |
| Heute ist ein Feiertag und wir haben frei. | Today is a public holiday and we have the day off. |
| sich treffen | meet |
| Wann können wir uns treffen? | When can we meet? |
| Wir können uns am 6. Februar treffen. | We can meet on February 6. |
| feiern | celebrate |
| Morgen feiern wir den Muttertag. | Tomorrow we celebrate Mother’s Day. |
Learn the names of the months and seasons with the Taalhammer app!
In this article we have exhaustively covered the topic of months and seasons in German. If you want to supplement your knowledge, also take a look at the vocabulary related to the days of the week in German. Hopefully, learning won’t cause you any problems now! Follow the tips and remember that it takes some time and work to master a lot of new vocabulary. Use our app, where ready-made learning sets are waiting for you, and repeat the new material using a repetition system that will fit your needs. Good luck!
