Months
The names for the twelve months of the year.
How It Works
Here are the twelve months of the year in Swedish:
- januari - January
- februari - February
- mars - March
- april - April
- maj - May
- juni - June
- juli - July
- augusti - August
- september - September
- oktober - October
- november - November
- december - December
A key rule to remember is that months are not capitalized in Swedish, unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
To express that something happens 'in' a certain month, you use the preposition i.
Example: Vi åker skidor i januari. (We go skiing in January.)
A Month Name, A Date, Or A Delay
Compare i maj (in May), den första maj (the first of May), and om en månad (in one month / a month from now). In a full date the month name stays unchanged after the ordinal number. A duration is different again: i en månad means for one month.
In Januari är årets första månad, the capital J is required because Januari opens the sentence; it does not contradict the lowercase rule inside a sentence.
Examples (5)
- Januari är årets första månad.
January is the first month of the year.
Word by Word: January is year's first month.
- Min födelsedag är i maj.
My birthday is in May.
Word by Word: My birthday is in May.
- Sommaren börjar i juni.
The summer begins in June.
Word by Word: Summer-the begins in June.
- Vi reser till Sverige i augusti.
We are traveling to Sweden in August.
Word by Word: We travel to Sweden in August.
- Det är ofta kallt i november.
It is often cold in November.
Word by Word: It is often cold in November.
Common Mistakes
Capitalizing the names of months.
Jag åker till Spanien i Juli.Jag åker till Spanien i juli.Unlike English, the names of months are not capitalized in Swedish unless they are the first word of a sentence.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Learning the months in Swedish is primarily a vocabulary task, but understanding basic prepositions like 'i' and 'på' is necessary to use these words in sentences to indicate time.
Related Patterns
- Days
Weekday names, like month names, normally use lowercase letters. The ordinary sentence-initial capital still applies.
Level 1 - Date expressions
Learning the months is the first step to being able to say and understand full dates in Swedish.
Level 1 - Ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers (första, andra, tredje...) are often used with months to specify dates, like 'den första maj' (the first of May).
Level 1
Practice Months in Bubblegum
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