German month names are capitalized: Januar, Februar, März. To arrange an appointment, distinguish a month (im Mai, in May) from a dated day (am dritten Mai, on 3 May). Use the translated list, examples and date exercises to plan your own calendar.
The idea
Use im with a month, am with a dated day; after am, ordinal numbers take the ending -en.
| German word / expression | Meaning and use |
|---|---|
| der Januar | January — im Januar (in January) |
| der Februar | February — im Februar (in February) |
| der März | March — im März (in March) |
| der April | April — im April (in April) |
| der Mai | May — im Mai (in May) |
| der Juni | June — im Juni (in June) |
| der Juli | July — im Juli (in July) |
| der August | August — im August (in August) |
| der September | September — im September (in September) |
| der Oktober | October — im Oktober (in October) |
| der November | November — im November (in November) |
| der Dezember | December — im Dezember (in December) |
Combine a calendar date with a weekday using Days of the week in German
Describe the season and weather for your trip with German weather and seasons
Reading a date and naming the day of an appointment
German numeric dates put the day before the month: 03.05. means 3 May. Ask Welches Datum ist heute? and answer Heute ist der dritte Mai. For an appointment, ask Wann? and answer am dritten Mai: after am the ordinal ends in -en. Learn the irregular starts erste, dritte and siebte; from 20 use -ste, as in der zwanzigste Mai and am zwanzigsten Mai. Month names always start with a capital letter.
Examples
- Mein Geburtstag ist am dritten Mai.My birthday is on the third of May.
- Der Kurs beginnt im September.The course starts in September.
- Heute ist der zwölfte Juni.Today is the twelfth of June.
- Wir treffen uns am 21. Oktober.We are meeting on 21 October.
- Im Februar hat das Büro kürzere Öffnungszeiten.In February, the office has shorter opening hours.
- Der Termin ist vom achten auf den zehnten April verschoben.The appointment has been moved from the eighth to the tenth of April.
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Watch out
The dot in 3. marks an ordinal number: am dritten Juni, not am drei Juni.
Try it yourself
Der Kurs beginnt ___ März. (im / am)
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im
„im“ — A month without a numbered day takes im.
Wir treffen uns ___ fünften Mai. (im / am)
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am
„am“ — A specific calendar date takes am.
Schreibe als Wort: am 3. Juni.
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am dritten Juni
„am dritten Juni“ — After am, the ordinal ends in -en: dritten.
Schreibe als Wort: am 20. Mai.
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am zwanzigsten Mai
„am zwanzigsten Mai“ — From 20, ordinals use -ste; after am the form ends in -sten.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Der Kurs beginnt ___ März. (im / am)
Wir treffen uns ___ fünften Mai. (im / am)
Schreibe als Wort: am 3. Juni.
Schreibe als Wort: am 20. Mai.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write three appointments with exact dates and one plan naming only a month. Read each date aloud twice: Heute ist der … and Mein Termin ist am … . Check that the ordinal changes after am.