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Italian vocabulary for time: months, days of the week

Knowing the days, months and seasons in Italian is really the foundation when you’re travelling or living there. You’ll need them all the time: to book a hotel, check museum opening times, make appointments, or simply say “I’m going on holiday in August”.

The good news? It’s easier to remember than you might think. Many words are similar to French, and once you’ve heard them a few times, they’ll stick in your mind naturally. Here’s everything you need to talk about time in Italian.

The 12 months of the year

In Italian, unlike in French, the months of the year are generally written without a capital letter, unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence. They are all masculine.

The 4 seasons

To place the months in their climatic and cultural context, it’s necessary to know the seasons. In Italian, the word “season” is la stagione.

The days of the week

The months are structured around weeks. A particular feature of Italian is that all days are masculine, except for Sunday which is feminine.

Time units and calendar

To talk about duration or frequency, this structural vocabulary is required.

Placing a moment in time

The correct use of months often requires adverbs or phrases to specify the time (past, present or future).

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Expressions and prepositions with months

Italian grammar uses specific prepositions to introduce months and dates. It’s essential to distinguish the nuances to construct correct sentences.

Holidays and events related to months

In Italy, each month is associated with major cultural or religious celebrations. Knowing these terms helps you better understand local life.

Weather and seasonal adjectives

The vocabulary of months is inseparable from that of weather, allowing you to describe typical conditions for each period of the year.

Frequency and periodicity

To express the repetition of events throughout the months, these adjectives and adverbs are necessary.

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Zodiac signs

Although relating to astrology, zodiac signs are frequently used in conversations to refer to birth periods. They follow the division of months.

Planning vocabulary

These terms are specifically useful for organising a diary or preparing a trip according to dates.

Ordinal numbers for dates

Although only “first” is used for the date of the day, knowing ordinals is useful for designating centuries, anniversaries or recurring events (e.g. the third month).