Months in Arabic: Gregorian Names and Regional Variations

01Start with the first three months

• These names are common in Egypt and many Gulf contexts. They are a useful starting set, not the only Arabic names.
• The numbers show each month’s place in the Gregorian year: January is 1, February 2, and March 3.
• Read the Arabic alongside the plain reading aid. Pronunciation can vary by region, and the simple spelling is only a guide.

02Complete the Gregorian year

• June and July differ by one letter in these spellings: يونيو and يوليو. Notice ن in June and ل in July.
• Learn the sequence in groups, then recognise a month without counting from January.
• The month number stays the same when its regional name changes. July remains month 7 whether a calendar says يوليو or تموز.

03Say when something happens

• Fi means in. Put it before the month to say when an event happens.
• Ad dars means the lesson. The sentence gives a month, not a particular day or time.
• For a real appointment, add the missing details separately. Naming a month alone is not a complete date.

Try changing July to September or December. The pattern stays the same; only the month changes. The reading aids leave most final grammatical endings out.

04Same month, different regional names

• The Levant and Iraq use a familiar sequence including shubat for February and adhar for March. Open the full comparison below when you need it.
• North African usage is not one single list. For example, Morocco uses يوليوز yulyuz for July, while Algeria and Tunisia use جويلية juwiliyya.
• Follow the name used on the calendar or notice you are reading. More than one naming system may appear in a region.

05Check the calendar, then the month

Regional names such as yanayir and kanun ath thani can refer to the same Gregorian month. A different calendar is a different system, so do not swap its month names into this list.

• First identify the calendar from the surrounding context.
• Next match the month name to its position in the year.
• Finally, read the whole phrase: fi yulyu means in July.

Start with the names used where you live, travel, or study. Learn to recognise the alternatives before trying to use every regional form in conversation.