Learn the names of days, months and seasons in German, as well as the temporal prepositions associated with each and how to use them in everyday practicality.
Days of the week and months of the year in German: with pronunciation and prepositions
Do you want to organize your appointments or talk about your next holiday in German? Memorizing the names of days (Wochentage), months (Monate) and seasons (Jahreszeiten), along with the appropriate temporal prepositions for each, is an essential step for effective daily communication.
💡 A very important rule:All days of the week, seasons and months in German are masculine nouns and take the definite articleder. But each category has its own temporal preposition when expressing the occurrence of the action in it.
1. Days of the week (Wochentage) and the preposition am
The week in Germany begins on Monday (Montag), and the weekend is Saturday and Sunday.
Days always take the temporal prepositionam(It is an abbreviation of an dem).
example:am Montag(Monday).
For more details, seeTopic of the week and its division on Wikipedia.
- Montag (Monday)
- Dienstag (Tuesday)
- Mittwoch (Wednesday)
- Donnerstag (Thursday)
- Freitag (Friday)
- Samstag/Sonnabend (Saturday)
- Sonntag (Sunday)
2. The months of the year (Monate) and the preposition im
The 12 months in German take the chronological prepositionim(short for in dem).
example:im Januar(in January).
The months in order are:
- January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
3. Seasons of the year (Jahreszeiten)
Like the months, the four seasons of the year take the prepositionimalso:
- im Frühling (in the spring)
- im Sommer (in summer)
- im Herbst (in the fall)
- im Winter (in winter)
Summary table of basic temporal prepositions
| Preposition |
Main use |
An illustrative example |
| am |
With days, times of day and specific dates |
I am Freitag, I am Morgen |
| im |
With months, seasons and years |
It's July, it's Winter |
| um |
With accurate time and clock |
um 8:00 Uhr |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What preposition is used with the days of the week?
We always use the temporal preposition am with the days of the week. Example: am Dienstag (on Tuesday).
What is the gender of Sommer and other seasons of the year?
All seasons, months, and days of the week are grammatically noted in German and take the definite article der.
How do I express an event that occurs in a specific month?
We use the preposition im with months. Example: im Dezember (in December).
When does the week officially start in Germany?
The work week officially begins on Monday (Montag), not Sunday.
Recommended sources and references
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