Months of the year · free
The Months of the Year in Hindi
Good news first: the months you use for birthdays and dates are just the English names, written in Devanagari. The second set — the Hindu calendar months — is where the festivals live.
For your calendar, the months are English in Devanagari dress. For your festivals, they’re something older.
The months you already know
Modern India runs its dates on the Gregorian calendar, and the month names are simply the English ones borrowed into Hindi and spelled in Devanagari. जनवरी (janvarī) is January; दिसंबर (disambar) is December. If you can say the English months, you already half-know these — you just need to recognise them on the page.
This is the set you’ll use for a birthday, an appointment, a date on a form. Nothing new to memorise, just new letters to read.
The twelve months (everyday calendar)
The Gregorian months as Hindi writes and says them.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
The other calendar — where the festivals are
Alongside the Gregorian year runs the Hindu lunar calendar, and this is the one that sets the dates of festivals. It’s why Diwali and Holi “move” against the English calendar each year — they’re fixed to a lunar month, not a Gregorian one.
You don’t need to run your life by these, but recognising a few explains a lot. सावन (sāvan, the monsoon month) is when the Teej festivals and Kanwar pilgrimages fall. कार्तिक (kārtik) is the month of Diwali. फाल्गुन (phālgun) brings Holi. Hearing someone say a festival is “in सावन” is like hearing it’s “in high summer” — a season, not a date.
The Hindu calendar months
The traditional lunar months, in order, starting around March–April. Spellings and exact start dates vary a little by region.
March–April — the traditional new year
April–May
May–June
June–July
July–August — the monsoon month, also सावन (sāvan)
August–September — also भादों (bhādoṁ)
September–October — Navratri, Dussehra
October–November — Diwali
November–December — also अगहन (agahan)
December–January
January–February
February–March — Holi
Saying the date
The word for “month” is महीना (mahīnā). To say what month it is: अभी जनवरी है (abhī janvarī hai) — “it’s January now.” A date is spoken day-then-month, like much of the world: 5 जनवरी (pāṁch janvarī) is the 5th of January. And “year” is साल (sāl) or वर्ष (varṣ), the second a touch more formal.
The month names are the easy part — you already know them in English. Learn to read them in Devanagari free, starting with your first letters.
Learn to read them — free trainer →Questions people ask
Are Hindi month names the same as English?
For everyday dates, essentially yes — modern India uses the Gregorian calendar, and the month names are the English ones written in Devanagari: जनवरी (January), फ़रवरी (February), मार्च (March), and so on. You don’t learn new words so much as learn to read the familiar ones in a new script.
Why do Diwali and Holi fall on different dates each year?
Because they follow the Hindu lunar calendar, not the Gregorian one. Diwali is fixed to the month of कार्तिक (kārtik) and Holi to फाल्गुन (phālgun) — lunar months that drift against the English calendar, so the festivals land on a different Gregorian date each year while staying put in their own calendar.
What is the Hindi word for “month” and “year”?
“Month” is महीना (mahīnā). “Year” is साल (sāl) in everyday speech, or वर्ष (varṣ) in more formal or written Hindi. “This month” is इस महीने (is mahīne); “this year” is इस साल (is sāl).
Do I need to learn the Hindu calendar months?
Not for daily life — dates, birthdays and appointments all use the Gregorian months. But recognising a few of the lunar months explains why festivals move around, and lets you follow elders who name a festival by its season — “in सावन,” “around कार्तिक.” Treat them as useful to recognise, not essential to memorise.