Months of the year

Years and Months

To talk about dates and timelines, we first need the words for year (yıl) and month (ay).

There are twelve months in a year.
Bir yılda on iki ay var.
Which month is it now?
Şimdi hangi ay?

The Twelve Months

Just like days of the week, months in Turkish are not capitalized unless they start a sentence or are part of an exact date.

Here are the twelve months:

  • ocak (January)
  • şubat (February)
  • mart (March)
  • nisan (April)
  • mayıs (May)
  • haziran (June)
  • temmuz (July)
  • ağustos (August)
  • eylül (September)
  • ekim (October)
  • kasım (November)
  • aralık (December)
January and February are very cold.
Ocak ve şubat çok soğuk.

Saying "In a Month"

To say that an event happens "in" a specific month, Turkish speakers typically add ayında (literally: "in the month of") directly after the month's name.

The new year starts in January.
Yeni yıl ocak ayında başlıyor.

Multiple Months

When you connect multiple months with ve (and) to state a timeline, use the plural form aylarında (literally: "in the months of").

We take a vacation in May and June.
Biz mayıs ve haziran aylarında tatil yapıyoruz.
There is no school in July and August.
Temmuz ve ağustos aylarında okul yok.