Arabic names of calendar months
The Arabic names of calendar months of the Gregorian calendar are usually phonetic Arabic pronunciations of the corresponding month names used in European languages. An exception is the Syrian calendar used in the Levant, which names most of its Gregorian months after Aramaic names for months of the Babylonian calendar that occur at roughly the same time of year.[1]
The Gregorian calendar is and has been used in nearly all the countries of the Arab world, in many places long before European colonization. Currently, all Arab states save Saudi Arabia (which uses the Islamic calendar for all purposes) use the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes. The names of the Gregorian months as used in Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen are widely regarded as standard across the Arab world, although the Levantine names are often used alongside them. In other Arab countries some modification or actual changes in naming or pronunciation of months were observed. The names of the Gregorian calendar months in the different countries of the Arab world were as follows:
Contents |
[edit] Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen
| No. | Month | Arabic name | In Arabic | Egyptian pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | يناير | yanāyir | [ jæˈnæːjeɾ] |
| 2 | February | فبراير | fibrāyir | [febˈɾˤɑːjeɾ] |
| 3 | March | مارس | māris | [ˈmæːɾes] |
| 4 | April | أبريل/إبريل | abrīl/ibrīl | [ʔebˈɾiːl, ʔæb-] |
| 5 | May | مايو | māyū | [ˈmæːjo] |
| 6 | June | يونيو/يونيه | yūnyū/yūnya | [ˈjonjæ, -jo] |
| 7 | July | يوليو/يوليه | yūlyū/yūlia | [ˈjoljæ, -jo] |
| 8 | August | أغسطس | aġustus | [ɑˈɣostˤos, oˈ-] |
| 9 | September | سبتمبر | sibtambir | [sebˈtæmbeɾ, -ˈtem-, -ˈtɑm-] |
| 10 | October | أكتوبر | uktūbar | [okˈtoːbɑɾˤ, ek-, ɑk-] |
| 11 | November | نوفمبر | nūfambir | [noˈvæmbeɾ, -ˈvem-, -ˈfæm-, -ˈfem-, -ˈvɑm-, -ˈfɑm-] |
| 12 | December | ديسمبر | dīsambir | [deˈsæmbeɾ, -ˈsem-, -ˈsɑm-] |
[edit] Levant
These names are used primarily in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. These months are likely derived from the Aramaic names of the old Semitic lunisolar calendar, and the names Šubāṭ, 'Ādār, Nīsān, 'Ayyār, Tammūz, 'Āb, Aylūl, and Tišrīn are cognate with the names of the approximately equivalent months of the Hebrew calendar: Shevat, Adar, Nisan, Iyar, Tammuz, Av, Elul, and Tishrei, which is used by Jews.
Nine of these names were used in the Ottoman Rumi calendar, of which five remain in use in modern Turkish.
| No. | Month | Arabic name | Transliterated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | كانون الثاني | Kānūn al-Thānī |
| 2 | February | شباط | Shubāṭ |
| 3 | March | آذار | Ādhār |
| 4 | April | نيسان | Nīsān |
| 5 | May | أيار | Ayyār |
| 6 | June | حزيران | Ḥazīrān / Ḥuzayrān |
| 7 | July | تموز | Tammūz |
| 8 | August | آب | Āb |
| 9 | September | أيلول | Aylūl |
| 10 | October | تشرين الأول | Tishrīn al-Awwal |
| 11 | November | تشرين الثاني | Tishrīn al-Thānī |
| 12 | December | كانون الأول | Kānūn al-Awwal |
[edit] Libya
The names of months used in Libya were derived from various sources, and were assembled after Muammar al-Gaddafi's seizure of power in 1969.
| No. | Month | Arabic name | In Arabic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | أي النار | ay n-nār |
| 2 | February | النوار | an-nuwwār |
| 3 | March | الربيع | ar-rabī |
| 4 | April | الطير | al-tayr |
| 5 | May | الماء | al-mā' |
| 6 | June | الصيف | al-sayf |
| 7 | July | ناصر | nāsir |
| 8 | August | هانيبال | hānībāl |
| 9 | September | الفاتح | al-fātieh |
| 10 | October | التمور، الثمور | at-tumūr; al-tumūr |
| 11 | November | الحرث | al-harth |
| 12 | December | الكانون | al-kānūn |
[edit] Algeria and Tunisia
The names of the Gregorian months in Algeria and Tunisia are based on the French names of the months, reflecting France's long colonization of these countries (1830-1962, 132 years, in Algeria and 1881-1956, 75 years, in Tunisia). The original French names are therefore listed below.
| No. | Month | Arabic name | In Arabic | In French |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | جانفي | Jānfī | Janvier |
| 2 | February | فيفري | Fīfrī | Février |
| 3 | March | مارس | Mārs/Māris | Mars |
| 4 | April | أفريل | Afrīl | Avril |
| 5 | May | ماي | Māy | Mai |
| 6 | June | جوان | Juwān | Juin |
| 7 | July | جويلية | Juwīlyâ | Juillet |
| 8 | August | أوت | Ūt | Août |
| 9 | September | سبتمبر | Sibtambir | Septembre |
| 10 | October | أكتوبر | Uktūbir | Octobre |
| 11 | November | نوفمبر | Nūfambir | Novembre |
| 12 | December | ديسمبر | Dīsambir | Décembre |
[edit] Mauritania
| No. | Month | Arabic name | In Arabic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | يناير | yannāyir |
| 2 | February | فبراير | ibrāyir |
| 3 | March | مارس | mārs |
| 4 | April | إبريل | ibrīl |
| 5 | May | مايو | māyū |
| 6 | June | يونيو | yūniyū |
| 7 | July | يوليو | yūliyū |
| 8 | August | أغشت | aġušt |
| 9 | September | شتمبر | šutambir |
| 10 | October | أكتوبر | uktūbir |
| 11 | November | نوفمبر | nūfambir |
| 12 | December | دجمبر | dugambir |
