# The calendar in English: days, months, years, and more

Do you know what *day* it is? Today’s the day to learn English calendar vocabulary!

English calendar terms are essential for learners to know—they help you discuss plans and schedules, whether you’re [planning your school year](https://blog.duolingo.com/back-to-school-study-tips/) or an [upcoming trip abroad](https://blog.duolingo.com/learn-language-for-trip/)! There’s a lot of vocabulary to keep track of, and some important [differences between English dialects](https://blog.duolingo.com/english-dialects/).

Here’s everything you need to know about discussing days and dates in English!

In this post:

- [Basic calendar terms in English](https://blog.duolingo.com/calendar-in-english/#basic-calendar-terms-in-english)
- [The days of the week in English](https://blog.duolingo.com/calendar-in-english/#the-days-of-the-week-in-english)
- [The months of the year in English](https://blog.duolingo.com/calendar-in-english/#the-months-of-the-year-in-english)
- [How to write the date in English](https://blog.duolingo.com/calendar-in-english/#how-to-write-the-date-in-english)

## Basic calendar terms in English

The basic English calendar terms are:

| Calendar vocabulary in English |
| --- |
| day |
| week |
| month |
| year |
| decade (10 years) |
| century (100 years) |
| millennium (1000 years) |

## The days of the week in English

In English, the days of the week are always capitalized, and the calendar starts on _Sunday_ in North America, but on _Monday_ in many other countries.

To ask someone what day it is in English, you’ll say What day is it? or What day of the week is it?

You’ll notice in the table below that in addition to the complete word for each day of the week, each day also has an abbreviated form. This abbreviated form is often used in lists, tables and relatively informal writing, like text messages and less formal emails. In more formal writing, be sure to write out the full word.

| Days of the week in English | Abbreviated form |
| --- | --- |
| Sunday | Sun. |
| Monday | Mon. |
| Tuesday | Tue./Tues. |
| Wednesday | Wed./Weds. |
| Thursday | Thu./Thur./Thurs. |
| Friday | Fri. |
| Saturday | Sat. |

Other important vocabulary about days includes:

- today
- yesterday
- tomorrow
- weekend
- weekday

One English word means a very specific number of days: fortnight! It comes from the phrase _fourteen nights_, and it’s used in many parts of the English-speaking world, but seldom in the U.S.

## The months of the year in English

Like the days of the week, in English the months of the year are also always capitalized. Most months of the year also have an abbreviated form in addition to their full form.

| Months of the year in English | Abbreviated form |
| --- | --- |
| January | Jan. |
| February | Feb. |
| March | Mar. |
| April | Apr. |
| May | (not typically abbreviated) |
| June | Jun. |
| July | Jul. |
| August | Aug. |
| September | Sep./Sept. |
| October | Oct. |
| November | Nov. |
| December | Dec. |

The four seasons in English are:

- winter
- spring
- summer
- autumn

In the U.S., you’ll often hear fall instead of _autumn_.

Which seasons you experience in which months depends on where you live! In the Northern Hemisphere, _winter_ is officially in December, January, and February—but in the Southern Hemisphere, those are _summer_ months!

## How to write the date in English

To ask for the _date_, you can ask What is today’s date? or just What’s the date?

There are two main ways to say and write the date in English, and which you use depends on where you are! There’s one format used generally across the English-speaking world… and a different style is used in the U.S. 😅

The format used in most of the world is:

**day + month + year.**

You might see it abbreviated on forms as DD/MM/YYYY or DD/MM/YY (if you should only use the last two digits of the year). For example, the first day of July can be written 01/07/2025 or 01/07/25. If the date is spelled out, you'll see it as _1 July 2025_ or just _1 July_. Remember to always capitalize the month!

The format used in the U.S. is:

**month + day + year.**

Its abbreviation on forms is MM/DD/YYYY or MM/DD/YY—with the Ms for month before the Ds for day—so the first day of July is written 07/01/2025 or 07/01/25. When the date is spelled out, it will be _July 1, 2025_ or _July 1_.

It’s clear how confusing this is, even for English speakers! If you see the date written as “07/01” you’ll need to think about who wrote it and where they’re from: It could mean either the first day of July *or* the seventh day of January. You’ll have to do what English speakers do—ask for clarification. To be sure, you can also write out the month to make it clear what you mean.

In spoken language, the rules are a bit different: Instead of saying the [cardinal number](https://blog.duolingo.com/numbers-in-english/) (like _one_ or _seventeen_), you’ll use the _ordinal number_ (like _first_ or _seventeenth_). So for _1 July_, you’ll hear the first of July, and for _July 1_, U.S. speakers will say July first. In fact, U.S. speakers *do* use the other format, sometimes—like when they celebrate the 4th of July!

## The best *day* to practice English is *today*!  
Learners of all levels will need to express and understand English calendar terms. Focus on practicing the words and expressions that are different from your own language—that way, your English _tomorrow_ will be even better than _today_!