Ethiopian months & Calendars Explained: Learn Amharic

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  • Post last modified:March 9, 2026
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Does Ethiopia has 13 months?

Ethiopia has 12 regular months and one very short month called Pagume. It’s a 5 or 6 days month, the days are less than a week.

In the Gregorian system, the “leftover” days (those beyond 28 days) are distributed into the existing months, creating months of 30 and 31 days. In the system used by the Orthodox Church, those same leftover days are simply sequestered into a separate, short unit (Pagume).

The Ethiopian Calendar History

The Ethiopian calendar comes from the ancient Alexandrian / Coptic calendar system. It was used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Over time it became the civil calendar of Ethiopia.

This calendar system, often referred to as the ‘Ethiopian Calendar,’ originated within the administrative and theological framework of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Historically, as the Church held significant influence over state administration for centuries, its internal calendar became the standard for the country. It is structured around the concept of ዓመተ\ ምሕረት (Year of Mercy). While it is the system currently used for national civil administration, it is important to recognize its origins, as Ethiopia is home to diverse communities with their own distinct historical and religious calendars, such as the Hijri calendar.

  1. The main rainy season called ክረምት (Kremt).
  2. The dry season is called በጋ (Bega).
Ethiopian Months
Amharic (Transcription) English Gregorian Calendar Equivalent (Approximate)
መስከረም (Meskerem) September September 11 – October 10
ጥቅምት (Tqmt) October October 11 – November 9
ኅዳር (Hdar) November November 10 – December 9
ታኅሣሥ (Tahsas) December December 10 – January 8
ጥር (Tr) January January 9 – February 7
የካቲት (Yekatit) February February 8 – March 9
መጋቢት (Megabit) March March 10 – April 8
ሚያዝያ (Miyazya) April April 9 – May 8
ግንቦት (Gnbo) May May 9 – June 7
ሰኔ (Senie) June June 8 – July 7
ሐምሌ (Ḥamlie) July July 8 – August 6
ነሐሴ (Nehasie) August August 7 – September 6
ጳጉሜን (Ṗagume) (13th Month) September 6 – September 10 (or 11)
Flashcard Quiz
  1. Month ማለት በአማርኛ ምን ማለት ነው?
  2. ዛሬ ወሩ ማን ነው?
  3. ዛሬ ስንተኛው ወር ነው?
  4. ዛሬ ቀን ስንት ነው?
  5. How do you pluralize the Ethiopian word ‘ወር’?
  6. በጋ (Bega) ምንድን ነው?
  7. ክረምት (Kremt) ምንድን ነው?
  8. ዛሬ ሰኞ ነው፣ ኣ? Today is Monday, right?
  9. ዛሬ ቀኑ ማን ነው?
  10. ዛሬ ቀን ስንት ነው በኛ?

Muhammed Umer

Muhammed Umer is a passionate Amharic language teacher based in Addis Ababa. He has been teaching Amharic online since 2021 and helps learners to read, write, and speak Amharic with confidence. As the founder of EasyAmharic.com, he publishes practical Amharic learning guides, learning tools, and vocabulary lessons to make the Amharic language accessible to everyone.