Bok! › Guides › Months in Croatian
Months in Croatian: siječanj to prosinac, and how to write dates
By Bok! · Checked on 5 November 2026
Short answer
The months in Croatian are siječanj (January), veljača (February), ožujak (March), travanj (April), svibanj (May), lipanj (June), srpanj (July), kolovoz (August), rujan (September), listopad (October), studeni (November) and prosinac (December). You write them with a small first letter. Dates use dots: 4. 6. 2027. means 4 June 2027.
All Croatian words and sentences on this page come from Bok! lessons. New to Croatian? Start with Croatian language for beginners.
The 12 months in Croatian
From our free lesson 2, Numbers, time and dates:
| Croatian | English | Say it in parts |
|---|---|---|
| siječanj | January | si-je-čanj |
| veljača | February | ve-lja-ča |
| ožujak | March | o-žu-jak |
| travanj | April | tra-vanj |
| svibanj | May | svi-banj |
| lipanj | June | li-panj |
| srpanj | July | sr-panj |
| kolovoz | August | ko-lo-voz |
| rujan | September | ru-jan |
| listopad | October | lis-to-pad |
| studeni | November | stu-de-ni |
| prosinac | December | pro-si-nac |
How to read them. Croatian is read as it is written, letter by letter. Letters that need care here: č in siječanj is like "ch" in "church", ž in ožujak is like the "s" in "measure", and lj in veljača is one letter, a soft "ly" sound. For all the letters, see the Croatian alphabet.
Small first letter. The Croatian spelling guide says that the names of the days of the week, the months and the seasons are written with a small first letter: siječanj, never with a capital first letter. Use a capital letter only at the start of a sentence.
An easy way to remember them
Unlike English, Croatian month names are not based on Latin gods and numbers. Many come from nature and old farm life. This is only a memory help from Bok!, not a grammar rule:
- listopad (October) is the month when leaves fall.
- studeni (November) is linked to cold weather.
- prosinac (December) is the last month of the year, just before the new year.
- srpanj (July) and kolovoz (August) sit in the middle of summer; learn them as a pair.
- rujan (September) is shorter than the English name, so it is easy to mix up with travanj (April) when you are new. Practise saying the full list out loud.
Learn the 12 names first. Then practise reading dates with the numbers from the same lesson: jedan, dva, tri, četiri, pet, šest and so on. For the numbers themselves, see Croatian numbers.
How to write a date
A tip from our lesson 2: "Dates: day. month. year. with a dot after each number: 4. 6. 2027." So 4. 6. 2027. is 4 June 2027, not 6 April. The month number 6 is lipanj.
Why the dot? The Croatian spelling guide says that a dot is written after a number that means an order, like "the 4th" or "the 6th". So 4. is "the fourth" (day), and 6. is "the sixth" (month). A number without a dot, like 4, is just "four". You will see this on forms, timetables and shift plans.
Month numbers 1 to 12 match the list above:
| Number on a form | Croatian month | English |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | siječanj | January |
| 2. | veljača | February |
| 3. | ožujak | March |
| 4. | travanj | April |
| 5. | svibanj | May |
| 6. | lipanj | June |
| 7. | srpanj | July |
| 8. | kolovoz | August |
| 9. | rujan | September |
| 10. | listopad | October |
| 11. | studeni | November |
| 12. | prosinac | December |
Example: 15. 11. 2026. is 15 studeni 2026 (15 November 2026). Read the day first, then the month.
Dates on forms: date of birth
From our free lesson 4, Personal details and forms:
| Croatian | English | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| datum rođenja | date of birth |
A tip from our lesson 4: "Date of birth on forms: day. month. year., e.g. 4. 6. 1995." So on a Croatian form you write numbers with dots, not the English order month/day/year.
When someone asks for your datum rođenja, answer with day, month number and year, slowly. If you want to say the month name too, use the list above: for example, 4. 6. 1995. is 4 lipanj 1995.
For days of the week (ponedjeljak to nedjelja), see days of the week in Croatian.
Today, tomorrow, yesterday
From our free lesson 2 (useful next to months when you talk about plans):
| Croatian | English | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| danas | today | – |
| sutra | tomorrow | – |
| jučer | yesterday | – |
You can combine them with a day: Danas je ponedjeljak. (Today is Monday.). Months work the same way in speech once you know the names: first learn the 12 words, then use them when you read a date on a contract, a ticket or a shift plan.
Quick quiz
What do these mean? Say your answer out loud, then check.
- lipanj
- listopad
- prosinac
- veljača
- What date is 4. 6. 2027.?
- datum rođenja
Show the answers
- June
- October
- December
- February
- 4 June 2027 (day 4, month 6 = lipanj)
- date of birth
Want more practice with audio? Try our free A1.1 Croatian practice test (practice only, not the real exam).
Bok! explains Croatian in your language: Nepali · Tagalog · Hindi · English. Are you an employer? See Bok! for employers.
Learn the months with Bok! Short Croatian lessons with audio and quizzes, explained in Nepali, Tagalog, Hindi or English. Lessons 1 to 4 are free. Bok! is preparation only: it is not the exam and it does not replace it.
FAQ
What are the months in Croatian?
siječanj (January), veljača (February), ožujak (March), travanj (April), svibanj (May), lipanj (June), srpanj (July), kolovoz (August), rujan (September), listopad (October), studeni (November), prosinac (December). They are in Bok! lesson 2, which is free.
Do you write Croatian months with a capital letter?
No. The Croatian spelling guide says days of the week, months and seasons are written with a small first letter: siječanj, lipanj, prosinac. Only the first word of a sentence gets a capital letter.
How do you write a date in Croatian?
Day. month. year. with a dot after each number, for example 4. 6. 2027. That is 4 June 2027 (lipanj), not 6 April. On forms, datum rođenja (date of birth) uses the same order.
What does 4. 6. 2027. mean?
4 June 2027. In Croatian the day comes first, then the month, then the year. Month 6 is lipanj.
Are the months on the A1.1 exam?
We do not know. The A1.1 exam format is not published yet. Months and dates are everyday basics, not a claim about the exam. For the exam rules, see Croatian A1.1 exam for your work permit. Bok! is preparation only.
Sources
- Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics (IHJJ), Hrvatski pravopis, "4.2. Malo početno slovo", point l (days of the week, months and seasons with a small first letter): pravopis.hr/pravilo/malo-pocetno-slovo/89/
- Institute of Croatian Language and Linguistics (IHJJ), Hrvatski pravopis, "8.2. Točka", point b (a dot after numbers that show order): pravopis.hr/pravilo/tocka/55/
- Croatian words, sentences, English meanings and tips: Bok! lessons 2 and 4. The "say it in parts" column and the memory help are Bok! explanations (native-speaker review pending).
Checked on 5 November 2026.
This guide is general language help, not an exam syllabus. Bok! is preparation only.