月 vs 月

In Japanese, がつ (月, gatsu) and げつ (月, getsu) both relate to “month,” but they have different usages:

1. がつ (gatsu) – Used for naming specific months

• This is used when referring to a particular month of the year.

• Example:

• 一月 (いちがつ, ichigatsu) – January

• 七月 (しちがつ, shichigatsu) – July

2. げつ (getsu) – Used in a general sense for months or Monday

• It appears in compound words referring to months in a more general sense.

• Examples:

• 毎月 (まいげつ or まいつき, maigetsu or maitsuki) – Every month

• 先月 (せんげつ, sengetsu) – Last month

• 来月 (らいげつ, raigetsu) – Next month

• 月曜日 (げつようび, getsuyōbi) – Monday

Key Difference:

• Use がつ (gatsu) when specifying a particular month (January, February, etc.).

• Use げつ (getsu) when talking about months in a general sense or in words related to time periods.

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More examples follow to clarify the difference between がつ (gatsu) and げつ (getsu):

1. がつ (gatsu) – Specific Months

This is used when referring to a particular month in the year:

• 一月 (いちがつ, ichigatsu) – January

• 二月 (にがつ, nigatsu) – February

• 三月 (さんがつ, sangatsu) – March

• 四月 (しがつ, shigatsu) – April

• 五月 (ごがつ, gogatsu) – May

• 六月 (ろくがつ, rokugatsu) – June

• 七月 (しちがつ, shichigatsu) – July

• 八月 (はちがつ, hachigatsu) – August

• 九月 (くがつ, kugatsu) – September

• 十月 (じゅうがつ, jūgatsu) – October

• 十一月 (じゅういちがつ, jūichigatsu) – November

• 十二月 (じゅうにがつ, jūnigatsu) – December

Example Sentences:

• 私は七月に日本へ行きます。

(Watashi wa shichigatsu ni Nihon e ikimasu.) – I will go to Japan in July.

• 彼の誕生日は五月です。

(Kare no tanjōbi wa gogatsu desu.) – His birthday is in May.

2. げつ (getsu) – General Monthly References & Monday

General Time References for Months:

• 今月 (こんげつ, kongetsu) – This month

• 先月 (せんげつ, sengetsu) – Last month

• 来月 (らいげつ, raigetsu) – Next month

• 毎月 (まいげつ or まいつき, maigetsu or maitsuki) – Every month

Example Sentences:

• 来月、新しい仕事が始まります。

(Raigetsu, atarashii shigoto ga hajimarimasu.) – Next month, I will start a new job.

• 先月の売り上げはよかった。

(Sengetsu no uriage wa yokatta.) – Last month’s sales were good.

• 私は毎月、本を三冊読みます。

(Watashi wa maigetsu hon o san-satsu yomimasu.) – I read three books every month.

Days of the Week:

• 月曜日 (げつようび, getsuyōbi) – Monday

Example Sentences:

• 月曜日に会いましょう。

(Getsuyōbi ni aimashō.) – Let’s meet on Monday.

Quick Recap:

Usage がつ (gatsu) – Specific Months げつ (getsu) – General Month References & Monday

Used for… Naming months (January, February, etc.) General references to months & Monday

Example Words 一月 (January), 二月 (February) 今月 (this month), 先月 (last month), 月曜日 (Monday)

Example Sentence 来月、日本へ行きます。 (I will go to Japan next month.) 来月、新しい仕事が始まります。 (Next month, I will start a new job.)

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