月
month; moon
HSK level
- Pinyin
- yuè
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 4
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 个
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 月
月 is written with 4 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 月 mean?
月 (yuè) means both 'moon' and 'month' — the same character, because the lunar cycle is what originally defined the month in Chinese.
In modern use, the two meanings rarely conflict: context decides. For months of the year, 月 attaches directly to a number: 一月 (January), 二月 (February), 三月 (March), all the way to 十二月 (December).
For duration ('three months'), you need 个: 三个月 (sān ge yuè). Two things English speakers should note: first, the difference between 三月 ('March,' a specific month) and 三个月 ('three months,' a length of time) is a beginner trap — drop or add 个 and the meaning flips; second, for 'moon' as a celestial body, modern speech almost always uses 月亮 (yuèliang) rather than 月 alone, which survives mainly in compounds and poetry.
Memory hook: 月 is a stylized crescent moon. One moon cycle = one month. Same character does both jobs.
Hear 月 in real episodes
月 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
手表也会说今天几月几号。
The watch can also tell you today's date.
Rolex Padellone Needs One Date Fix a Year
Example sentences
我九月去中国。
Wǒ jiǔyuè qù Zhōngguó.
I'm going to China in September.
neutral
这个月很忙。
Zhège yuè hěn máng.
This month is very busy.
spoken
我学了三个月中文。
Wǒ xué le sān ge yuè Zhōngwén.
I've studied Chinese for three months.
neutral
今晚的月亮真漂亮。
Jīnwǎn de yuèliang zhēn piàoliang.
Tonight's moon is really beautiful.
spoken
Common phrases with 月
Synonyms
月份 is a more formal / written word for 'month' as a unit on the calendar. Common in reports: 三月份的销售 (March's sales). In everyday speech you just say 三月.
Don't confuse 月 with
日 means 'sun / day.' 月 and 日 are the classical pair (moon/month vs. sun/day). They combine into 日月 (sun and moon) and into 明 (bright, made of 日 + 月).
肉 ('meat') looks similar to 月 in some printed fonts, and when 月 appears as a radical inside characters like 脸 (face) or 胖 (fat) it's actually the 'meat / flesh' radical 肉 — not the moon. Confusing but worth knowing.
三月 = March (the third month). 三个月 = three months (a duration). The measure word 个 flips it from a name to a count. This is the most common beginner mix-up with 月.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
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