Posted on October 10th, 2012

In my previous posts I briefly talked about the weather and introduced you to some interesting summer and autumn vocabulary in Russian. The life-saving, small talk weather topic is popular in all languages. This is exactly why we will keep talking about weather vocabulary words. Today, you will learn the names of the months in Russian.I will also introduce you to 12 interesting Russian sayings and proverbs about the months of the year and will share one of my childhood favorite fairy tales with you.

To help you practice your Russian pronunciation, I’ve put together a quick video that you can also find on my YouTube channel. Here you go. Enjoy!

The Months of the Year in Russian:

Январь [yan-VAR’] January
Февраль [feev-RAL’] February
Март [MART] March
Апрель [ap-RYEL’] April
Май [MAY] May
Июнь [ee-YOON’] June
Июль [ee-YOOL’] July
Август [AV-goost] August
Сентябрь [seen-TYABR’] September
Октябрь [ak-TYABR’] October
Ноябрь [na-YABR’] November
Декабрь [dee-KABR’] December

Sayings and Proverbs About Months in Russian

We’ve talked about Russian sayings and proverbs in the earlier lessons, and you already know that they are a significant part of the Russian language, literature and culture.

Russian sayings and proverbs about months usually talk about the main month or a few characteristics of each month, explaining how each month is different from another. The sayings and proverbs below are just a few of the many well-known sayings you might come across while traveling in Russia or reading Russian literature:

Январь — году начало, зиме середина.
[yan-VAR’ GO-doo na-CHA-la zee-MYE sye-rye-DEE-na]
January is the beginning of the year and the middle of the winter.

Февраль силен метелью, а март капелью.
[feev-RAL’ see-LYON mee-TYEL’-yoo a MART ka-PYEL’-yoo]
February is strong with blizzards and March with thawing…

Март с водой, апрель с травой, а май с цветами.
[MART s va-DOY ap-RYEL’ s tra-VOY a MAY s tsvee-TA-mee]
March comes with water, April with grass, and May with flowers.

Апрельские ручьи землю будят.
[ap-RYEL’-skee-ye rooch-YEE ZYEM’-lyoo BOO-dyat]
April streams wake up Earth.

Как в мае дождь, так будет и рожь.
[kak v MA-ye DOSHT’ tak ee BOO-deet ROZH]
Rye crop depends on the rain in May.

В июне заря с зарёю сходятся.
[v ee-YUOO-nye za-RYA s za-RYO-YOO SHO-dyat-sya]
In June dawn meets with dawn.

Июль – макушка лета.
[ee-YOOL’ ma-KOOSH-ka LYE-ta]
July is the top of the summer.

Август-батюшка заботой-работой мужика тешит.
[AV-goost BA-tyoosh-ka za-BO-tay ra-BO-tay moo-zhee-KA TYE-sheet]
Father-August keeps a man busy with jobs and things to take care of.

В сентябре лето кончается, осень начинается.
[f seen-tyab-REE LYE-ta kan-CHA-eet-sya O-syen’ na-chee-NA-yet-sya]
In September summer is over and autumn begins.

В октябре ни на колесах, ни на санях.
[v ak-tyab-RYE nee na ka-LYO-sah nee na sa-NYAH]
In October you can neither move on wheels, nor sledges.

В ноябре зима с осенью борется.
[v na-yab-RYE zee-MA s O-seen’yoo BO-ryet-sya]
In November winter is fighting with autumn.

Fairy Tale “The Twelve Months” by Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak

Декабрь снежный и холодный — будет и год плодородный.
[dee-KABR’ SNYEZH-niy ee ha-LOD-niy BOO-deet ee GOT pla-da-ROD-niy]
If December is cold and snowy, the year will be rich with crops.

Back in elementary school, I was in a play produced and directed by my Mom (My Mom loved theater) – Сказка о Двенадцати Месяцах (Twelve Months)
. Have you heard this sweet fairy tale written by Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak? It was published in 1943, and since then, it has become one of the most popular Russian fairy tales, and is a must read in every Russian family. I promise I won’t spoil it for you. You can read the play and watch the fairy tale  yourself in Russian and then let me know what you think! Or you can get a version in English on Amazon:

Hope you had a Russian4real lesson! If you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave a comment below. I’m always happy to hear from you!

Talk to you soon!

Viktoria.

Related Posts:

• Video: Most Common Russian Greetings
• Learning Russian through Fairy Tales
• Russian Grammar Lesson: Russian Names
• Russian Christmas Video Lesson: Traditions and History
• Cases of the Russian Nouns & The Nominative Case

Comments

The courses of Russian as a foreign language with Russian4real take place online via Skype. The teacher works with adults individually since he is convinced that each person must receive maximum time for practice and professional attention while learning a foreign language.