January in European Languages

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January is the first month of the year and contains 31 days. It is notable for significant days such as New Year’s Day and the 6th of January, known alternatively as Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day. The word January comes from the Latin word for door (ianua) as it represents a gateway to the new year and an opening to new beginnings.

For many people, the month is usually associated with negative aspects such as bills, cold weather and the end of the Christmas holidays. However, it can also have more positive associations such as the January sales that you find in shops and the idea of a new beginning or a fresh start.

Many countries around Europe refer to this month in a similar way, but there are also European languages in which the word for January differs greatly from the English term.

Would you like to know how to say January in the countries around Europe?

Then check out this map and find out how to refer to January in European Languages.

january-european-languages

If you’d like to view this map with additional information and analysis about each country’s translation for the month of January, go to this link.


 

Sources

  • Jakubmarian.com, ‘”January” in European Languages’. Available here [accessed on 04/01/18].
  • Wikipedia, ‘January’. Available here [accessed on 04/01/18].

Written by

Liam Kennedy – Schuman Trainee at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament. Graduate of Journalism with a Language (French) at Dublin Institute of Technology. Completed a Masters in Translation Studies at University College Cork.