The Bengali Calendar: How to Talk About Days, Weeks, Months, and More!

---

If you are learning Bengali, you’ll definitely want to know about how to talk about time and dates! Learning about the unique Bengali calendar is a must.

Some aspects may be familiar to you. For example, there are seven days in a Bengali week, just like in English. But did you know there are not four, but six seasons in the Bengali calendar?

Bengalis use both the Western calendar and their own twelve-month calendar, but they don’t match each other. Keep reading to learn all about them!

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

Days of the Month in Bengali

Numbers can be complicated in Bengali. Many numbers below 100 need to be learned individually, even though you can spot recurring patterns. But don’t worry about that too much right now. For talking about days, we only need to learn 1-31. I’ll show you how!

Numbers 1-31 in Bengali

Let’s first learn how to count 1-31 in Bengali. This will be our foundation to saying days of the month, such as the tenth of March.

You may see variant spellings of some numbers: “eleven” (ægaro), for example, appears as এগারো or এগার. That does not mean you can drop the final vowel sign from any Bengali word. For a comprehensive guide to how to pronounce Bengali words, check out our article on the Bengali alphabet.

• 1: এক (æk)
• 2: দুই (dui)
• 3: তিন (tin)
• 4: চার (char)
• 5: পাঁচ (pãch)
• 6: ছয় (chhoy)
• 7: সাত (shat)
• 8: আট (aʈ)
• 9: নয় (noy)
• 10: দশ (dosh)
• 11: এগারো (ægaro)
• 12: বারো (baro)
• 13: তেরো (tero)
• 14: চৌদ্দ (chouddo)
• 15: পনেরো (ponero)
• 16: ষোলো (sholo)
• 17: সতেরো (shotero)
• 18: আঠারো (aʈharo)
• 19: উনিশ (unish)
• 20: বিশ (bish) or কুড়ি (kuɽi) *Note 1
• 21: একুশ (ækush)
• 22: বাইশ (baish)
• 23: তেইশ (teish)
• 24: চব্বিশ (chobbish)
• 25: পঁচিশ (pãchish)
• 26: ছাব্বিশ (chhabbish)
• 27: সাতাশ (shatash)
• 28: আটাশ (aʈash)
• 29: ঊনত্রিশ (unotrish)
• 30: তিরিশ (tirish) or ত্রিশ (trish) *Note 2
• 31: একত্রিশ (æktrish)

*Note 1: Both কুড়ি (kuɽi) and বিশ (bish) mean twenty. You will hear কুড়ি often in West Bengal and বিশ often in Bangladesh, but neither is restricted to one country or register.

*Note 2: তিরিশ (tirish) and ত্রিশ (trish) both mean thirty. তিরিশ is common in West Bengal; ত্রিশ is common in Bangladesh in writing as well as speech. Usage varies, so do not treat these as a strict formal-versus-casual pair.

Ordinal Numbers for Days of the Month in Bengali: 1st-31st

Now that we have our foundation of cardinal numbers 1-31, we can use almost all of these to count the days of the month. The first four are irregular, but after that, there are easy patterns, so don’t worry!

• 1st: পয়লা (pɔela) or পহেলা (pɔhela); পয়লা is especially common in West Bengal and পহেলা in Bangladesh.
• 2nd: দোসরা (doshora)
• 3rd: তেসরা (teshora)
• 4th: চৌঠা (chouʈha)

Alternatively, you could use the simple number 1-4 and add the word for “date,” or তারিখ (tarikh) after. Therefore, you could also say: এক তারিখ (æk tarikh, the 1st), দুই তারিখ (dui tarikh, the 2nd), তিন তারিখ (tin tarikh, the 3rd), and চার তারিখ (char tarikh, the 4th).

Now, for the 5th to 18th, just add ই (i) to the end of the number. It goes like this:

• 5th: পাঁচই (pãchi)
• 6th: ছয়ই (chhoyi)
• 7th: সাতই (shati)
• 8th: আটই (aʈi)
• 9th: নয়ই (noyi)
• 10th: দশই (doshi)
• 11th: এগারোই (ægaroi)
• 12th: বারোই (baroi)
• 13th: তেরোই (teroi)
• 14th: চৌদ্দই (chouddoi)
• 15th: পনেরোই (poneroi)
• 16th: ষোলোই (sholoi)
• 17th: সতেরোই (shoteroi)
• 18th: আঠারোই (aʈharoi)

For the 19th to 31st, just add ে (e) to the end!

• 19th: উনিশে (unishe)
• 20th: বিশে (bishe) *Note 1
• 21st: একুশে (ækushe)
• 22nd: বাইশে (baishe)
• 23rd: তেইশে (teishe)
• 24th: চব্বিশে (chobbishe)
• 25th: পঁচিশে (pãchishe)
• 26th: ছাব্বিশে (chhabbishe)
• 27th: সাতাশে (shatashe)
• 28th: আটাশে (aʈashe)
• 29th: ঊনত্রিশে (unotrishe)
• 30th: তিরিশে (tirishe) or ত্রিশে (trishe) *Note 2
• 31st: একত্রিশে (æktrishe)

*Note 1: Both West Bengalis and Bangladeshis use বিশে (bishe).

*Note 2: Bangladeshis will colloquially say ত্রিশে (trishe).

And there you have it! Now you know how to talk about any day of the month. But discussing dates would not be complete without talking about days of the week, so let’s learn that next.

Days of the Week in Bengali

Banglapedia describes an earlier system with a different name for each day of the month, later replaced by a seven-day week during Shah Jahan’s reign in the 17th century.

Today the Bengali calendar uses the same seven-day weekly cycle as the Gregorian calendar. Sharing a week does not make them the same calendar.

The week is traditionally listed from Sunday. Traditional Hindu almanacs count a day from sunrise, while Bangladesh’s revised civil calendar changes the date at midnight.

The names of the week for the Bengali calendar are based on Navagraha, or Hindu astrology. This is very similar to many other languages, such as German, Spanish, and Japanese!

• Sunday রবিবার (robibar) or রোববার (robbar) – literally “sun day” *Note 1
• Monday সোমবার (shombar) – literally “moon day”
• Tuesday মঙ্গলবার (mong’golbar) – literally “Mars day”
• Wednesday বুধবার (budhbar) – literally “Mercury day”
• Thursday বৃহস্পতিবার (brihoshpotibar) – literally “Jupiter day”
• Friday শুক্রবার (shukrobar) – literally “Venus day”
• Saturday শনিবার (shonibar) – literally “Saturn day”

*Note 1: In both West Bengal and Bangladesh, রবিবার (robibar) is often shortened to রোববার (robbar) in colloquial speech.

Now, if you know astrology terms in Bengali, this is easy to remember. However, you probably will learn those much later! I personally used mnemonics to remember most of the days of the week.

For example, I imagined Tuesday is the day the Mongols invade, and Wednesday is Buddha’s day.

Months in Bengali

There are two ways of counting months in Bengali. You will often hear the English months pronounced in a Bengali way. These will be the easiest for you to remember first! They go like this:

• “January”: জানুয়ারি (Januari)
• “February”: ফেব্রুয়ারি (Februari)
• “March”: মার্চ (March)
• “April”: এপ্রিল (Epril)
• “May”: মে (Me)
• “June”: জুন (Jun)
• “July”: জুলাই (Julai)
• “August”: আগস্ট (Agosʈ)
• “September”: সেপ্টেম্বর (Sepʈembar)
• “October”: অক্টোবর (Okʈobar)
• “November”: নভেম্বর (Nobhembar)
• “December”: ডিসেম্বর (Ɖisembar)

You will also sometimes hear Bengalis talk about their 12 months using the traditional words. However, these don’t match the 12 months in the English calendar. Instead, they match the six Bengali seasons (more on that later!). In the Bengali calendar, the year starts in বৈশাখ (Boishak), or mid-April.

These months are:

• বৈশাখ (Boishak): mid-April to mid-May
• জ্যৈষ্ঠ (Joishʈho): mid-May to mid-June
• আষাঢ় (Ashaɽh): mid-June to mid-July
• শ্রাবণ (Shrabon): mid-July to mid-August
• ভাদ্র (Bhadro): mid-August to mid-September
• আশ্বিন (Ashhin): mid-September to mid-October
• কার্তিক (Kartik): mid-October to mid-November
• অগ্রহায়ণ (Ɔgrohayon): mid-November to mid-December
• পৌষ (Poush): mid-December to mid-January
• মাঘ (Magh): mid-January to mid-February
• ফাল্গুন (Falgun): mid-February to mid-March
• চৈত্র (Choitro): mid-March to mid-April

In Bangladesh’s revised calendar, used since 2019, the first six months have 31 days. The next four months and the last month, Choitro, have 30. Falgun has 29 days, or 30 when the February it overlaps has a leap day. Bengali New Year falls on 14 April.

In West Bengal, traditional Bengali almanacs follow a different solar calculation, with months ranging from 29 to 32 days. Their dates can differ from Bangladesh’s, so check which calendar an app or date converter uses.

Years in Bengali

The year number in the Bengali calendar is 594 less than the Gregorian year before Bengali New Year in mid-April, and 593 less from New Year onward. So 2026 began in Bengali year 1432 and reached 1433 at Bengali New Year. Accounts of the calendar’s origins differ. The Gregorian year is also commonly used.

For dates from the year 2000 and up, you will need to know the word for “thousand”: হাজার (hajar). So for example, to say the current year 2026, you would say “two thousand twenty-six,” or দুই হাজার ছাব্বিশ (dui hajar chhabbish).

For years in the 1900s, you can split the number into two parts, a little like English. But the Bengali expression includes “hundred”: my birth year, 1993, is উনিশশো তিরানব্বই (unishsho tiranobboi), literally “nineteen hundred ninety-three.”

To say a year like 1993, you will need a number above 31. For Gregorian dates in the 2020s, the numbers you have learned here and the word for “thousand” will get you through the year number too.

Finally, you should add সাল (shal) after the year if it is not clear by context.

Bengali Seasons

Let’s talk about seasons!

Even though to me, Bangladesh felt like it had only two seasons (“hot” and “cool”), Bangladeshis will tell you this is not true! The Bengali people are very sensitive to the changing seasons.

Each traditional season covers two Bengali months, so the Gregorian ranges below run roughly from mid-month to mid-month. The six seasons are:

• বসন্ত (bɔshonto): “spring”, which is February to April
• গ্রীষ্ম (grishmo): “summer”, which is April to June
• বর্ষা (bɔrsha): “rainy/Monsoon season”, which is June to August
• শরৎ (shɔrɔt): “fall/autumn”, which is August to October
• হেমন্ত (hemɔnto): “late autumn”, the dry harvest season, which is October to December
• শীত (shit): “winter”, which is December to February

For an American in Bangladesh, summer, the rainy season, and winter were very distinguishable. But I wasn’t very aware of the other three seasons coming and going. I often wondered how many seasons Bengalis would consider my hometown to have, since the temperature changed much more there!

Due to the location of the Bengal region, sometimes it feels like the seasons happen in different months as well. For example, in most of the US, July is the hottest month, but in Bangladesh, April usually is! However, January is often the coldest month in both countries.

Many Bangladeshis don’t dream about a spring or summer wedding like Americans do because it is so hot and humid. But instead, the winter months are a popular time to get married due to the dry, cooler weather.

Hardly a day went by in the winter months when I didn’t see a wedding party in Bangladesh!

Other Useful Words

Here are some other useful words to talk about dates and the calendar in Bengali.

• “Day”: দিন (din)
• “Week”: সপ্তাহ (shɔpta)
• “Month”: মাস (mash)
• “Year”: বছর (bɔchhor)
• “Morning”: সকাল (shɔkal)
• “Afternoon/Midday”: দুপুর (dupur)
• “Late afternoon”: বিকাল (bikal); “evening”: সন্ধ্যা (shondha)
• “Night”: রাত (rat)
• “From/Since”: থেকে (theke)
• “Until”: পর্যন্ত (porjonto)
• “Yesterday”: গতকাল (gɔtokal)
• “Today”: আজকে (ajke)
• “Tomorrow”: আগামীকাল (agamikal)
• “Yesterday…” / “Last…”: গত (gɔto) – Ex. গতকাল দুপুর (gɔtokal dupur, “yesterday noon”), গত মাস (gɔto mash, “last month”)
• “This…”: আজ (aj) or এই (ei) – You use আজ (aj) if something takes place within the day (ex. আজ দুপুর – aj dupur or “this afternoon”), but এই (ei) if something takes place beyond the day (ex. এই সপ্তাহ – ei shɔpta, “this week”).
• “Tomorrow…” / “Next…”: আগামী (agami) – Ex. আগামীকাল বিকাল (agamikal bikal, “tomorrow afternoon”), আগামী বছর (agami bochhor, “next year”)

Phrases to Talk about Bengali Dates and the Calendar

Now, let’s try putting it all together! Here are some common phrases in Bengali using your new knowledge about days and the calendar.

“What date is today?”: আজ কত তারিখ? (Aj kɔto tarikh?)
“It’s January 30.”: আজ ত্রিশে জানুয়ারি। (Aj trishe Januari.)

“The Bengali new year is the first day of Boishakh.”: বাংলা নববর্ষ পহেলা বৈশাখ। (Bangla nɔboborsho pɔhela Boishakh.)

“When is your birthday?” (honorific): আপনার জন্মদিন কবে? (Apnar jɔnmodin kɔbe?)
“When is your birthday?” (casual): তোমার জন্মদিন কবে? (Tomar jɔnmodin kɔbe?)
“I was born on June 1, 1993.”: আমার জন্ম হয়েছিল উনিশশো তিরানব্বই সালের পয়লা জুন। (Amar jɔnmo hɔechhilo unishsho tiranobboi shaler pɔela Jun.)

“What is your favourite season?” (honorific): আপনার প্রিয় ঋতু কী? (Apnar priyo ritu ki?)
“What is your favourite season?” (casual): তোমার প্রিয় ঋতু কী? (Tomar priyo ritu ki?)
“My favourite season is winter.”: আমার প্রিয় ঋতু শীতকাল। (Amar priyo ritu shitkal.)

“I work from Monday to Friday.”: আমি সোমবার থেকে শুক্রবার কাজ করি। (Ami shombar theke shukrobar kaj kori.)
“I will study until September.”: সেপ্টেম্বর পর্যন্ত পড়াশোনা করব। (Sepʈembar porjonto pɔrashona korbo.)
“I am in Bangladesh until April.”: আমি এপ্রিল পর্যন্ত বাংলাদেশে আছি। (Ami Epril porjonto Bangladeshe achhi.)
“I have lived in Kolkata since July.”: আমি জুলাই মাস থেকে কলকাতায় থাকি। (Ami Julai mash theke Kolkatae thaki.)

How to Add the Bengali Calendar to Your Phone

There are third-party apps that let you view the Bengali calendar on your phone. You can find these by searching “Bengali calendar” or “Bangla calendar” in your app store of choice.

Google Calendar also has many options for adding Bengali holidays to your existing calendar. You find them this way:

In Google Calendar on Android, open the menu, then “Settings,” then “Holidays.” Under “National Holidays,” choose the countries or regions you want, such as Bangladesh or India. You can also choose “Add religious holidays” if those are useful to you. These are holiday subscriptions, not a Bengali date-number display.

On iPhone, open Calendar, tap “Calendars,” then “Add Calendar,” then “Add Holiday Calendar.” Choose a holiday calendar from the available list. As with Google Calendar, this adds holidays rather than changing the calendar’s date numbers to Bengali dates.

These are of course not specific to the Bengali calendar, but the good news is, there is some overlap!

Now You Know All about the Bengali Calendar!

There’s a lot to learn about the Bengali calendar, but it’s not that hard. Most Bengalis are familiar with the Gregorian calendar, so you can learn theirs to dive into their culture more. You will for sure experience time and a sense of holidays in a whole new way.

Maybe your favourite season will even change!

Want to keep going with your Bengali? Have a look at our guides to the Bengali alphabet and the Bengali language to build on what you've learnt here. And when you're ready to start having real conversations, in Bengali or any language you're learning, the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp will get you speaking from day one.