How to Say "May" in Chinese - How To Say Guide

五月

wǔ yuè

In Chinese, the word for may is 五月 (wǔ yuè).

Meaning: have permission to (verb)

What does it mean word for word?

The word for May is composed of the number five (五) and the character for month (月).

wǔ yuè

In the lunar calendar used historically in China, the fifth month is often called the 'poison month' because it is the peak time for pests and diseases in the humid heat.
In traditional Chinese culture, 五月 often coincides with the Dragon Boat Festival. This holiday involves racing long boats and eating zongzi to commemorate the poet Qu Yuan.
The character 五 is a pictograph that originally represented five fingers or a hand. This connects the abstract number to a physical human part.

四月之后是五月。
May comes after April.
This sentence is useful for showing the sequence of months using 五月.
Tatoeba #9496162 by jin1, translation #72522 by CM
她的生日是五月五日。
Her birthday is May 5th.
This sentence shows how to use 五月 when stating a specific date.
Tatoeba #5617210 by verdastelo9604, translation #2842665 by CN
在瑞士，春天在五月来临。
In Switzerland, spring comes in May.
This sentence demonstrates how to use 五月 when describing seasonal timing.
Tatoeba #8800714 by crescat, translation #52450 by CK
我会在五月访问北京。
I will visit Beijing in May.
我们可以在五月份庆祝你的生日吗？
Can we celebrate your birthday in May?
10 more sentences on Tatoeba

Yuting and Haoran are talking about their travel plans for the spring.

雨婷 Yuting

你五月有空去旅游吗？
Nǐ wǔyuè yǒu kòng qù lǚyóu ma?
Do you have time to travel in May?
浩然 Haoran

我五月很忙，可能去不了。
Wǒ wǔyuè hěn máng, kěnéng qù bù liǎo.
I am very busy in May, so I probably cannot go.
雨婷 Yuting

那我们把计划改到六月吧。
Nà wǒmen bǎ jìhuà gǎi dào liùyuè ba.
Then let's change the plan to June.
浩然 Haoran

好的，六月对我来说更好。
Hǎo de, liùyuè duì wǒ lái shuō gèng hǎo.
Okay, June is better for me.

Sources

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