Ge'ez CalendarEthiopian ↔ Gregorian date converter
Pick a date to see it in the other calendar. Choose Geez to enter an Ethiopian date, or Gregorian to enter a Western one.
How the conversion works
The Ethiopian calendar has 12 months of 30 days, followed by Pagume, a short 13th month of 5 days (6 in a leap year). Ethiopian leap years come every four years without exception: the year before a year divisible by four (for example 2019 E.C.) has a 6-day Pagume. The Gregorian calendar skips leap years in century years like 2100, so the gap between the two calendars slowly shifts.
In practice, for 1900–2099:
- Meskerem 1 (Ethiopian New Year) is September 11, or September 12 in the year after an Ethiopian leap year.
- From Meskerem 1 to December 31 the Ethiopian year is the Gregorian year minus 7; from January 1 until the new year it is minus 8.
- Dates between New Year and late February shift by one Gregorian day in the year after an Ethiopian leap year. That is why Timket is January 19 in most years but January 20 in some.
Ethiopian months in 2019 E.C.
| Month | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Meskerem መስከረም | September 11, 2026 | October 10, 2026 |
| Tikimt ጥቅምት | October 11, 2026 | November 9, 2026 |
| Hidar ኅዳር | November 10, 2026 | December 9, 2026 |
| Tahsas ታኅሣሥ | December 10, 2026 | January 8, 2027 |
| Tir ጥር | January 9, 2027 | February 7, 2027 |
| Yekatit የካቲት | February 8, 2027 | March 9, 2027 |
| Megabit መጋቢት | March 10, 2027 | April 8, 2027 |
| Miazia ሚያዝያ | April 9, 2027 | May 8, 2027 |
| Ginbot ግንቦት | May 9, 2027 | June 7, 2027 |
| Sene ሰኔ | June 8, 2027 | July 7, 2027 |
| Hamle ሐምሌ | July 8, 2027 | August 6, 2027 |
| Nehase ነሐሴ | August 7, 2027 | September 5, 2027 |
| Pagume ጳጉሜ | September 6, 2027 | September 11, 2027 |
Questions
Why is the Ethiopian calendar 7 or 8 years behind?
The Ethiopian church kept an older calculation of the year of the Annunciation (by Annianus of Alexandria), while the Western church adopted the one by Dionysius Exiguus. The two differ by about seven to eight years.
Does the Ethiopian day start at sunrise?
For everyday time-telling, yes: the Ethiopian clock counts 12 hours from about 6:00 (first hour = 7:00) and 12 hours from about 18:00. Dates in the converter follow the civil date, which changes at midnight.
Is the Eritrean calendar the same?
Yes. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses the same Ge’ez calendar, so the dates are identical; only the month names are spelled in Tigrinya.