闰月

閏月

rùnyuè

noun

Meanings

1 intercalary month
2 leap month in the lunar calendar

Characters

Examples

今年有闰月，所以春节来得晚。

Jīnnián yǒu rùnyuè, suǒyǐ Chūnjié lái de wǎn.

There's a leap month this year, so Spring Festival comes late.

农历每十九年有七个闰月。

Nónglì měi shíjiǔ nián yǒu qī gè rùnyuè.

The lunar calendar has seven leap months every nineteen years.

闰月的说法只存在于阴历里。

Rùnyuè de shuōfǎ zhǐ cúnzài yú yīnlì lǐ.

The concept of a leap month only exists in the lunar calendar.

Tips

culture

The Chinese lunisolar calendar inserts a leap month about every 2-3 years to keep lunar months aligned with the solar year. It's named 闰 + the number of the preceding month — e.g. 闰四月 is 'leap fourth month,' inserted right after the regular fourth month.

memory

闰 has 王 (king) inside 门 (gate). The old story: in a leap year, the extra time had no place in the regular calendar, so the king stayed inside the gate. Not etymologically accurate but a useful mnemonic.

Stroke Order

闰 rùn

月 yuè