<p><code>月</code> refers to the duration aspect of a month, i.e. one 月 is a time span of 30 days. </p>

<p><code>月份</code> refers to a particular point or period of time in the year.</p>

<p>What confuses people is they both can be used to express 'month N of the year' and are completely interchangeable in this usage. E.g. 四月 = 四月份 = April.</p>

<p>But to show the difference, imaging there is a festival called 'jogger's month' when everybody is supposed to keep jogging everyday during the festival. It lasts for about 30 days that's why it's called a month, but it may start at a different point of time every year. In this case, you can say: 慢跑<b>月</b>每年在不同的<b>月份</b>举行。去年是在四月(份)，今年将是在九月(份)。</p>

<p>For the sentence in your question, if I understand correctly, Ramadan is actually the name of a month on Islamic calendar, so both 月 and 月份 are correct. 月份 would give people slightly more hint on it's at the same time every year, while 月 merely indicates the length of the period.</p>

<p>Some discussions on 月 vs. 月份 as FYI. </p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1410353&amp;langid=22" rel="nofollow">http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1410353&amp;langid=22</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.italki.com/question/107868" rel="nofollow">http://www.italki.com/question/107868</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-10T04:21:54.420Z
2014-08-10T04:21:54.420Z
NS.X.
<p>Both <code>重要的月份</code> and <code>重要的一個月</code> works fine for translating "an important month". But <code>重要的月</code> minus the unit of measurement (份/一個) sounds more like you're speaking of the Moon.</p>

<p>The difference between 月 and 月份 is that the latter is specifying <em>a month of the year</em>, while the former is more ambiguous: it could refer to the moon, or <em>a month's time</em>. Thus 月份 could be used standalone but you would normally prefix 一個 to 月, as you did.</p>

<p>It is perfectly okay to say <code>斋月是伊斯兰最重要的一个月</code>.</p>

<hr>

<p>I suspect the reason your friend corrected you was because the topic was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan" rel="noreferrer">Ramadan</a>.</p>

<p>Traditionally (in some parts), 九月 means September in the <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar" rel="noreferrer">Gregorian calendar</a></em>, while 九月份 refers to the ninth month of the <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calendar#Modern_Han_Calendar" rel="noreferrer">traditional lunisolar Han Calendar</a></em>. By extension, he might have felt the ninth month of the <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar" rel="noreferrer">Islamic Hijri Calendar</a></em> (which is what Ramadan is) should also be a 月份.</p>

<p>This isn't a matter of grammar, but rather a customary usage. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-11T06:28:59.837Z
月 and 月份 have nothing to do with Gregorian calendar or Han Calendar.
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-11T07:06:39.653Z
@HenryHO As usual with your habitually unfounded criticisms of my answers, you're again wrong. I am not claiming that 月/月份 has to do with the calendar type; **I'm offering a possible explanation for why Stephen's friend falsely "corrected" him.** I explained the actual difference in the first half of my answer.
Semaphore
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T02:22:55.763Z
Being once or twice isn't "habitual".  :)  And I am eager to see your "founded source" of "九月份 refers to the ninth month of the traditional lunisolar Han Calendar".
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T02:25:55.040Z
@HenryHO And I am eager to see you acquire reading comprehension skills. But I'm not holding my breath.
Semaphore
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T02:28:34.543Z
Yup, I found someone suddenly casting uncommented downvotes to my answers in other questions.  Just take your time.  ^__^
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T02:31:12.573Z
@HenryHO No comments is just as well, since you are incapable of understanding what you read, as your ridiculous attacks here demonstrate.
Semaphore
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T02:36:01.550Z
would you mind referring me to some sources supporting your statement "九月份 refers to the ninth month of the traditional lunisolar Han Calendar" ?   I would like to know which parts of China/other countries have this tradition.
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T02:56:01.427Z
@HenryHO Or you could google it: http://iask.sina.com.cn/b/1482342.html - but clearly you don't even understand what that statement means anyway, so whats the use?
Semaphore
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T03:00:22.967Z
Oh my god, do you realize that you are saying the opposite to the Sina answer?  :P  (Not to mention that the Sina answer is also an unfounded claim.)
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-12T03:05:16.147Z
@HenryHO My bad, I don't have the Baidu link I used at home so I grabbed the top google result. But you whining about "unfounded claim" confirms my last comment. Obviously you **still** fail at realising the point is how some people think its different.
Semaphore
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-10T04:18:46.630Z
2014-08-10T04:18:46.630Z
Semaphore
<p>So, I'm trying to figure out what is a better way to simply translate "An important month". For example if I wanted to talk about the month of Ramadan I originally said </p>

<p>"斋月是穆斯林非常重要的一个月“ 
but a friend (Sean C.) corrected me to say 
斋月是穆斯林非常重要的一个月份“ 
Could someone explain this difference? Does 月 sound incorrect in this instance?  Is there a simple way to think about the two as nouns?</p>

<grammar>
Difference between 月 and 月份 for the noun "A month"
# Difference between 月 and 月份 for the noun "A month"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-10)

So, I'm trying to figure out what is a better way to simply translate "An important month". For example if I wanted to talk about the month of Ramadan I originally said

"斋月是穆斯林非常重要的一个月“
but a friend (Sean C.) corrected me to say
斋月是穆斯林非常重要的一个月份“
Could someone explain this difference? Does 月 sound incorrect in this instance? Is there a simple way to think about the two as nouns?

**Tags:** grammar

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-08-10. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Both `重要的月份` and `重要的一個月` works fine for translating "an important month". But `重要的月` minus the unit of measurement (份/一個) sounds more like you're speaking of the Moon.

The difference between 月 and 月份 is that the latter is specifying *a month of the year*, while the former is more ambiguous: it could refer to the moon, or *a month's time*. Thus 月份 could be used standalone but you would normally prefix 一個 to 月, as you did.

It is perfectly okay to say `斋月是伊斯兰最重要的一个月`.

---

I suspect the reason your friend corrected you was because the topic was [Ramadan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan).

Traditionally (in some parts), 九月 means September in the *[Gregorian calendar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar)*, while 九月份 refers to the ninth month of the *[traditional lunisolar Han Calendar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calendar#Modern_Han_Calendar)*. By extension, he might have felt the ninth month of the *[Islamic Hijri Calendar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar)* (which is what Ramadan is) should also be a 月份.

This isn't a matter of grammar, but rather a customary usage.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: 月 and 月份 have nothing to do with Gregorian calendar or Han Calendar.  
> **username_2**: @HenryHO As usual with your habitually unfounded criticisms of my answers, you're again wrong. I am not claiming that 月/月份 has to do with the calendar type; **I'm offering a possible explanation for why Stephen's friend falsely "corrected" him.** I explained the actual difference in the first half of my answer.  
> **username_3**: Being once or twice isn't "habitual".  :)  And I am eager to see your "founded source" of "九月份 refers to the ninth month of the traditional lunisolar Han Calendar".  
> **username_2**: @HenryHO And I am eager to see you acquire reading comprehension skills. But I'm not holding my breath.  
> **username_3**: Yup, I found someone suddenly casting uncommented downvotes to my answers in other questions.  Just take your time.  ^__^  
> **username_2**: @HenryHO No comments is just as well, since you are incapable of understanding what you read, as your ridiculous attacks here demonstrate.  
> **username_3**: would you mind referring me to some sources supporting your statement "九月份 refers to the ninth month of the traditional lunisolar Han Calendar" ?   I would like to know which parts of China/other countries have this tradition.  
> **username_2**: @HenryHO Or you could google it: http://iask.sina.com.cn/b/1482342.html - but clearly you don't even understand what that statement means anyway, so whats the use?  
> **username_3**: Oh my god, do you realize that you are saying the opposite to the Sina answer?  :P  (Not to mention that the Sina answer is also an unfounded claim.)  
> **username_2**: @HenryHO My bad, I don't have the Baidu link I used at home so I grabbed the top google result. But you whining about "unfounded claim" confirms my last comment. Obviously you **still** fail at realising the point is how some people think its different.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-08-10. Score: 2

`月` refers to the duration aspect of a month, i.e. one 月 is a time span of 30 days.

`月份` refers to a particular point or period of time in the year.

What confuses people is they both can be used to express 'month N of the year' and are completely interchangeable in this usage. E.g. 四月 = 四月份 = April.

But to show the difference, imaging there is a festival called 'jogger's month' when everybody is supposed to keep jogging everyday during the festival. It lasts for about 30 days that's why it's called a month, but it may start at a different point of time every year. In this case, you can say: 慢跑**月**每年在不同的**月份**举行。去年是在四月(份)，今年将是在九月(份)。

For the sentence in your question, if I understand correctly, Ramadan is actually the name of a month on Islamic calendar, so both 月 and 月份 are correct. 月份 would give people slightly more hint on it's at the same time every year, while 月 merely indicates the length of the period.

Some discussions on 月 vs. 月份 as FYI.

* <http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1410353&langid=22>
* <http://www.italki.com/question/107868>


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