Ethiopian Calendar Converter
Convert Ethiopian calendar dates (E.C., ዓ.ም) to the Gregorian calendar and back, with the month names in Amharic and the 13th month, Pagume.
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The short answer
The Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of 30 days and a thirteenth month, Pagume, of 5 days, or 6 before a Gregorian leap year. The year begins on 11 September, or 12 September before a Gregorian leap year. The Ethiopian year number is 7 behind the Gregorian one from September to December and 8 behind from January.
How the Ethiopian calendar works
Ethiopia's calendar is solar, like the Gregorian one, and has the same leap-year rhythm of one extra day every four years. What differs is the shape of the year and the year count. Its twelve months have exactly 30 days each, and the thirteenth, Pagume (ጳጉሜን), holds the 5 or 6 days left over. The year starts with Enkutatash on 1 Meskerem, and the era is counted from a different date for the Incarnation than the one used in the West, which leaves Ethiopian years 7 or 8 behind.
Ethiopian New Year (1 Meskerem)
| Ethiopian year (E.C.) | 1 Meskerem | Pagume at the end of the year |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 September 2023 | 5 days |
| 2017 | 11 September 2024 | 5 days |
| 2018 | 11 September 2025 | 5 days |
| 2019 | 11 September 2026 | 6 days |
| 2020 | 12 September 2027 | 5 days |
| 2021 | 11 September 2028 | 5 days |
Because the extra day falls at the end of the Ethiopian year, in Pagume, every date from Meskerem to the end of February sits one Gregorian day later in the year after Pagume has 6 days.
The months
Meskerem (መስከረም), Tikimt (ጥቅምት), Hidar (ኅዳር), Tahsas (ታኅሣሥ), Tir (ጥር), Yekatit (የካቲት), Megabit (መጋቢት), Miyazya (ሚያዝያ), Ginbot (ግንቦት), Sene (ሰኔ), Hamle (ሐምሌ), Nehase (ነሐሴ) and Pagume (ጳጉሜን). Spellings in Latin letters vary: Tikimt is also written Tekemt or Tiqimt, Tahsas as Tahisas. A translation keeps one spelling throughout a set of documents.
Dates on Ethiopian documents
Birth, marriage and death certificates, identity cards, school certificates and court decisions issued in Ethiopia are normally dated in the Ethiopian calendar, written with the abbreviation ዓ.ም (E.C.). The most common problem we see in a set of immigration documents is a date of birth that was converted by simply adding seven or eight years, without moving the day and month, and then copied into a passport or a US form. The converted day and month never match that way: 1 Meskerem is 11 or 12 September, not 1 January.
Times are another trap. Ethiopian clock time counts the hours from dawn and dusk, so "2 o'clock" in the morning on a birth record means about 8 a.m. If a record states a time, the translation renders it as written and adds the converted time as a note.
Ethiopian dates in a certified translation
We translate the date as the document gives it ("26 Tikimt 2019 E.C.") and add the Gregorian equivalent in square brackets ("[5 November 2026]"). If your passport or an earlier US filing uses a date that does not match the conversion, tell us when you order. The translation still has to say what the certificate says, but we can point out the difference so it does not surprise an officer.
Sources and checks
Checked 5 November 2026.
| What it says | Source |
|---|---|
| The Ethiopian calendar is one of the calendars implemented in the Unicode ICU library; our test compares this converter with it for every day from 1900 to 2100. | ICU User Guide, Calendar classes |
| Unicode CLDR defines the Ethiopic calendar with 13 months and the Amete Mihret era used on Ethiopian documents. | Unicode Technical Standard #35, Dates |
| A foreign-language document filed with USCIS needs a full English translation, certified as complete and accurate by a translator competent in both languages. Dates are part of the text and are translated as written. | 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) |
| A summary prepared by a translator is not acceptable, so a translation cannot replace a date with a converted one; it can add the equivalent as a note. | USCIS Policy Manual, vol. 1, part E, ch. 6 |
Questions
Why is the Ethiopian calendar 7 or 8 years behind?
It counts years from a different date for the Incarnation. Because its year begins in September, the gap is 7 years from 11 September to 31 December and 8 years from 1 January to 10 September.
What is Pagume?
The thirteenth month: the 5 days left after twelve months of 30 days, or 6 days in the year before a Gregorian leap year. It falls between 6 and 10 or 11 September.
My passport date of birth does not match the converted date. What should I do?
Do not change the translation to match the passport. A certified translation states what the certificate says. Mention the difference when you order; it may need an explanation in your filing, which is a question for your attorney.
Does the converter handle Ethiopian time?
No, it converts dates only. Ethiopian hours count from about 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., so add 6 hours to a daytime Ethiopian clock time to get the usual time.
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