How to use the ethiopian and coptic calendar converter
- Choose the calendar you want to start from: Gregorian, Ethiopian or Coptic.
- For a Gregorian date, pick it in the date box. For the other two, enter the year, the month number (1 to 13) and the day.
- Read the date in all three calendars with the weekday.
- Check the leap year lines to see if the 13th month has 5 or 6 days.
Formula
both calendars: 12 months of 30 days, then a 13th month of 5 days, or 6 in a leap year
leap year: year mod 4 = 3
days from the epoch = 365 x (year - 1) + floor(year / 4) + 30 x (month - 1) + day - 1
The Ethiopian epoch is the Julian day number 1,724,221 and the Coptic epoch is 1,825,030. The two calendars have the same months and leap rule but different epochs, so their years differ by 276.
The Ethiopian new year and a date in March
September 11, 2025 is a Thursday and is Meskerem 1, 2018 in the Ethiopian calendar and Thout 1, 1742 in the Coptic calendar. The year numbers differ by 276. Neither year is a leap year, because 2018 and 1742 leave a remainder of 2 after division by 4.
Starting from the Ethiopian date Megabit 12, 2018, the page gives Saturday, March 21, 2026, and the Coptic date Paremhat 12, 1742. The sixth day of the 13th month exists only in a leap year: Ethiopian year 2015 ends on Pagume 6, which is September 11, 2023.
Thirteen months
Both calendars keep 12 months of exactly 30 days. A short 13th month, called Pagume in the Ethiopian calendar and Pi Kogi Enavot in the Coptic one, fills out the year with 5 days, or 6 days before a leap year. A year is a leap year when it leaves a remainder of 3 after division by 4, so the leap day is added every fourth year with no century exceptions.
Because the leap rule matches the older Julian calendar, the new year slips against the Gregorian calendar by about one day every 133 years. The Ethiopian and Coptic new year falls on September 11, or on September 12 in the year before a Gregorian leap year.
Related converters
The Julian to Gregorian Date Converter shows how the Julian leap rule drifts against ours. For other calendars, see the Persian Calendar Converter, the Hebrew Date Converter and the Hijri Date Converter. To work with the underlying day count, use the Julian Date Calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- Dates are whole calendar days and the day starts at midnight.
- The Gregorian range is 1000 to 9999. The Ethiopian and Coptic year can be 1 to 9999.
- Month names are Latin spellings of the Ge’ez and Coptic names, which vary between sources.
- The Ethiopian calendar here is the Amete Mihret era, the one in common use.
- The dates shown when the page opens are examples.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Ethiopian year 7 or 8 years behind?
The Ethiopian calendar counts from a different date for the birth of Christ. Its new year falls in September, so from January until the new year the gap is 8 years, and from September to December it is 7.
What is the 13th month?
A short month of 5 days, or 6 in a leap year, placed at the end of the year. It follows 12 months of 30 days each.
Are the Ethiopian and Coptic calendars the same?
They share the same months, leap rule and new year day. They differ only in the year count, because they start from different epochs.
Does the Ethiopian year change on January 1?
No. It changes on Meskerem 1, which is in September. A date in January and a date in October of the same Gregorian year belong to different Ethiopian years.