Kuukausi

Kuukausi is the Finnish unit of time that corresponds to one calendar month. In everyday usage it refers to any of the twelve months that form the Gregorian calendar year. The length of a kuukausi varies between 28 and 31 days, depending on the month; February has 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years. The word kuukausi derives from kuu meaning moon and reflects historical associations of months with lunar cycles, though in modern practice it denotes calendar months.

A year consists of twelve kuukausi. Three months make up a quarter. The twelve Finnish month names are: tammikuu, helmikuu, maaliskuu, huhtikuu, toukokuu, kesäkuu, heinäkuu, elokuu, syyskuu, lokakuu, marraskuu, joulukuu.

Kuukausi is widely used in timekeeping and everyday planning, finance, and statistics. For example, a salary might be paid kuukausittain (monthly), rental agreements may be for kuukausi periods, and data can be reported on a kuukausi basis.

In Finnish, the plural form is kuukaudet, and the term is used in combination with other time units such as vuosi (year) and viikko (week). The concept of kuukausi is common in both everyday language and formal contexts, including contract terms, budgeting, and reporting.