The word **一月** is formed through a straightforward and logical combination of two Chinese characters: the numeral **一 (yī)**, meaning "one," and the character **月 (yuè)**, meaning "month" or "moon." Together, they create a compound word that literally translates to "first month" or "one month," and by convention, it specifically denotes **January**, the first month of the Gregorian calendar year. This pattern of naming months (e.g., 二月 for February, 三月 for March) is consistently applied throughout the year, making the system highly regular and intuitive.