正月 (しょうがつ) Japanese meaning

正月 (しょうがつ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

Kanji

元がん日じつN3sense 1
元日 refers specifically to January 1st itself, while 正月 covers the broader New Year holiday period including the following days.
三さんが日にち sense 1
三が日 names just the first three days (Jan 1–3) that make up the core of the 正月 holiday period.
新しん年ねんN2
正月 refers specifically to the New Year's holiday period in early January, while 新年 is the broader idea of 'the new year' as a time concept.
元がん旦たんN3
正月 refers to the whole New Year holiday period (often the first few days of January), whereas 元旦 refers specifically to January 1st itself.

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新しん春しゅん
正月 refers concretely to the New Year's holiday period and its customs, whereas 新春 is a broader, poetic term for the new year season.
年ねん頭とうN1
正月 refers to the New Year holiday period with its customs and festivities, whereas 年頭 is the more abstract, formal notion of the year's start.
年ねん始しN1
正月 is the common, everyday word for the New Year holiday period, while 年始 is a more formal term often used in business contexts.

お正しょう月がつ
正月 is the plain word for the New Year period, while お正月 adds the polite/honorific お- prefix commonly used in greetings and by children.

旧きゅう正しょう月がつ
正月 usually means the modern solar-calendar New Year around January 1, while 旧正月 specifically refers to the New Year of the old lunar calendar, so learners must not drop the 旧 when lunar New Year is meant.

From 正 (しょう, 'first' or 'correct') + 月 (がつ, 'month'), referring to the first month of the year. The reading しょうがつ is a regular on'yomi compound.