BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in)); String s = reader.readLine(); Map<String, Integer> map = new HashMap<>(); map.put("January",0); map.put("February",1); map.put("March",2); map.put("April",3); map.put("May",4); map.put("June",5); map.put("July",6); map.put("August",7); map.put("September",8); map.put("October",9); map.put("November",10); map.put("December",11); for(Map.Entry<String, Integer> itr : map.entrySet()){ if (s.equals(itr.getKey())){ int i = itr.getValue() + 1; System.out.println("\""+ s + " is the " + i + " month\"."); } }