The Korean days of the week are 월요일, 화요일, 수요일, 목요일, 금요일, 토요일 and 일요일, named after the moon, fire, water, wood, metal, earth and sun. Months are a Sino-Korean number plus 월 (month): 일월 is January, 십이월 December. Two are spelled irregularly: 유월 (June) and 시월 (October).
- Words
- 40: days, months, seasons, time words
- Months
- Sino-Korean number + 월
- Irregular
- 유월 (June), 시월 (October)
- Level
- A1
40 Korean calendar words
Days, months, seasons and time words, each with a Revised Romanization reading as it is pronounced: 월요일 is woryoil, because the ㄹ carries over into the next syllable. This is the calendar pack the Contos web app uses for flashcard review.
| Korean | Reading | English |
|---|---|---|
| 월요일 | woryoil | Monday |
| 화요일 | hwayoil | Tuesday |
| 수요일 | suyoil | Wednesday |
| 목요일 | mogyoil | Thursday |
| 금요일 | geumyoil | Friday |
| 토요일 | toyoil | Saturday |
| 일요일 | iryoil | Sunday |
| 일월 | irwol | January |
| 이월 | iwol | February |
| 삼월 | samwol | March |
| 사월 | sawol | April |
| 오월 | owol | May |
| 유월 | yuwol | June |
| 칠월 | chirwol | July |
| 팔월 | parwol | August |
| 구월 | guwol | September |
| 시월 | siwol | October |
| 십일월 | sibirwol | November |
| 십이월 | sibiwol | December |
| 봄 | bom | spring |
| 여름 | yeoreum | summer |
| 가을 | gaeul | autumn |
| 겨울 | gyeoul | winter |
| 날짜 | naljja | date |
| 달력 | dallyeok | calendar |
| 세기 | segi | century |
| 십 년 | sim nyeon | decade |
| 계절 | gyejeol | season |
| 오후 | ohu | afternoon |
| 자정 | jajeong | midnight |
| 새벽 | saebyeok | dawn |
| 모레 | more | the day after tomorrow |
| 그저께 | geujeokke | the day before yesterday |
| 지난주 | jinanju | last week |
| 다음 달 | daeum dal | next month |
| 올해 | olhae | this year |
| 공휴일 | gonghyuil | public holiday |
| 윤년 | yunnyeon | leap year |
| 평일 | pyeongil | weekday |
| 두 주 | du ju | fortnight |
What do the Korean days of the week mean?
Each day is one Sino-Korean syllable plus 요일 (yoil), day of the week. The syllables are the moon, the sun and the five elements, the same scheme Japanese uses for its weekdays.
| Day | Reading | First syllable | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 월요일 | woryoil | 월, moon | Monday |
| 화요일 | hwayoil | 화, fire | Tuesday |
| 수요일 | suyoil | 수, water | Wednesday |
| 목요일 | mogyoil | 목, wood | Thursday |
| 금요일 | geumyoil | 금, metal or gold | Friday |
| 토요일 | toyoil | 토, earth | Saturday |
| 일요일 | iryoil | 일, sun | Sunday |
To say "on Monday", add 에 (e): 월요일에 만나요 (woryoire mannayo), see you on Monday. Calendars and timetables shorten the days to their first syllable: 월, 화, 수, 목, 금, 토, 일. The weekend is 주말 (jumal) and a weekday is 평일 (pyeongil).
목요일 오후, 지은은 편지를 받는다.Mogyoil ohu, Jieuneun pyeonjireul banneunda.
Why are Korean months just numbers?
Korean months have no names. January is "one month", 일월; February is "two month", 이월; and so on to December, 십이월, "twelve month". They always use Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼…), never the native ones (하나, 둘, 셋…).
Two months drop a final consonant to be easier to say. June is 유월 (yuwol), not 육월, and October is 시월 (siwol), not 십월. These are the standard spellings, so write them this way too.
A date runs from big to small: year, month, day, each with its own word: 년 (year), 월 (month), 일 (day). 2026년 10월 14일 is read 이천이십육 년 시월 십사 일 (icheonisimnyuk nyeon siwol sipsa il).
오늘이 며칠이에요?
Oneuri myeochirieyo?
What's the date today?
제 생일은 오월 오일이에요.
Je saengireun owol oirieyo.
My birthday is on the fifth of May.
5 May is Children's Day, a public holiday (공휴일) in South Korea.
시월에 서울에 가요.
Siwore Seoure gayo.
I'm going to Seoul in October.
Native or Sino-Korean? The rule for time
Korean has two sets of numbers, and time uses both. Hours take native numbers (한 시, 두 시, 세 시); minutes, dates, months and years take Sino-Korean ones (십 분, 오 일, 시월, 이천이십육 년). Counting days goes native again: 하루 (one day), 이틀 (two days), 사흘 (three days).
버스는 다섯 시 사십칠 분에 도착했다.Beoseuneun daseot si sasipchil bune dochakaetda.
Seasons and time words: 지난주, 올해, 모레
The four seasons are native words: 봄 (spring), 여름 (summer), 가을 (autumn) and 겨울 (winter). "In summer" is 여름에, and a season is 계절 (gyejeol).
| Before | Now | After |
|---|---|---|
| 그저께 (the day before yesterday) | 오늘 (today) | 모레 (the day after tomorrow) |
| 지난주 (last week) | 이번 주 (this week) | 다음 주 (next week) |
| 지난달 (last month) | 이번 달 (this month) | 다음 달 (next month) |
| 작년 (last year) | 올해 (this year) | 내년 (next year) |
새벽 (saebyeok) is the small hours before sunrise: 새벽 두 시 is 2 a.m. 오후 (ohu) is the afternoon and also p.m., while a.m. is 오전 (ojeon). 자정 (jajeong) is midnight.
토요일 아침, 하늘초등학교 운동장에는 가을 햇빛이 가득했다.Toyoil achim, Haneulchodeunghakgyo undongjangeneun gaeul haetbichi gadeukaetda.
The list's 십 년 (decade) and 두 주 (fortnight) are literal, ten years and two weeks, and are usually written with digits: 10년, 2주. 2주 is the everyday way to say a fortnight. For birthdays, see how to say happy birthday in Korean.
Read a Korean story at A1 that begins on a Thursday afternoon: tap any word to see its meaning.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
Why are June and October spelled 유월 and 시월?
To make them easier to say. The regular forms would be 육월 and 십월, but the standard language drops the final consonant: 유월 (yuwol) and 시월 (siwol). Write them this way; 육월 and 십월 are mistakes.
How do you write the date in Korean?
Year, month, day, from big to small: 2026년 10월 14일. Read it with Sino-Korean numbers: 이천이십육 년 시월 십사 일. With a day of the week, it goes last: 10월 14일 수요일.
How do you say "on Monday" in Korean?
월요일에 (woryoire), with the particle 에 for a point in time. Every Monday is 월요일마다 or 매주 월요일 (maeju woryoil).
Do Korean months use native or Sino-Korean numbers?
Sino-Korean, always: 일월, 이월, 삼월. Native numbers appear when you count how many months: 한 달, 두 달, with the native word 달. Clock hours are native too: 세 시, three o'clock.