Learn How To Write The Days And Months In Korean

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07 September 2022
By Sarah Angela Almaden
People

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There are seven days in a week and twelve months in a year. We know these days and months by heart because we have been using them our entire lives. Perhaps these days and months have served as treasure troves of memories and experiences that we will never ever, ever forget.

If you are learning Korean, do you know how to say the days and months in this language? Whether you do or you don’t, worry not because this blog will teach you the basics of learning how to say the days of the week and months in your target language (which is Korean).

Once you have this down to a T, you can try making a calendar using your new and buzzing knowledge of Korean vocabulary. Bonus points if you can write the words in Hangul!

Days Of The Week

Since South Korea uses the Gregorian Calendar, their names for the days of the week aren't all that different from those used in other languages, except that they are in Korean. Like in most languages, the days are associated with heavenly bodies or Roman gods. And each day of the week ends in 요일 (yoil).

  • Monday is 월요일 or Wollyoil. 월 (wol) means moon, so Monday = moon day.
  • Tuesday is 화요일 or Hwayoil. 화 (hwa) means fire which is associated with Mars, god of war. So Tuesday = day of Mars or Tuesday = fire day.
  • Wednesday is 수요일 or Suyoil. 수 (su) means water and it is associated with 수성 (suseong) which means Mercury, the water planet. Water day ≠ Wednesday… close enough?
  • Thursday is 목요일 or Mogyoil. 목 (mok) which means wood and it is associated with 목성 (mogseong) which means Jupiter, the god of thunder. Sorry Loki fans, but it seems like this is calling for a Thor day, Thursday, Thor day, Thursday.
  • Friday is 금요일 or Geumyoil. 금 (geum) which means gold and it is associated with 금성 (geumseong) which means Venus, the golden planet. TGIF = Thank Gold It’s Friday.
  • Saturday is 토요일 or Toyoil. 토 (to) which means soil and it is associated with 토성 (toseong) which means Saturn, the god of harvest. Soil and Saturday both have the same beginning letter which is letter S.
  • Sunday is 일요일 or Illyoil. 일 (il) which means day or sun. And well, you can easily remember 일요일 or Illyoi, because you can refer to it as the sun’s day.
Days of The Week
English
Korean (Hangul)
Romanization
Monday 월요일 Wollyoil
Tuesday 화요일 Hwayoil
Wednesday 수요일 Suyoil
Thursday 목요일 Mogyoil
Friday 금요일 Geumyoil
Saturday 토요일 Toyoil
Sunday 일요일 Illyoil

Names Of The Month

Names of the month in Korean are not too difficult to pronounce and remember. Basically, all you have to do is add the corresponding Sino-Korean number in front of the word 월 (wol) which means month. The numbers are given according to the months beginning in January and are written in numeric form. For example, the month of January in Korean would be referred to as 1월 or Irwol the month of March in Korean would be referred to as 3월 as Samwol.

Names of The Month
English
Korean (Hangul)
Romanization
January 1월 (일월) Irwol
February 2월 (이월) Iwol
March 3월 (삼월 ) Samwol
April 4월 (사월 ) Sawol
May 5월 (오월) Owol
June 6월 (유월) Yuwol
July 7월 (칠월) Chirwol
August 8월 (팔월) Parwol
September 9월 (구월) Guwol
October 10월 (시월) Siwol
November 11월 (십일월 ) Shipirwol
December 12월 (십이월) Shipiwol

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