Days of the week, months, and year in Korean

Have you ever wondered how to say the days of the week in Korean? Or better yet, how to say the months and years? In this article, we will talk about the days, months, and years in the Korean language and how they resemble Japanese.

The Days of the Week in Korean

Just like in Japanese and Chinese, the days of the week in Korean use elements of nature. Nothing different from the West, since here we use the names of planets and entities from mythology that correspond to the same elements of the days of the week in the East.

The point is that even the pronunciation of the days of the week in Korean is equivalent to Japanese. See below how to write and say the days in the Korean language:

Day of the week	Hangul	Pronunciation	Element
Sunday	일요일	ir.yo.il	일 (日 nichi) – sun, day
Monday	월요일	weor.yo.il	월 (月 getsu) – moon
Tuesday	화요일	hwa.yo.il	화 (火 ka) – fire
Wednesday	수요일	su.yo.il	수 (水 sui) – water
Thursday	목요일	mog.yo.il	목 (木 moku) – tree, wood
Friday	금요일	keum.yo.il	금 (金 kin) – gold
Saturday	토요일	tho.yo.il	토 (土 do) – earth

Notice the similarity between mogyoil in Korean and mokuyobi in Japanese. Even the ending is similar, probably the same similarities we have in languages derived from Latin. I believe both have Chinese roots.

Korean calendars usually show only the element in question, see below:

SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT
일 – sun	월 – moon	화 – fire	수 – water	목 – wood	금 – gold	토 – earth

The Days of the Month in Korean

To say day one, day two, and so on in Korean, we use the number + suffix il [일] which literally means day.

Day + Number	Hangul [일]	Pronunciation
1	일일	ir.il
2	이일	i.il
3	삼일	sam.il
4	사일	sa.il
5	오일	o.il
6	육일	yug.il
7	칠일	chir.il
8	팔일	phar.il
9	구일	ku.il
10	십일	shib.il
11	십일일	shib.ir.il
12	십이일	shib.i.il
13	십삼일	ship.sam.il
14	십사일	ship.sa.il
15	십오일	shib.o.il
16	십육일	shim.nyug.il
17	십칠일	ship.chir.il
18	십팔일	ship.phar.il
19	십구일	ship.ku.il
20	이십일	o.shib.il
21	이십일일	i.shib.ir.il
22	이십이일	i.shib.i.il
23	이십삼일	i.ship.sam.il
24	이십사일	i.ship.sa.il
25	이십오일	i.shib.o.il
26	이십육일	i.shib.yug.il
27	이십칠일	i.ship.chir.il
28	이십팔일	i.ship.phar.il
29	이십구일	i.ship.ku.il
30	삼십일	sam.shib.il
31	삼십일일	sam.shib.ir.il

Years and Months in Korean

To form the years we also use the numbers in Roman or Hangul followed by the suffix nyeon [년]. We won’t put a table here because there are thousands of years. For example, 2020 in Korean is 2020년 or 이천이십년.

Just like in the Japanese language, in Korean we don’t have January, February, and so on, just the number followed by the suffix that means month. In this case, the suffix that means month is weol [월]. See below a table with the months in the Korean language:

Months	Hangul [월]	Pronunciation
1	일월	ir.weol
2	이월	i.weol
3	삼월	sam.weol
4	사월	sa.weol
5	오월	o.weol
6	유월	yu.weol
7	칠월	chir.weol
8	팔월	phar.weol
9	구월	ku.weol
10	시월	shi.weol
11	십일월	shib.ir.weol
12	십이월	shib.i.weol

Both the days of the month and the months can also be written with Roman numerals followed by the suffix that represents day or month. Just like in Japanese we write 10日 or 6月.

Korean Traditional Calendar

There is also a traditional calendar based on the Chinese zodiac signs. See below this Korean monthly calendar:

	Translation	Hangul	Pronunciation
1	Tiger Month	호랑이 달	Horangidal
1	Primary Month	정월 (正月)	Jeong-wol
2	Rabbit Month	토끼 달	Tokkidal
3	Dragon Month	용달	Yongdal
4	Snake Month	뱀달	Baemdal
5	Horse Month	말달	Maldal
6	Goat Month	양달	Yangdal
7	Monkey Month	원승 이달	Wonseung-Idal
8	Rooster Month	닭달	Dakdal
9	Dog Month	개달	Gaedal
10	Pig Month	돼지 달	Dwaejidal
11	Rat Month	쥐달	Jwidal
11	Winter Solstice Month	동짓달	Dongjitdal
12	Ox Month	소달	Sodal
12	Ox Month	섣달	Seotdal

Words Related to Calendar in Korean

Portuguese	Korean	Pronunciation
last year	작년	jagnyeon
next year	내년	naenyeon
Calendar	달력	dallyeok
day	날	nal
two days	이틀	iteul
throughout my life	평생 (동안)	pyeongsaeng (dong-an)
this week	이번 주	ibeon ju
this year	올해	olhae
this month	이번 달	ibeon dal
month	개월	gaewol
month	달	dal
last month	지난 달	jinan dal
new year	새해	saehae
for, during, while	동안	dong-an
next week	다음 주	da-eum ju
next month	다음 달	da-eum dal
last week	지난 주	jinan ju
three days	사흘	saheul
one day	하루	halu

New Year Vocabulary in Korean

Meaning	Hangul	Pronunciation
The first day	원일	Wonil
The first morning	원단	Wondan
The first morning	원조	Wonjo
The first month	원정	Wonjeong
The first new	원신	Wonsin
In the morning of the first month	정조	Jeongjo
The head of the year	세수	Sesu
The head of the year	연두	Yeondu
The head of the year	연수	Yeonsu
The beginning of the year	세초	Secho
The beginning of the year	연시	Yeonsi

Names of Eras in Korean

To complement, we will leave a calendar of eras in Korean to help you understand Korean history.

name of the era in Korean	Ming emperor	Hangul	Meaning	Period	Joseon king(s)
Hongmu	Hongwu Emperor	홍무	vast martiality	1392 – 1398	Taejo, Jeongjong
Geonmun	Jianwen Emperor	건문	establish civility	1399 – 1402	Jeongjong, Taejong
Yeongrak	Yongle	영락	perpetual happiness	1402 – 1424	Taejong, Sejong
Honghui	Hongxi Emperor	홍희	vast brightness	1425	Sejong
Seondeok	Xuande	선덕	Proclamation of virtue	1426 – 1435	Sejong
Jeongtong	Zhengtong Emperor	정통	Rectification of governance	1436 – 1449	Sejong
Gyeongtae	Jingtai Emperor	경태	exalted vision	1450 – 1457	Sejong, Munjong, Danjong, Sejo
Cheonsun	Zhengtong Emperor	천순	Obedience to Heaven	1457 – 1464	Sejo
Seonghwa	Chenghua Emperor	성화	Change realized	1465 – 1487	Sejo, Yejong, Seongjong
Hongchi	Hongzhi Emperor	홍치	great governance	1488 – 1505	Seongjong, Yeonsangun
Jeongdeok	Emperor Zhengde	정덕	Rectification of virtue	1506 – 1521	Yeonsangun, Jungjong
Gajeong	Jiajing	가정	admirable tranquility	1522 – 1567	Jungjong, Injong, Myeongjong, Seonjo
Yunggyeong	Longqing Emperor	융경	great celebration	1568 – 1572	Seonjo
Mallyeok	Wanli Emperor	만력	Ten thousand calendars	1573 – 1620	Seonjo, Gwanghaegun
Cheongye	Tianqi Emperor	천계	Heavenly opening	1621 – 1627	Gwanghaegun, Injo
Sungjeong	Chongzhen Emperor	숭정	Honored and auspicious	1627 – 1637	Injo

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