Days of the Week in Korean

Days of the week in Korean is a major focus for Korean beginners as part of the basic Korean phrases. The expressions of time, days of the week, and months of the year are used repeatedly in our everyday lives.

In our previous articles, we talked about Korean alphabet hangul, numbers in Korean, now it’s time to use them! In this article, we’ve compiled a list of expressions for not only days of the week in Korean, but also months, seasons, and more that will help you talk about time in Korean like a pro. Let’s get started!

Days of the Week in Korean

Meaning of Days of the Week in Korean 

From the above chart and video, you can see that days of the week in Korean are very easy. Just add a different word in front of 요일(yo-il), which means “day” in English. Similar to English, the word 요일  is actually derived from Latin, and this method has been used in Japan and Korea to this day. 

Therefore the meaning of days of the week in Korean is derived from the Chinese five elements of nature (fire, water, wood, gold, earth) plus the sun and the moon.

Attention: When the consonant radicals ㄱ, ㅁ, and ㄹ in 월, 목, and 일 encounter a second word with a syllable beginning with the vowel ㅇ, the pronunciation of that consonant needs to be moved to the position of the first sound of the latter syllable and connected to the vowel that follows, forming an allophone. It may sound a bit confusing. So let’s take a look at the example.

In the case of 월요일, it is not pronounced as woll-yo-il, but wol-lyo-il.

How to use days of the week in Korean

Now let’s see a few examples of how to use days of the week in Korean. You can use them for journaling, planning, scheduling, etc.

e.g. I’m going to school on Monday.

월요일에 학교에 갈 거예요. 

(wol-lyo-i-le hak-kkyo-e gal kkoe yo.)

e.g. This Tuesday is a holiday.

이번 주 화요일은 휴일입니다. 

(ibon ju hwa-yo-i-leun hyu-i-li-mi-da.)

e.g. I have P.E class every Wednesday.

저는 매주 수요일에 체육 수업이 있습니다.

(jo-neun mae-ju su-yo-i-le che-yuk su-o-bi it-sseu-mi-da)

e.g. The new program will air this Thursday.

새 프로그램은 이번 주 목요일에 방송될 것이다.

 (sae peu-ro-geu-rae-meun i-bon ju mog-yoi-le bang-song-dwel kko-si-da)

e.g. See you at 5 pm on Friday.

금요일 오후 5시에 만나요. 

(geu-myo-il o-hu da-sot-ssi-e man-na-yo)

e.g. We are going swimming on Saturday. 

우리는 토요일에 수영하러 갈 것이다.

 (wu-li-neun to-yo-i-le su-yong-ha-ro gal kko-si-da)

e.g. I’ll rest at home on Sunday.

나는 일요일에 집에서 쉴 거예요.

(na-neun il-lyo-i-le ji-be-so sheel kko-e-yo)

e.g. What day of the week is today?

오늘은 무슨 요일일까요?

(o-neu-leun mu-seun yo-i-lil-kka-yo)

e.g. Today is Sunday.

오늘은 일요일이다.

(o-neu-leun i-lyo-i-li-da)

Other time-related expressions in Korean

Days in Korean

일 (il) means “day” in Korean. You can simply use the Sino-Korean numbers + 일 (il) to express days in Korean :

1st – 1일 (일일, il-il)

2nd – 2일 (이일, i-il)

3rd – 3일 (삼일, sam-il)

4th – 4일 (사일, sa-il)

5th – 5일 (오일, o-il)

10th – 10일 (십일, sib-il)

15th – 15일 (십오일, si-bo-il)

20th – 20일 (이십일, i-sib-il)

31st – 31일 (삼십일일, sam-si-bil-il)

Weeks in Korean

Week(s) – 주(일) (ju-il) 

Weekday – 평일 (pyeong-il)
e.g. I have to go to school on weekdays.

나는 평일에 학교에 가야 한다.(na-neun pyong-i-le hakk-kyo-e ga-ya han-da)

Weekend – 주말 (ju mal)

e.g. What are you going to do this weekend?

이번 주말에 뭐 할 거야?

(i-bon ju-ma-le mwo hal kko-ya)

One week – 일 주일 (il ju-il)
e.g. We dine out once a week. 

일주일에 한번 외식을 한다.

(il-jju-i-le han-bon we-si-geul han-da)

Every week – 매주 (mae ju)
e.g. We are closed on Mondays.

매주 월요일은 휴업입니다.

(mae-ju wol-lyo-i-leun hyu-o-bim-ni-da)

Months in Korean

Year in Korean

“Year” in Korean is 년 (nyeon)

One year – 일년 (il-nyeon)

Every year – 매년 (mae-nyeon)

Note that the order of dates in Korean is the opposite of English: Year + Month + date

e.g. December 24, 2022

2022년 12월 24일

(i-chon-i-si-bi-nyon si-bi-wol i-sip-ssa-il)

e.g. My birthday is November 11, 2001.

제 생일은 2001년 11월 11일 입니다.

(je saeng-i-leun i-chon-il-lyon si-bir-wol si-bil-i-lim-ni-da)

Seasons in Korean 

Season – 계절 (gye-jol) 

Spring– 봄 (bom)

Summer – 여릅 (yo-leum)

Autumn – 가을 (ga-eul)

Winter– 겨울 (gye-oul)

Different times of the day in Korean

AM – 아침(a-chim)

PM – 오후(o-hu)

Night – 밤 (bam)

Midday/noon – 정오 (jong-o)

Midnight – 자정 (ja-jong)

Sunrise – 일출 (il-chul)

Sunset 일몰 (il-mol)

Now you’ve learned all the basics for talking about days in Korean. Let’s start writing out your schedule, planning on your calendar, or making appointments in Korean! If you wish to further enhance your Korean skills in an easy and effective way, don’t hesitate to use LingoDeer app!