When you’re beginning to learn Korean, one of the most useful things to know is how to write the date and what the different months and days of the week are called. Find out how to do all this and more here.
Korean Date Format and Order
Whereas many other countries format their dates from the smallest to the largest number (i.e. day-month-year) and others use the month-day-year order, most countries in East Asia, including South Korea, order the date from the largest to the smallest denomination, i.e. year-month-day, as below:
[year]년 [month]월 [day]일 ([year]nyeon [month]wol [day]il)
Let’s look at an example:
2024년 5월 15일 (icheon-iship-sanyeon o-wol ship-oh-il)
In English, this would be the 15th May 2024.
And if you wanted to add the day of the week, you’d add this to the end:
2024년 5월 15일 수요일 (icheon-iship-sanyeon o-wol ship-oh-il suyoil)
In order to write the date yourself, let’s break down each individual component so you can see exactly how they work in Korean. But first, if you haven’t already, make sure you know your Korean numbers. There are two numbering systems in Korean, but for the date you mainly only need to be familiar with Sino-Korean numbers.
Years in Korean
Knowing how to reference a specific year in Korean is really useful, especially as age plays such an important role in Korean society.
As long as you know your Sino-Korean numbers, this part is relatively easy.
Say you wanted to talk about something that happened in 1992. Let’s break this down as an example.
- 천 (cheon) – 1,000
- 구백 (gubaek) – 900
- 구십 (guship) – 90
- 이 (i) – 2
Altogether, this would become 천구백구십이 (cheon gubaek guship i). Like in the example above, when you’re talking about a specific year, you must add 년 to the end so it’s obvious what you’re talking about. This then becomes 천구백구십이년 (cheon gubaek guship i nyeon).
Note that if you’re writing the date, you don’t have to write it out fully in Hangeul; in this case, it’s better to write 1992년. But when speaking, it would be pronounced like the above.
In less formal situations, and when it’s obvious that you’re referencing a specific year, you can simply say or write 92년 (구십이년).
Cultural Tip: Speaking About Your Age in Korean
Asking about age is common in Korea. Whilst most textbooks will teach you how to say this using native Korean numbers, such as 열하홉살 (yeolahopsal; 19 years old), Koreans will often answer questions about their age with the year they were born, so don’t be too surprised if they answer using Sino Korean numbers!
When talking about age specifically, you add 년생 (nyeonsaeng) to your birth year instead of just 년.
Here are some examples:
- 저는 92(구십이)년생이에요.
- 저는 2000(이천)년생이에요.
- 저는 1987(천구백팔십칠)년생이에요.
How Do You Know Which One to Reply With?
If someone asks one of the following, you would generally reply with your age in native Korean numbers:
- “나이가 어떻게 되세요?”
- “연세가 어떻게 되세요?”
- “몇 살이에요?”
- “몇 살이야?”
And if they ask for your specific birth year (e.g. “몇 년생이세요?”), it’s better to reply with your birth year.
Months in Korean
You’ll be pleased to know that months in Korean are easy to learn, especially if you already know your numbers, as they aren’t named in the same way as they are in English.
Instead, Koreans use the month’s sequential number to refer to it. Here’s a list of them all:
| Months in Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1월 (일월) | ilwol | January |
| 2월 (이월) | iwol | February |
| 3월 (삼월) | samwol | March |
| 4월 (사월) | sawol | April |
| 5월 (오월) | owol | May |
| 6월 (유월)* | yuwol | June |
| 7월 (칠월) | chirwol | July |
| 8월 (팔월) | parwol | August |
| 9월 (구월) | guwol | September |
| 10월 (시월)* | siwol | October |
| 11월 (십일월) | shibilwol | November |
| 12월 (십이월) | shibiwol | December |
* If you’re already familiar with counting in Korean, you might have noticed that the June and October Sino-Korean numbers are spelled irregularly. This is because they’re easier to pronounce in the form above. As many people used this irregular form, these versions were officially recognized and changed as a result.
How Do You Say “Month” In Korean?
There are two or three ways to say “month” in Korean. You’ll notice one has been covered already in the table of months already: 월 (wol). This version is used for referring to a specific month in the year.
However, if you wanted to talk about the amount of time that has passed, you would generally use either the native Korean word for month, which is 달 (dal) or the Sino-Korean version, 개월 (gaewol).
Most Koreans use 달 for small numbers and 개월 for the rest:
한 달 (han dal)
두 달 (du dal)
세 달 (se dal; more formally written as 석 달 (seok dal), though this is not commonly used)
네 달 (ne dal; more formally written as 넉 달 (neok dal), though this is not commonly used)
After four months, Koreans tend to use 개월. Notice the difference in spacing: this is intentional.
오개월 (ogaewol) = five months
육개월 (yukgaewol) = six months
칠개월 (chilgaewol) = seven months
팔개월 (palgaewol) = eight months
구개월 (gugaewol) = nine months
십개월 (shipgaewol) = 10 months
십일개월 (shipilgaewol) = 11 months
십이개월 (shipigaewol) = 12 months
Useful Related Phrases & Expressions
| Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 지난 달 | jinan dal | Last month |
| 이번 달 | ibeon dal | This month |
| 다음 달 | daeum dal | Next month |
| 6개월 동안… (육개월 동안) | yukkaewol dongan… | For six months… |
Calendar Dates in Korean
Much like the months, numbers are used for the calendar dates in Korean. If English is your native language, this should be fairly easy to wrap your head around since we do the same thing.
| Calendar Dates in Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1일 (일일) | ilil | 1st |
| 2일 (이일) | iil | 2nd |
| 3일 (삼일) | samil | 3rd |
| 4일 (사일) | sail | 4th |
| 5일 (오일) | ohil | 5th |
| 6일 (육일) | yukil | 6th |
| 7일 (칠일) | chilil | 7th |
| 8일 (팔일) | palil | 8th |
| 9일 (구일) | guil | 9th |
| 10일 (십일) | shipil | 10th |
| 11일 (십일일) | shipilil | 11th |
| 12일 (십이일) | shipiil | 12th |
| 13일 (십삼일) | shipsamil | 13th |
| 14일 (십사일) | shipsail | 14th |
| 15일 (십오일) | shipohil | 15th |
| 16일 (십육일) | shipyukil | 16th |
| 17일 (십칠일) | shipchilil | 17th |
| 18일 (십팔일) | shippalil | 18th |
| 19일 (십구일) | shipguil | 19th |
| 20일 (이십일) | ishipil | 20th |
| 21일 (이십일일) | ishipilil | 21st |
| 22일 (이십이일) | ishipiil | 22nd |
| 23일 (이십삼일) | ishipsamil | 23rd |
| 24일 (이십사일) | ishipsail | 24th |
| 25일 (이십오일) | ishipohil | 25th |
| 26일 (이십육일) | ishipyukil | 26th |
| 27일 (이십칠일) | ishipchilil | 27th |
| 28일 (이십팔일) | ishippalil | 28th |
| 29일 (이십구일) | ishipguil | 29th |
| 30일 (삼십일) | samshipil | 30th |
| 31일 (삽십일일) | samhipilil | 31st |
Days of the Week in Korean
If you’re familiar with Mandarin or Japanese, the days of the week in Korean might sound familiar with you.
Like in Japanese, Korean days of the week are based on the elements and celestial bodies that are visible to the human eye.
Similar to English with the word “day”, each day is comprised of an element from nature and always ends in 요일 (yoil), which means “day of the week”.
| Days of the Week in Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 월요일 | wolyoil | Monday (월 means moon) |
| 화요일 | hwayoil | Tuesday (화 means fire) |
| 수요일 | suyoil | Wednesday (수 means water) |
| 목요일 | mokyoil | Thursday (목 means wood) |
| 금요일 | geumyoil | Friday (금 means gold or metal) |
| 토요일 | toyoil | Saturday (토 means earth or soil) |
| 일요일 | ilyoil | Sunday (일 means sun) |
Useful Phrases Relating to the Days of the Week
Here are some useful vocabulary words, phrases and questions to learn that are related to the days of the week.
| Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 평일 | pyeongil | Weekday |
| 주말 | jumal | Weekend |
| 오늘 무슨 요일이에요? | oneul museun yoiriyeyo? | What day is it today? |
| 내일 무슨 요일이에요? | naeil museun yoiriyeyo? | What day is it tomorrow? |
| 지난주 월요일에 뭐 했어요? | jinanju woryoire mwo haesseoyo? | What did you do last Monday? |
| 이번 주 금요일에 시간 있어요? | ibeon ju geumyoire sigan isseoyo? | Are you free this Friday? |
| 주말에 뭐 할 거예요? | jumare mwo hal geoyeyo? | What are you going to do on the weekend? |
| 금요일을 좋아해요. | geumyoireul joahaeyo | I like Fridays. |
Test Your Knowledge
Now that you know all the components to write the date in Korean, test your knowledge by writing your birthday date in the comments!