How to Say Days, Months, and Dates in Korean

Learning how to say days, months, and dates in Korean is essential if you plan to visit South Korea, study the language, or communicate with native speakers. It’s not only about translation—it’s about understanding cultural context and usage patterns too. This guide will walk you through all the basics in a structured, easy-to-understand format.

Whether you’re scheduling a meetup with a Korean friend, planning your itinerary, or even understanding your K-drama subtitles, you’ll need this knowledge. Let’s break it down by category and go step-by-step so you never get confused again. 🧠 

🗓️ Days of the Week in Korean

In Korean, the days of the week follow a very regular and logical pattern. They all end in “요일 (yo-il),” which literally means “day of the week.” The part before “요일” represents an element or concept from traditional East Asian cosmology, making them easy to remember once you get the hang of it.

 

Here are the seven days of the week in Korean, with both Hangul and Romanized versions. Pronunciation is key, so practicing with audio or native speakers helps a lot. These terms are used in everything from school timetables to TV schedules, so mastering them is a must.

 

📆 Korean Days of the Week Table

English	Korean (Hangul)	Romanization
Monday	월요일	Wol-yo-il
Tuesday	화요일	Hwa-yo-il
Wednesday	수요일	Su-yo-il
Thursday	목요일	Mok-yo-il
Friday	금요일	Geum-yo-il
Saturday	토요일	To-yo-il
Sunday	일요일	Il-yo-il

 

Each day’s prefix (월, 화, 수, 목, 금, 토, 일) has a specific meaning, often rooted in elements or planetary names. For instance, “화요일” comes from “화 (Hwa)” which refers to fire. Once you learn this logic, it becomes a lot easier to memorize the sequence.

 

In everyday Korean, native speakers use these terms constantly. If you’re setting appointments or checking schedules, you’ll hear them everywhere. Try pairing each day with a task to remember better—for example, “수요일은 한국어 수업 날이에요!” (Wednesday is Korean class day!).

📅 Months in Korean

Months in Korean are super easy once you learn the pattern. They follow a consistent structure that uses native Korean numbers with the word “월 (wol),” which means “month.” So if you know your numbers from 1 to 12, you already know how to say the months!

 

For example, January is “1월” (일월 – il-wol), February is “2월” (이월 – i-wol), and so on. There's no need to memorize completely different words like in English. It’s logical and predictable, making Korean months a breeze to learn. 🧊

 

🗓️ Korean Months Table

English	Korean (Hangul)	Romanization
January	1월	il-wol
February	2월	i-wol
March	3월	sam-wol
April	4월	sa-wol
May	5월	o-wol
June	6월	yuk-wol
July	7월	chil-wol
August	8월	pal-wol
September	9월	gu-wol
October	10월	sip-wol
November	11월	sip-il-wol
December	12월	sip-i-wol

 

Now here’s the cool part—there’s zero irregularity in Korean months. That means January to December all follow the number + “월” rule. This is super helpful when writing or saying dates. No strange spelling, no historical quirks like “September” being the ninth month but sounding like “seven.” Just pure logic.

 

If you're writing down a date like May 14th, you just write "5월 14일". That’s it. So clean and intuitive. Plus, if you're planning trips or checking Korean calendars, recognizing these month names will make everything easier, from holidays to event invites. 🥳

 

I’ve always thought that this simplicity is one of the most refreshing things about learning Korean. When I first started studying, I remember how excited I felt realizing I didn’t need to memorize a dozen unrelated words like January or November—just numbers and “월”!

📍 How to Say Dates in Korean

Now that you’ve learned how to say the days and months in Korean, let’s put it all together to form full dates! In Korean, dates are said in the Year + Month + Day order, which is different from the American Month + Day + Year format. It’s important to get this order right to avoid confusion in conversations or on forms.

 

For example, September 21, 2025 would be written and said as “2025년 9월 21일.” That breaks down to:
• 년 (nyeon) = year
• 월 (wol) = month
• 일 (il) = day So essentially, “2025년” (2025 year), “9월” (September), “21일” (21st day).

 

Each unit—year, month, day—uses a number + counter combination. The counters are essential: “년” for years, “월” for months, and “일” for days. These are attached directly to the number, and you don’t need to worry about spaces or connectors.

 

📊 Korean Date Structure Table

Component	Korean	Romanization	Meaning
2025	2025년	icheon isibo-nyeon	Year 2025
September	9월	gu-wol	September
21st	21일	isib-il-il	21st day

 

So to say “My birthday is on September 21st,” you would say: 제 생일은 9월 21일이에요. (Je saeng-il-eun gu-wol isib-il-ieyo.)

 

If you want to include the year, it would be: 제 생일은 2025년 9월 21일이에요. (Je saeng-il-eun icheon isibo-nyeon gu-wol isib-il-ieyo.) Notice how natural and direct this is compared to English!

 

Another example might be scheduling an appointment. “I have a meeting on June 3rd.” 👉 6월 3일에 회의가 있어요. (Yuk-wol sam-il-e hoeuiga isseoyo.) Adding “에” after the date marks the time when something happens.

 

Korean doesn’t use “th” or “rd” for dates like English. The number and the counter are enough. So don’t say “21번째” or “21번째 일” unless you’re doing something ordinal, like “the 21st person.” For calendar dates, just stick with “21일.”

 

Ready to take it further? In the next section, we’ll show you how to build complete sentences with days, months, and dates in Korean, so you can sound natural and fluent in real-life situations. 🎯

📘 Grammar Structure for Dates

Now that you know how to say the year, month, and day in Korean, let's talk about how they fit into full sentences using correct grammar. One of the most important things to learn is how Korean particles work when expressing time, especially dates. 🎓

 

In Korean, the time marker particle “에 (e)” is used to indicate when something happens. So if you're saying, “on June 3rd,” you would say “6월 3일에.” This particle works for years, months, days, and even hours.

 

Here's the basic format:
[Year]년 [Month]월 [Day]일 + 에 + Verb
It’s that straightforward! No prepositions like “on” or “at” are needed—the particle “에” does all the work.

 

🧩 Korean Date Grammar Table

Component	Korean	Function	Example
Time Marker	에	Marks when something happens	3월 1일에 만나요
No Marker	(none)	Used for general statements	오늘은 9월 21일이에요
Subject Particle	은/는	Topic of the sentence	내 생일은 10월 10일이에요

 

Notice how the particle “에” is used when there's an action or event happening on a specific date. Without a verb, or when just stating today’s date, you can skip the particle. This subtlety is important for sounding natural. 🧠

 

Let’s look at a couple more examples:
• 저는 2025년 1월 5일에 한국에 갔어요. (I went to Korea on January 5, 2025.)
• 수업은 매주 화요일에 있어요. (Class is every Tuesday.)

 

Also, be aware of Korean sentence order. The typical structure is:
Subject + Time + Location + Object + Verb This means the date will usually come early in the sentence, before the main action is mentioned.

 

For example: 저는 7월 15일에 친구를 만났어요. (I met a friend on July 15.) The date comes right after the subject and before the object and verb.

 

Using correct grammar when saying dates in Korean really helps your speech flow and makes you sound more natural. Small tweaks like particles and order make a big difference in communication clarity. Now, let’s look at more practical sentence examples using real dates! 📚

📝 Examples in Sentences

Now it's time to put everything you've learned into practical use! In this section, we’ll walk through everyday sentences that include days, months, and full dates in Korean. These are the kinds of sentences you’ll actually hear in real life, from chatting with friends to reading schedules or making plans. 💬

 

Remember the grammar rules we learned in the previous section—especially the use of the time particle “에” and the structure of Korean sentences. Keeping these patterns in mind will make it much easier to form your own sentences when talking about time. ⏰

 

Let’s start with some simple statements using months and days, then build up to full calendar dates. Don't forget to practice out loud! Korean pronunciation improves best with repetition and real-life examples.

🧾 Practical Korean Date Sentence Table

English Meaning	Korean Sentence	Romanization
Today is Monday.	오늘은 월요일이에요.	Oneul-eun wol-yo-il-ieyo
My birthday is in October.	제 생일은 10월이에요.	Je saeng-il-eun sip-wol-ieyo
The meeting is on Friday.	회의는 금요일에 있어요.	Hoeui-neun geum-yo-il-e isseoyo
School starts on March 2.	학교는 3월 2일에 시작해요.	Hakgyo-neun sam-wol i-il-e sijakhaeyo
We met on April 14.	우리는 4월 14일에 만났어요.	Urin-eun sa-wol sip-sa-il-e mannasseoyo

 

These examples reflect real-life communication, and you’ll hear them often in schools, workplaces, or everyday chats. Notice how the time expressions (like "10월" or "금요일에") appear near the beginning of the sentence, keeping the Korean flow natural.

 

Here are more examples for practice:
• 8월에 한국에 갈 거예요. (I’m going to Korea in August.)
• 오늘은 몇 월 며칠이에요? (What’s today’s date?)
• 저는 2023년 12월 25일에 결혼했어요. (I got married on December 25, 2023.)

 

Also try using day names:
• 매주 화요일에 운동해요. (I exercise every Tuesday.)
• 토요일마다 친구를 만나요. (I meet my friend every Saturday.) This helps you naturally apply weekly routines to your Korean speaking!

 

Practice makes perfect. You can create your own sentences by swapping out the numbers and day/month words based on what you want to say. You’ll be surprised how quickly you get used to the rhythm of Korean dates. I found that once I nailed down these examples, my confidence in speaking skyrocketed. 🚀

❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even if you've studied Korean dates and grammar structures, it's easy to make little mistakes that change the meaning or sound unnatural. Let’s go over the most common slip-ups learners make when using days, months, and dates in Korean. That way, you can avoid sounding awkward or confusing. 🚫

 

The great news is that these mistakes are very predictable and easy to fix. Once you recognize them, you’ll be able to spot and correct them in your own speech or writing. Let's walk through each one clearly and with examples!

 

⚠️ Top 5 Mistakes with Korean Dates

Mistake	Why It's Wrong	Correct Form
10일월	Combining 일 (day) with 월 (month) incorrectly	10월 (October)
21번째 일	Using ordinal form for dates (not needed)	21일
월요일은 회의예요	Missing particle “에” to show time	월요일에 회의예요
오월월	Repeating the “월” character twice	5월
오늘은 3일월이에요	Incorrect word order of day and month	오늘은 3월 1일이에요

 

A very frequent error is mixing up the order of months and days. English says “March 1st,” but in Korean it must be “3월 1일.” Flipping these around results in sentences that are hard to understand—or even sound humorous! 😅

 

Another issue is overthinking. Beginners often try to translate “on” or “the” directly into Korean. But in Korean, simple particles like “에” or no particle at all do the job. Trust the structure instead of forcing English grammar patterns into Korean sentences.

 

You should also avoid overusing the particle “에.” When you're simply stating the date without any verb or action, “에” is unnecessary. For instance: ✔ 오늘은 9월 21일이에요. ✖ 오늘은 9월 21일에예요 ❌

 

Pronunciation traps are also common. For example, “육월” (June) is often mispronounced as “유월.” In real Korean, it is pronounced as “유월,” even though the spelling stays “6월.” So listen to how natives say these months and copy them closely.

 

Finally, don’t forget spacing. Korean doesn’t use spaces between the number and the unit (e.g., “3 월” ❌). It should always be written together like “3월” ✅. Paying attention to this detail will make your Korean writing look more natural and fluent!

💡 FAQ

Q1. How do you ask "What’s today’s date?" in Korean?

 

A1. You can say: 오늘은 몇 월 며칠이에요? (Oneureun myeot wol myeot chil-ieyo?) which literally means “Today is what month what day?”

 

Q2. Do I need to include the year when saying the date?

 

A2. Not always. If the year is obvious or understood from context, it can be left out. For example, just saying "9월 21일" is fine unless you’re talking about a different year.

 

Q3. What’s the difference between “일요일” and “1일”?

 

A3. “일요일” means “Sunday” (day of the week), while “1일” means “the first day” of the month. Even though both use “일,” they refer to totally different things.

 

Q4. How do Koreans write dates numerically?

 

A4. The standard format is YYYY.MM.DD. So, September 21, 2025 would be written as 2025.09.21 in Korea. It’s common in documents and forms.

 

Q5. How do you say “every Monday” in Korean?

 

A5. You can say “매주 월요일” (maeju woryoil), which literally means “every week Monday.” It’s used to talk about routines or recurring schedules.

 

Q6. Can I use native Korean numbers when saying dates?

 

A6. No, use Sino-Korean numbers for dates. For example, you must say “이월” for February, not “둘월.” Native Korean numbers are used for things like counting people or objects.

 

Q7. What’s the correct way to say “on December 25th” in Korean?

 

A7. You say “12월 25일에” (sibiwol isiboil-e). Don’t forget the “에” particle if it’s attached to a verb like go, meet, or happen.

 

Q8. Should I pronounce 6월 as "yuk-wol" or "yu-wol"?

 

A8. It’s written as “육월” (yuk-wol), but pronounced “유월” (yu-wol). This irregular pronunciation exists only for June. Pronounce it like native speakers to sound natural!