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 japonês.
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The Days of the Week in Korean
As 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 are equivalent 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:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Day of the week | Hangul | Pronunciation | Element |
| Sunday | 일요일 | go.yo.il | 일 (日 nichi) – sun, day |
| Monday | 월요일 | weor.yo.il | Getsu (月) - Moon |
| Tuesday | 화요일 | hwa.yo.il | 화 (火 ka) – fire |
| Wednesday | 수요일 | su.yo.il | 수 (水 sui) – water |
| Thursday | 목요일 | mog.yo.il | árvore (木 moku) - tree, wood |
| Friday | 금요일 | keum.yo.il | 금 (金 kin) - gold |
| Saturday | 토요일 | tho.yo.il | 토 (土 do) – land |
Notice the similarity between mogyoil from 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:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| DOM | MON | TER | WED | THU | SEX | 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.
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Day + Number | Hangul [일] | Pronunciation |
| 1 | 일일 | go.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 Roman or Hangul numerals followed by the suffix nyeon [년]. We're not going to put a table here because it's been thousands of years. For example, 2020 in Korean is 2020년 or 이천이십년.
Just like in Japanese, 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]. Below is a table with the months in the Korean language:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| 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 days of the month and months can also be written with Roman numerals followed by the suffix representing 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 Chinese zodiac signs. See below this Korean monthly calendar:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Please provide the text you would like to have translated. | Hangul | Pronunciation | |
| 1 | Tiger Month | 호랑이 달 | horizontal |
| 1 | primary month | 정월 (正月) | Jeong-wol |
| 2 | rabbit month | 토끼 달 | Tokkidal |
| 3 | month dragon | 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 | Mês do Cachorro | 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
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Portuguese | Korean | Pronunciation |
| last year | 작년 | jagnyeon |
| next year | 내년 | naenyeon |
| Calendar | 달력 | dallyeok |
| day | 날 | end |
| two days | 이틀 | iteul |
| in my entire life | 평생 (동안) | pyeongsaeng (forever) |
| this week | 이번 주 | ibeon ju |
| this year | 올해 | look and |
| this month | 이번 달 | this time |
| 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 | hallu |
New Year's Vocabulary in Korean
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| 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 | dry |
| the beginning of the year | 연시 | Yeonsi |
Names of Ages in Korean
To complement, we will leave a calendar of eras in Korean to help you understand Korean history.
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| era name in korean | Ming Emperor | Hangul | Meaning | Period | Joseon king(s) |
| Hongmu | Hongwu Emperor | 홍무 | Vast martial | 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 glow | 1425 | Sejong |
| Seondeok | xuande | 선덕 | proclamation of virtue | 1426 - 1435 | Sejong |
| Jeongtong | Emperor Zhengtong | 정통 | Governance rectification | 1436 - 1449 | Sejong |
| Gyeongtae | Jingtai Emperor | 경태 | exalted vision | 1450 - 1457 | Sejong, Munjong, Danjong, Sejo |
| Cheonsun | Emperor Zhengtong | 천순 | Obedience to Heaven | 1457 - 1464 | I be |
| Seonghwa | Chenghua Emperor | 성화 | Change made | 1465 - 1487 | Sejo, Yejong, Seongjong |
| Hongchi | Hongzhi Emperor | 홍치 | big government | 1488 - 1505 | Seongjong, Yeonsangun |
| Jeongdeok | Emperor Zhengde | 정덕 | rectification of virtue | 1506 - 1521 | Yeonsangun, Jungjong |
| Gajeong | jiajing | 가정 | irable tranquility | 1522 - 1567 | Jungjong, Injong, Myeongjong, Seonjo |
| Yunggyeong | Longqing Emperor | 융경 | big 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 | honorable and auspicious | 1627 - 1637 | envy |
