Hello Chingus!

We’re in our showing off era and its time to pepper some people with Korean words that they cannot identify. While saying ‘annyeong haseyo’ and yelling "aigoo" till we're blue in the face is fun, saying and identifying more complex words is even more satisfying. Don’t worry, we’ll go easy.

Drum roll please……Today, we’ll learn how to say the name of months in a year as well as days of the week in pure unadulterated Korean.

By now, you should be able to identify the two number systems in Korea (Sino and Native) and you know that the Sino-Korean numeric system is used to tell time, month and days of the week.

MONTHS IN A YEAR

Learning how to say the months in a year is quite simple. The word ‘month’ means (wol) in Korean, then you simply add the sino-korean number indicating the month in front of it, then, you’re good to go.

January - 일월 (ilwol: One + Month)

February - 이월 (iwol: Two + Month)

March - 삼월 (samwol)

April - 사월 (sawol)

May - 오월 (owol)

June - 유월 (yuwol)

July - 칠월 (chilwol)

August - 팔월 (palwol)

September - 구월 (guwol)

October - 시월 (siwol)

November - 십일월 (sibilwol)

December - 십이월 (sibiwol)

Naming the months in a year is basically child's play and very easy to memorize.

NAMES OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK

Naming the days of the weeks is a little tricky compared to naming the months but it’s nothing we cannot handle. However, kindly note that  ‘Day’ is pronounced ‘일’ (yoil), week is pronounced “주” (ju) while days of the week is pronounced “요일” (yoil).

To write the days of the week, only the first syllable changes followed by “요일” (yoil)

Monday - 월요일 (wo-ryo-il)

Tuesday - 화요일 (hwa-yo-il)

Wednesday - 수요일 (su-yo-il)

Thursday - 목요일 (mo-gyo-il)

Friday - 금요일 (geu-myo-il)

Saturday - 토요일 (to-yo-il)

Sunday - 일요일 (il-yo-il)

Another interesting facts about the names of the days of the week is that each have unique meanings that can help you identify them easily.

월 (wol) - Moon

화 (hwa) - Fire

수 (su) - Water

목 (mok) - Tree

금 (geum) - Gold (also iron)

토 (to) - Earth (also ground/soil)

일 (il) - Sun

DAYS IN A WEEK

Then finally, we come to identifying the day of the month. Like say Day 21, 22st day etc. Saying the days of the month is as easy as identifying the months of the year. You simply add the Sino-Korean number with the word ‘Day’ (il). King Sejeong gat nothing on us, am I right?

1st - 일일 (iril)

2nd - 이일 (iil)

3rd - 삼일 (samil)

4th - 사일 (sa-il)

5th - 오일 (o-il)

6th - 육일 (yugil)

7th - 칠일 (chiril)

10th- 십일 (isibil)

15th - 십오일 (siboil)

20th - 이십일 (isibil)

30th - 삼십일 (samsibil)

31st - 삼십일일 (samsibiril)

Now, let's use all we've learnt to make a sentence. However, kindly note that in Korean, when writing a date, the order is Year, Month and Day.

Kindly take note of the following: Year - 년 (nyeon), Month - 월 (won), Week - 요일 (yoil) and day - 일 (oil). All these should be added behind the numbers to indicate their expression properly.

Example:

생일이 언제예요? - Saengiri eonje yeyo? (When is your birthday)

2024 (이천이십사년) 7 (칠월) 29 (이십구일) friday (금요일) 이에요 - Icheonisipsanyeon chilwon isipguil geumyoil ieyo (It's on Friday, 29th of July, 2024.

It may look complex now but take a deep breath and look through again and you'll be telling dates like the pro you are.

So, when are you hoping to travel to Korea for your overdue vacation?

Kindly comment with the date in the comments and let's see how good you can now how to tell the date.

Till later, Jajalyo!