Would you be able to tell someone the exact date and time in Korean? In this blog, we will walk you through the easiest and most interesting ways how you can express these pertinent pieces of information like a real native speaker. After all, it is impossible not to find an opportunity to talk about this topic, right? If that sits well with you, then let’s start learning.
Traditional Korean Calendar
Before we get into the details about the date and time in Korean, we would like to enlighten you slightly about the traditional Korean calendar. The word for the Korean calendar is 단군 (dangun).
The Korean people have a traditional calendar, a Lunisolar calendar, and thus is based on the movements of the sun and moon. Since Korean people have lived with Chinese people in the past, the language is widely spoken in various regions across the country. For this reason, there is no surprise why the two cultures are so unique yet so the same. One such similarity is also manifested in the calendars.
It is essential to know about the traditional calendar because many cultural festivals today are celebrated in Korea based on this calendar. The influence of this seems to be wavering off, but the older generation still takes these things quite seriously.
Each month in the Korean culture is associated with an animal. It is generally believed in South Korea that if a person is born on a particular day, they possess the qualities of the animal of their month.
Let’s learn the months in the Korean Calendar:
| Month | Month | Hangul | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Month | Tiger Month | 호랑이달 | holang-idal |
| Second Month | Rabbit Month | 토끼달 | tokkidal |
| Third Month | Dragon Month | 용달 | yongdal |
| Forth Month | Snake Month | 뱀달 | baemdal |
| Fifth Month | Horse Month | 말달 | maldal |
| Sixth Month | Sheep Month | 양달 | yangdal |
| Seventh Month | Monkey Month | 원숭이달 | wonsung-idal |
| Eighth Month | Rooster Month | 닭달 | dalgdal |
| Ninth Month | Dog Month | 개달 | gaedal |
| Tenth Month | Pig Month | 돼지달 | dwaejidal |
| Eleventh Month | Rat Month | 쥐달 | jwidal |
| Twelvth Month | Ox Month | 소달 | sodal |
Telling Date In Korean
Days Of The Week
The word for day in Korean is 일 (il). Therefore, the seven days of the week in the Korean language are as follows:
| Korean | Romanization | English |
| 월요일 | wol-yoil | Monday |
| 화요일 | hwayoil | Tuesday |
| 수요일 | suyoil | Wednesday |
| 목요일 | mog-yoil | Thursday |
| 금요일 | geum-yoil | Friday |
| 토요일 | toyoil | Saturday |
| 일요일 | il-yoil | Sunday |
| 주말 | jumal | Weekend |
Counter Words For The Days
The measure word or counter of the day in Korean is the same as the word for the day 일 (il). However, there is no such formula to say all the months in Korean. Some are random like 이틀 (iteur) for two days and 일순 (il-sun) for ten days. However, a general formula to understand this is “Sino-Korean Numbers+ 일.”
Let’s see how to tell about the period of days of the week:
| English | Korean Counting | Romanization |
| One day | 언젠가 | eonjenga |
| Two days | 이 + 틀 | i + teul |
| Three days | 삼 + 일 | sam + il |
| Four days | 나 + 흘 | na + heul |
| Five days | 오 + 일 | o + il |
| Six days | 육 + 일 | yug + il |
| Seven days | 칠 + 일 | chil + il |
| Eight days | 팔 + 일 | pal + il |
| Nine days | 구 + 일 | gu + il |
| Ten days | 일순 | ilsun |
| Eleven days | 십일 + 일 | sib-il + il |
| Twelve days | 십이 + 일 | sib-i + il |
Months In The Korean Language
Just like the gregorian calendar, there are twelve months in Korean. However, the writing and learning of the months are super easy because of a unique formula. The Korean people tend to use a sino-Korean number with the word for month 월 (wol) to indicate its month.
For example, the first month is January, and therefore, it is called 1월 (1-wol) or 일월 (il-wol). Here is a list of all the months in the Korean language:
| Months | Korean Words | Romanized Hangul | English Translations |
| 1월 | 일월 | il-wol | January |
| 2월 | 이월 | iwol | February |
| 3월 | 삼월 | sam-wol | March |
| 4월 | 사월 | sawol | April |
| 5월 | 오월 | owol | May |
| 6월 | 유월 | yuwol | June |
| 7월 | 칠월 | chil-wol | July |
| 8월 | 팔월 | pal-wol | August |
| 9월 | 구월 | guwol | September |
| 10월 | 시월 | siwol | October |
| 11월 | 십일월 | sib-il-wol | November |
| 12월 | 십이월 | sib-iwol | December |
Special Pronunciation
Have you ever heard Koreans say a word that might sound wrong because the same word seems to have a different pronunciation? Let us tell you a secret. The native speakers do not pronounce each month in the same manner as the native speaker writes them.
This could be an example of how the written Korean text is different from the usual speech of Koreans. Here is a table for you to understand how each month is pronounced in Korean:
| Months | Pronunciations |
| January | (이뤌) |
| February | (이월) |
| March | (사뭘) |
| April | (사월) |
| May | (오월) |
| June | (유월) |
| July | (치뤌) |
| August | (파뤌) |
| September | (구월) |
| October | (시월) |
| November | (시비뤌) |
Korean Words For Counting Months
In the Korean language, there are different measure words for each item. Unlike the English language, in which only “a” and “an” are used to give an idea about the number of the items, the Korean language has a specific particle for each word.
The counter or measure word for the month in Korean is 개 (gae). You can use this formula to talk about the number of months “Sino-Korean Numbers+개 (gae)+월”. Let’s see how to write each month in Korean with its counter word:
| Period | Korean Counting | Romanized Hangul |
| One month | 일 + 개 + 월 | il + gae + wol |
| Two months | 이 + 개 + 월 | i + gae + wol |
| Three months | 삼 + 개 + 월 | sam + gae + wol |
| Four months | 사 + 개 + 월 | sa + gae + wol |
| Five months | 오 + 개 + 월 | o + gae + wol |
| Six months | 유 + 개 + 월 | yu + gae + wol |
| Seven months | 칠 + 개 + 월 | chil + gae + wol |
| Eight months | 팔 + 개 + 월 | pal + gae + wol |
| Nine months | 구 + 개 + 월 | gu + gae + wol |
| Ten months | 시 + 개 + 월 | si + gae + wol |
| Eleven months | 십일 + 개 + 월 | sib-il + gae + wol |
| Twelve months | 십이 + 개 + 월 | sib-i + gae + wol |
Years In Korean
The word for the year in Korean is 년도 (nyeondo), and its plural is 연령 (yeonlyeong).
Here is some useful vocabulary about the term year in Korean:
| English | Hangul | Romanization |
| Last year | 작년 | jagnyeon |
| This year | 올해 | olhae |
| Next year | 내년 | naenyeon |
| Yearly | 매년 | maenyeon |
| Annually | 매년 | maenyeon |
| That year | 그 해 | geu hae |
| This year | 올해 | olhae |
| New Year | 새해 | saehae |
| Every year | 매년 | maenyeon |
Telling Time In Korean
To tell the time in Korean, you need to know some essential words. For example, the word for an hour is 시 (si), a minute is 잠시 (jamsi) and a second is 초 (cho).
Counting Hours
Since there are 24 hours a day, let’s learn how to count each:
| English | Hangul | Romanized Hangul |
| One hour | 한 시간 | han sigan |
| Two hours | 두 시간 | du sigan |
| Three hours | 세 시간 | se sigan |
| Four hours | 4 시간 | 4sigan |
| Five hours | 다섯 시간 | daseos sigan |
| Six hours | 여섯 시간 | yeoseos sigan |
| Seven hours | 7 시간 | 7sigan |
| Eight hours | 여덟 시간 | yeodeolb sigan |
| Nine hours | 9 시간 | 9 sigan |
| Ten hours | 10 시간 | 10 sigan |
| Eleven hours | 11 시간 | 11 sigan |
| Twelve hours | 12 시간 | 12 sigan |
| Thirteen hours | 13 시간 | 13 sigan |
| Fourteen hours | 14 시간 | 14 sigan |
| Fifteen hours | 15 시간 | 15 sigan |
| Sixteen hours | 16 시간 | 16 sigan |
| Seventeen hours | 17 시간 | 17 sigan |
| Eighteen hours | 18 시간 | 18 sigan |
| Nineteen hours | 19 시간 | 19 sigan |
| Twenty hours | 20 시간 | 20 sigan |
| Twenty-One hours | 21 시간 | 21 sigan |
| Twenty-two hours | 22 시간 | 22 sigan |
| Twenty-threehours | 23 시간 | 23 sigan |
| Twenty-four hours | 24 시간 | 24 sigan |
To count the minutes and seconds, you can use a number with the Korean words, and you’ll get your answer.
We have an entire blog on Telling time in Korean which you can check out to get in-depth information.
Useful Vocabulary
Since we are on the topic of date and time in Korean, we should give you a list of the most common and useful Korean words of South Korea. Let’s dig in!
| Korean Words | Romanized Hangul | English Translations |
| 과거 | gwageo | Past |
| 열개의 | yeolgaeui | Decade |
| 더딘 | deodin | Tardy |
| 자오선 | jaoseon | Meridian |
| 알람 시계 | allam sigye | Alarm Clock |
| 계절 | gyejeol | Season |
| 모래시계 | molaesigye | Hourglass |
| 기후 | gihu | Afterward |
| 물시계 | mulsigye | Water Clock |
| 손 전에 | son jeon-e | Before Hand |
| 메트로놈 | meteulonom | Chronometer |
| 정시 | jeongsi | On-Time |
| 시간대 | sigandae | Time Zone |
| 연대기 | yeondaegi | Chronology |
| 벨 | bel | Bell |
| 지연 | jiyeon | Delay |
| 취침 시간 | chwichim sigan | Bedtime |
| 밀리초 | millicho | Millisecond |
| 어스름 | eoseuleum | Twilight |
| 지금 | jigeum | Now |
| 연간 | yeongan | Annual |
| 때늦은 | ttaeneuj-eun | Belated |
| 시 | si | O’clock |
| 저녁 | jeonyeog | Evening |
| 해시계 | haesigye | Sundial |
| 그리니치 표준시 | geulinichi pyojunsi | Greenwich Mean Time |
| 윤년 | yunnyeon | Leap Year |
| 현재의 | hyeonjaeui | Present |
| 시계 얼굴 | sigye eolgul | Clock Face |
| 태음월 | taeeum-wol | Lunar Month |
| 야간 | yagan | Nighttime |
| 이다 | ida | Am |
| 후에 | hue | After |
| 매일 | maeil | Everyday |
| 정오 | jeong-o | Noon |
| 오후 중반의 | ohu jungban-ui | Midafternoon |
| 주머니 시계 | jumeoni sigye | Pocket Watch |
| 내일 | naeil | Tomorrow |
| 윤초 | yuncho | Leap Second |
| 진자 시계 | jinja sigye | Pendulum Clock |
| 디지털 시계 | dijiteol sigye | Digital Clock |
| 두번째 손 | dubeonjjae son | Second Hand |
| 시간 외에 | sigan oee | Overtime |
| 시계 | sigye | Clock |
| 어제 | eoje | Yesterday |
| 오늘 | oneul | Today |
| 일광 | ilgwang | Daylight |
| 언제든지 | eonjedeunji | Anytime |
| 정오 | jeong-o | High Noon |
| 작년 | jagnyeon | Yesteryear |
| 국제 날짜 표시줄 | gugje naljja pyosijul | International Date Line |
| 달력 연도 | dallyeog yeondo | Calendar Year |
| 마이크로초 | maikeulocho | Microsecond |
| 밀레니엄 | millenieom | Millennium |
| 일정 | iljeong | Schedule |
| 아침 나절 | achim najeol | Midmorning |
| 요일 | yoil | Days Of The Week |
| 자정 | jajeong | Midnight |
| 밤 | bam | Night |
| 오후 | ohu | Afternoon |
| 손목시계 | sonmogsigye | Wristwatch |
| 보다 | boda | Watch |
| 분 | bun | Minute |
| 시간표 | siganpyo | Timetable |
| 분침 | bunchim | Minute Hand |
| 일광 | ilgwang | Daylight |
| 이주일 | iju-il | Fortnight |
| 일찍 | iljjig | Early |
| 전에 | jeon-e | Before |
| 오늘 밤 | oneul bam | Tonight |
| 세기 | segi | Century |
Examples Using Korean Numbers
| Korean Examples | Romanized Hangul | English Translation |
| 당신의 생일은 언제입니까? | dangsin-ui saeng-il-eun eonjeibnikka? | When is your birthday? |
| 내 생일은— | nae saeng-il-eun— | My birthday is on— |
| 오늘 며칠이야? | oneul myeochil-iya? | What is the date today? |
| 오늘은 — | oneul-eun — | Today is — |
| 한국어로 된 날짜 형식을 도와줄 수 있습니까? | hangug-eolo doen naljja hyeongsig-eul dowajul su issseubnikka? | Can you help me out with the date format in Korean? |
| 한국어의 날짜 형식은 배우기 쉽습니다. | hangug-eoui naljja hyeongsig-eun baeugi swibseubnida. | The date format in the Korean language is easy to learn. |
| 한국어에 달을 뜻하는 특별한 단어가 있나요? | hangug-eoe dal-eul tteushaneun teugbyeolhan dan-eoga issnayo? | Is there is a special word for months in Korean? |
| 한국 달력으로 무엇을 하고 계십니까? | hangug dallyeog-eulo mueos-eul hago gyesibnikka? | What are you doing with a Korean calendar? |
| 나는 날짜를 계산하고 있습니까? | naneun naljjaleul gyesanhago issseubnikka? | I am counting days? |
| 요일 계산을 도와드릴까요? | yoil gyesan-eul dowadeulilkkayo? | Should I help you to count the days of the week? |
| 공부하는 데 얼마나 시간이 필요합니까? | gongbuhaneun de eolmana sigan-i pil-yohabnikka? | How much time do you need to study? |
| 공부하는데 1시간이 필요해요. | gongbuhaneunde 1sigan-i pil-yohaeyo. | I need an hour to study. |
| 1월은 한국어로 뭐라고 할까요? | 1wol-eun hangug-eolo mwolago halkkayo? | How should I say January in Korean? |
| 1월은 한국어로 일월입니다. | 1wol-eun hangug-eolo il-wol-ibnida. | January is 일월 in Korean. |
| 어떤 달을 가장 좋아합니까? | eotteon dal-eul gajang joh-ahabnikka? | Which month do you like the most? |
| 저는 12월을 가장 좋아합니다. | jeoneun 12wol-eul gajang joh-ahabnida. | I like December the most. |
| 언제 일본에 갔습니까? | eonje ilbon-e gassseubnikka? | When did you go to japan? |
| 나는 작년에 일본에 갔다. | naneun jagnyeon-e ilbon-e gassda. | I went to Japan last year. |
| 14일은 무슨 뜻인가요? | 14il-eun museun tteus-ingayo? | What does 14 일 mean? |
| 14일은 14일을 의미합니다. | 14il-eun 14il-eul uimihabnida. | 14 일 means 14 days. |
| 오늘 내 한국어에 대해 어떻게 생각해? | oneul nae hangug-eoe daehae eotteohge saeng-gaghae? | What do you think about my Korean today? |
| 날짜를 쉽게 쓸 수 있을 것 같아요. | naljjaleul swibge sseul su iss-eul geos gat-ayo. | I think you can write dates easily. |
| 날짜 형식을 아는 것이 중요합니까? | naljja hyeongsig-eul aneun geos-i jung-yohabnikka? | Is it important to know the date format? |
| 한국에서 공부하거나 살기 위해서는 날짜 형식을 아는 것이 중요합니다. | hangug-eseo gongbuhageona salgi wihaeseoneun naljja hyeongsig-eul aneun geos-i jung-yohabnida. | It is important to know the date format if you want to study or live in Korea. |
| 한국 날짜는 배우기 쉽습니까? | hangug naljjaneun baeugi swibseubnikka? | Are Korean dates easy to learn? |
| 네, 한국 날짜는 배우기 쉽습니다. | ne, hangug naljjaneun baeugi swibseubnida. | Yes, Korean dates are easy to learn. |
| 나는 날짜를 셀 수 있고 한국어를 읽을 수 있습니다. | naneun naljjaleul sel su issgo hangug-eoleul ilg-eul su issseubnida. | I can count days and read Korean. |
| 한국에서 태어난 달은? | hangug-eseo taeeonan dal-eun? | Which Korean month were you born in? |
| 태어난 달이 중요하다고 생각합니까? | taeeonan dal-i jung-yohadago saeng-gaghabnikka? | Do you think the month you were born matters? |
| 이벤트 날짜를 어떻게 검색할 수 있습니까? | ibenteu naljjaleul eotteohge geomsaeghal su issseubnikka? | How can I search for any event’s date? |
| 달력에서 날짜를 검색하는 방법은 무엇입니까? | dallyeog-eseo naljjaleul geomsaeghaneun bangbeob-eun mueos-ibnikka? | How to search for a date in the calendar? |
Important Dates in Korean
April 14 (14 일) is considered a black day in Korea. Did you ever think that you might get a day off (unofficially) to celebrate (more like cry-on) being single? Well, Korea never ceases to amaze anyone. In South Korea, a day off is celebrated by the single as a black day. People tend to eat their favorite Korean food but black noodles (jajangmyeon) are culturally more appropriate for this occasion.
This is like a treat that everyone gives themselves since they could not receive any present or surprise on Valentine’s Day (February 14) and White Day (14ths March). Therefore, the white day is celebrated to reciprocate all the love received on Valentine’s day in Korea.
Master A New Language With Ling App
For more vocabulary in the Korean language, we suggest you check out Ling App by Simya Solutions. Ling App is a great place to start your journey of learning Korean. You can keep checking our latest posts which can help you enhance your knowledge about the Korean language. We also have a previous lesson about Cultural Festivals in Korea. Some other blogs which you should check out are the Things to know before going to Korea and your ultimate guide to the TOPIK test.
Happy Learning!
