The 12 Months In Korean: Easiest Guide To Learn

How essential is learning months in Korean (월 wol)? You’ll know when’s the best time to go there and you’ll know how to speak and write about dates.

What month is best to go to South Korea? When’s your birthday? These are the questions that are mostly asked when it comes to months. Learning Months in Korean is an important Korean vocabulary lesson. It helps you when booking a trip to South Korea. It also helps you when talking about birthdays and age because hierarchy and age is a big deal in South Korea.

Before we learn different months in Korean, let us first make it clear that there are two Korean countries -North Korea and South Korea. Both North and South Korea speak Korean as their official language. 한국어 (Hangugeo) is the name of the Korean language in South Korea, while 조선말 (Joseonmal) is for North Korea. Spelling and pronunciation are the main differences between the two languages. Today, we will learn how Koreans name months in their language.

In this blog post, we will thoroughly explain about the months of the year in Korean as easy to learn as possible.

How To Say “Month” In Korean

The Korean word for months in Korean is 월 (wol).

Easy, right? Now let’s get to practice the Sino-Korean numbers one more time before learning more about the months.

Sino-Korean numbers:

EnglishKorean
1One 일 (il)
2Two 이 (i)
3Three 삼 (sam)
4Four 사 (sa)
5Five 오 (o)
6Six 육 (yuk)
7Seven 칠 (chil)
8Eight 팔 (pal)
9Nine 구 (gu)
10Ten 십 (sip)
11Eleven 십일 (sibil)
12Twelve 십이 (sibi)

Writing a month in Korean is extremely easy once you remember those numbers and the Korean word for “month.”

Instead of thinking about literal translations or how it would be in your language, you should understand the logic of building these terms.

To say a month of the year in Korean, precede the word (wol – month) with the sino-Korean numbers for that month. Let’s see an example!

January is the first month of the year, so we have to use the number “1” to refer to this month.

January – 일 (il – one) +월 (wol – month) = 일월

You are ready for the next part!


What Are The Months Of The Year In The Korean Language

In South Korea, people celebrate different traditional holidays every month. So let’s start learning the Korean months and some of the celebrations held during each month to make it easier for you to remember.

Before diving into more detail, let’s take a glance at all the Korean Months:

#EnglishPronunciationTranscription
1January일월irwol
2February이월iwol
3March삼월samwol
4April사월sawol
5May오월owol
6June유월yuwol
7July칠월chirwol
8August팔월parwol
9September구월guwol
10October시월siwol
11November십일월sibirwol
12December십이월sibiwol

1. January – 일월 (Irwol)

The first month of the year is January 일월 (Irwol). Since it is the first day of the year, this is when Koreans celebrate New Year’s Day (신정 Sinjeong) following the Solar Calendar. It’s not as grand as the Lunar New Year, but the family also celebrates this together.

2. February – 이월 (Iwol)

The second month of the year, February 이월 (Iwol), marks the celebration of one of the greatest and major events in Korean culture – the Lunar New Year 설날 (Seollal). February is also called the “love month” because Koreans also celebrate Valentine’s Day.


3. March – 삼월 (Samwol)

March 삼월 (Samwol) marks the beginning of the spring season in South Korea. This is also the month when Koreans celebrate March 1st Independence Movement Day (삼일절 Samiljeol). It is also the month when International Women’s Day is celebrated.


4. April – 사월 (Sawol)

Another one of the most important months in Korean culture is April 사월 (Sawol). This is the month when tourists mostly visit South Korea. The month of April is also intended to celebrate Arbor’s Day (식목일 sikmogil), which is a national celebration that aims to promote trees, tree-planting, forests, and gardening.

korean months april number month - months of the year list in korean

5. May – 오월 (Owol)

May 오월 (Owol) is the month where Koreans celebrate Buddha’s Birthday (부처님 오신 날 Bucheonim Osinnal). It marks the end of the spring season. Other important celebrations in Korean culture in the month of May are Labor Day (노동절 nodongjeol), Children’s Day (어린이날 eorininal), Parent’s Day (어버이 날 eobeoi nal), and Teacher’s Day (스승의 날 seuseungui nal).


6. June – 유월 (Yuwol)

June is the sixth month of the year. This month is the beginning of the summer season. Some of the major events that Korean people celebrate are Memorial Day (현충일 hyeonchungil), and Festival Gangneung Dano (강릉단오제 gangreungdanoje).


7. July – 칠월 (Chirwol)

The seventh month of the year is July (칠월 Chirwol). During this month, it’s still summer season. The major celebration that Koreans celebrate during this month is Constitution Day 제헌절 (Jeheonjeol).

8. August – 팔월 (Parwol)

August 팔월 (Parwol) is the month to celebrate the National Liberation Day (광복절 Gwangbokjeol). It is also the end of the summer season in South Korea.

9. September – 구월 (Guwol)

September marks the beginning of the autumn season in South Korea. It is also one of the most significant months in Korean culture because this is when Korean Thanksgiving or Chuseok (추석) is celebrated. It is one of the biggest celebrations in South Korea that is important in their culture.

10. October – 시월 (Siwol)

October is still the autumn season in South Korea. This month, National Foundation Day (개천절 Gaecheonjeol) is celebrated. It is also a month that Hangeul Day is celebrated, where Koreans pay tribute to the creation and development of their writing system – Hangeul!

11. November – 십일월 (Shibirwol)

November (십일월 Shibirwol) is the end of the autumn season. During this month, people are starting to prepare for the winter season.

12. December – 십이월 (Shibiwol)

December (십이월 Shibiwol) is also a fun-filled month, especially for Korean Catholics. It is the beginning of the holiday season to celebrate Christmas. Expect South Korea to be filled with lights and Christmas music during this month. The end of the month of December marks New Year’s Eve in Solar Calendar.


Learn Korean Pronunciation Of Months

Pronouncing months in Korean is easy to understand but there are things that you need to take note.

Because of Korean pronunciation restrictions, the months are pronounced slightly differently. This is due to the fact that the word for month (월 | wol) begins with a ㅇ. That means the bottom consonant of the previous syllable may modify the pronunciation. See the examples below:

유월 (Yuwol) – June

시월 (Siwol) – October

You may have noticed that the Korean words for June and October are slightly different from the original spelling of six 육 (yuk) and ten 십 (sib). This is due to the fact that the words for six and ten, (yuk) and (sib), are difficult to speak properly when coupled with the word (wol).

 

How To Write The Months In Korean?

There is another way that Koreans use when naming months which is usually used more in written form.

As you know by now, the Korean calendar is based on numbers, so each month can be written in numeric form. Therefore, if you are required to write down a month in the Korean language, you can combine the hangul and the number of the month.

See the table below:

EnglishKorean
January1월 (irwol)
February2월 (iwol)
March3월 (samwol)
April4월 (sawol)
May5월 (owol)
June6월 (yuwol)
July7월 (chirwol)
August8월 (parwol)
September9월 (guwol)
October10월 (siwol)
November11월 (shibirwol)
December12월 (shibiwol)

 

Korean Words And Phrases Related To Months

There are other Korean words that are related to months in Korean, like the word “year.” The word “year” can be expressed in two ways using the Korean language. The first one is 해 (hae) which is a native Korean word, while 년 (nyeon) is a Sino-Korean word.

Let’s widen your vocabulary more. Here are other words related Korean vocabulary related to months:

KoreanPronunciationEnglish
달력 dallyeokCalendar
그레고리오력 geuregorio-ryeokGregorian calendar
양력 yangnyeokSolar calendar
음력 eumnyeokLunar calendar
지난 달 jinan dalLast month
이번 달 ibeon dalThis month
다음 달 daeum dalNext month
작년 jaknyeonLast year
올해 olhaeThis year
내년 naenyeonNext year
격월의 gyeogworuiBimonthly
달마다 dalmadaMonthly, every month
월급 wolgeupMonthly salary, monthly pay
월세 wolseMonthly rent
월초wolchoAt the beginning of the month
중순 jungsunMiddle of a month
이번 달 말
ibeon dal malThe end of this month
몇 월이에요? Myeot worieyo?What month is it?
월말에 보너스가 있을 겁니다. wolmare boneoseuga isseul geopnida.There’ll be a bonus at the end of the month.
나는 1달 만에 한국어를 배웠어.Naneun han dal mane hangugeoreul baewoseo.I learned Korean in 1 month.
이달말에는 시간이 충분할 것 같아요.Idalmareneun sigani chungbunhal geot gatayo.I will have enough time at the end of the month.

 

Make Every Month Worth It, Learn Korean Now!

Now that you have learned all the months in Korean, it’s to make the most of it. Why not start your first lesson with Ling App now?

Learning the Korean language is worth investing in especially if you’re fond of the Korean culture. Ling App opens doors for language learners to learn Korean and other languages fun and conveniently. With the app’s well-developed features, it can help you achieve your language goals in record time. Whether it’s grammar, vocabulary, writing, listening, or speaking skills, Ling app can surely make language learning happen.

So, end your what-ifs and should’ve. Do not wait for more months to come without leveling up your Korean language skills. Download from App Store or Google Play to learn with Ling app now!

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