Days, Months and Dates in Korean: 월요일, 유월, 시월, 며칠

Korean dates are built from two small kits. Weekdays are seven words ending in 요일, and months are a number followed by 월, with two spelling exceptions: June is 유월 and October is 시월, not "육월" and "십월." This post covers both, plus the date order and the words for yesterday and tomorrow, using the National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL) as the source.

1. The seven weekdays

The word 요일 (曜日) means a day of the week, according to the NIKL Standard Korean Dictionary. Each weekday is one syllable plus 요일:

One detail that surprises learners: the dictionary defines 월요일 as "the day that is the standard for the start of a week." It then defines 화요일 as the second day of the week counting from Monday, 수요일 as the third, 목요일 the fourth, 금요일 the fifth, 토요일 the sixth, and 일요일 as the last day of the week counting from Monday. So the dictionary's week runs Monday to Sunday, even though many printed calendars start on Sunday. The dictionary also defines 주말 (週末) as the end of a week, "mainly Saturday through Sunday."

To ask the day, use 오늘 무슨 요일이에요? [oneul museun yoiri-eyo] "What day of the week is it today?" The answer is a weekday plus 이에요 or 예요: 목요일이에요. [mogyoiri-eyo] "It's Thursday."

2. The twelve months

Months use Sino-Korean numbers (the same set used for money and phone numbers) followed by 월. The month number comes first:

On a calendar or in numerals, you will usually see 6월 and 10월, and you read them as 유월 and 시월. The two exceptions have an official explanation. NIKL's Online Ganada answers the question directly: 시월 (十月) and 유월 (六月) are written that way because 十 and 六 take what it calls a 속음 (a conventional, altered sound) in these words. Under Article 52 of the Hangeul orthography rules, when a Sino-Korean syllable has both a basic sound and an altered sound, each word is spelled according to the sound actually used. So 十月 and 六月 are spelled 시월 and 유월, and "십월" and "육월" are not the standard spellings. The Standard Korean Dictionary lists 유월 as "the sixth month of the twelve in a year," and 시월 as "the tenth month."

Months from January to May, July to September, and November and December follow the plain rule: number plus 월.

To ask the month: 지금 몇 월이에요? [jigeum myeot wori-eyo] "What month is it?" The answer pattern is the same: 십일월이에요. [sibirwori-eyo]

3. Dates: year, month, day

Korean writes the date from largest unit to smallest: year, month, day, then weekday. All the numbers are Sino-Korean, and each is followed by its unit: 년 (year), 월 (month), 일 (day).

• Example: Thursday, November 5, 2026 is 2026년 11월 5일 목요일.
• Read aloud: 이천이십육 년 십일 월 오 일 목요일.

The day of the month takes 일: 1일 일 일, 2일 이 일, 10일 십 일, 20일 이십 일. For asking the date of the month, the question word is 며칠 [myeochil]: 오늘 며칠이에요? [oneul myeochiri-eyo] "What's the date today?"

Spell it 며칠. The dictionary lists the form 몇일 as a cross-reference pointing back to 며칠, meaning 며칠 is the standard spelling. The dictionary defines 며칠 as "which day of the month" (the day's place in the month).

4. Yesterday, today, tomorrow and beyond

The dictionary entries for these words give the sequence:

Counting back: 그저께 is two days before today, 어제 is one day before, 내일 is one day after, 모레 is two days after, and 글피 is three days after. A sentence pattern that uses them: 모레 금요일이에요. [more geumyoiri-eyo] "The day after tomorrow is Friday." If today is Wednesday, that is correct.

5. Putting it together

• 오늘은 11월 5일이에요. [oneureun sibirwol oirieyo] "Today is November 5." (Read 십일월 오일.)
• 내일은 무슨 요일이에요? [naeireun museun yoiri-eyo] "What day is tomorrow?"
• 시월에 한국에 가요. [siwore hanguge gayo] "I'm going to Korea in October."
• 유월에 만나요. [yuwore mannayo] "Let's meet in June."

6. Key takeaways

• Weekdays are 월 화 수 목 금 토 일 plus 요일, and the dictionary's week starts on Monday.
• Months are a Sino-Korean number plus 월; June is 유월 and October is 시월 (NIKL cites Article 52 of the orthography rules).
• Dates go year, month, day: 2026년 11월 5일.
• Ask the date with 며칠, not 몇일.
• 그저께, 어제, 오늘, 내일, 모레, 글피 run in order from two days ago to three days ahead.