Months in Korean – Complete List with Audio and Examples

Did you know that if you know Korean numbers, then you’d already know the months in Korean? Here’s how to say them:

• 일월 (irwol) – January
• 이월 (iwol) – February
• 삼월 (samwol) – March
• 사월 (sawol) – April
• 오월 (owol) – May
• 유월 (yuwol) – June
• 칠월 (chirwol) – July
• 팔월 (parwol) – August
• 구월 (guwol) – September
• 시월 (siwol) – October
• 십일월 (shipirwol) – November
• 십이월 (shipiwol)- December

In this lesson, we’ll explain how to say and write various months in Korean. Then, we’ll also show you how to write specific dates and years, such as your date of birth, that you can use when writing sentences.

This will be extremely valuable in learning Korean, so you can talk about things like when your favorite holiday is in South Korea and today’s date, as well as make plans for a future date with your Korean friends. You can combine these with the lessons on telling time in Korean and the Korean days of the week as well.

Below, we’ve got a detailed guide on how to put these months to use. Let’s get started learning the months of the year in Korean!

Below is a free PDF guide that you can download and take with you:

In this lesson, we’ll introduce you to all of the words in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet) with romanized English on the side for pronunciation help. We highly recommend learning the Korean alphabet. It will make it easier to learn new vocabulary words and pronounce them properly. This will also help if you’re planning on going to Korea or learning the language.

How to say “Month” in Korean

There are two main words for how to say “month” in Korean. The first word is 월 (wol), and the second word is 달 (dal). The two words ( 월 | wol and 달 | dal) have some differences in how they are used, which we will illustrate in the below examples further.

The word 월 (wol) is used to describe the date in Korean. 달 (dal), on the other hand, is used to count the months. You can also use it when you want to say something like “this month,” “last month,” or “next month.”

Sample sentence:

여덟달 전에 한국에 왔어요 (yeodeoldal jeone hanguge wasseoyo)

I came to Korea eight months ago.

Learning to differentiate between the two words for “month” in Korean is going to be quite easy, though. After all, one of the words, 월 (wol), is already attached to each and every month. In fact, as soon as you’ve learned to count in Korean, learning how to say the months of the year in Korean will be an easy task!

Why is that? Because all of the months are assigned a number based on the order of the month. This means months are expressed in Korean using Korean numbers.

Here is a table to illustrate this:

If you have not yet learned the numbers in Korean, you can learn them here in this lesson. Learning the numbers will come in handy when you go to Korea or when learning the language.

How to write the months in Korean

Because each month goes by numbers, Koreans usually write each month in numeric form. For example, when writing March, you would write it as 3월 (samwol). January would be 1월 (irwol), February is 2월 (2wol), and July is 7월 (chirwol). The table below is how Koreans would usually write the months. The romanized Korean next to the months is there for a guide.

This will also be the way to write dates in Korean, which we’ll discuss in a bit.

How to Pronounce the Months

The months are pronounced a bit differently because of the special pronunciation rules in Korean. That’s mainly because the word for months (월 | wol) starts with a ㅇ. That means that the previous syllable’s bottom consonant might change the pronunciation. For example, 6 월 (유월) and 10 월 (시월) for the months of June and October.

Along with the audio, you can see the Hangeul pronunciation in the “Hangeul Pronunciation” column in brackets. Click the lesson audio below to hear how the months are pronounced and repeat them for practice.

Special Pronunciation

You might have noticed that both June and October slightly differ from their designated numbers. That is because the words for six and ten, 육 (yuk) and 십 (sib), respectively, are difficult to pronounce naturally when combined with the word 월 (wol). Therefore, the last consonant has been dropped.

Months of the year in Korean

Now, let’s head on to how to say each month in Korean.

“January” in Korean

“January” in Korean is expressed as 일월 (irwol). This month is usually written as 1월 (irwol). 

As you can see, it is written with the number 1 followed by the Korean word for “month,” which is 월 (wol). Putting them together makes 1월 (irwol). This is because January is the first month of the year. 

For example:

저는 1월에 한국에 여행 갈 거예요. ( jeoneun 1wore hanguge yeohaeng gal geoyeyo.)

I will travel to Korea in January.

“February” in Korean

The month of “February” in Korean is 이월 (iwol). This is written as 2월 (iwol). This literally means “second month.”

For example:

발렌타인데이는 2월이에요. (ballentaindeineun 2worieyo.)

Valentine’s Day is in February.

“March” in Korean

Since the month of March is the third month of the year, “March” in Korean is called 삼월 (samwol). It is written as 3월 (samwol). 

For example:

저는 3월에 콘서트를 보았어요. ( jeoneun 3wore konseoteureul boasseoyo.)

I watched the concert in March.

“April” in Korean

The month of April is the fourth month of the year. “April” in Korean is called 사월 (sawol) and is written as 4월 (sawol). 사월 (sawol) literally means “fourth month.”

For example: 

우리 엄마의 생일은 4월이에요. (uri eommaui saengnireun 4worieyo.)

My mom’s birthday is in April.

제 생일은 4월 7일입니다 (je saengireun sawol chiririmnida)

My birthday is on April 7

“May” in Korean

“May” in Korean is expressed as 오월 (owol). It is written as 5월 (owol). This literally means “fifth month.”

For example: 

5월에 무슨 계획 있어요? (5wore museun gyehoek isseoyo?)

Do you have any plans for May?

“June” in Korean

The month of “June” in Korean is expressed as 유월 (yuwol). It’s made up of the Sino-Korean number 6, which is read as 육 (yuk), and the word for months, which is 월 (wol). 

“June” in Korean is also included among those months that have special pronunciation. It’s expressed as 유월 (yuwol) and not 육월 (yukwol). 

The month of June can be written as 6월. 

For example: 

우리는 6월에 결혼했어요. (urineun 6wore gyeolhonhaesseoyo.)

We got married in June.

“July” in Korean

“July” is the seventh month. In Korean, it is expressed as 칠월 (chirwol). It is written as 7월 (chirwol). 

For example:

7월에는 날씨가 덥습니다. (7woreneun nalssiga deopseumnida.)

The weather is hot in July.

“August” in Korean

August is the eighth month of the year. This is expressed in Korean as 팔월 (parwol). It is written as 8월 (parwol). 

For example:

한국은 8월이 여름이에요. (hangugeun 8wori yeoreumieyo.)

August is summer in Korea.

“September” in Korean

The Korean word for “September” is 구월 (guwol).

For example:

내 남동생은 9월에 태어났어요. (nae namdongsaengeun guwore taeeonasseoyo.)

My little brother was born in September.

“October” in Korean

The month of October is the tenth month of the year, so it’s called 십월 (siwol). This translates to “tenth month.” However, its pronunciation is 시월 (siwol) and not 십월 (sipwol). 

This month is usually written as 10월 (siwol). 

For example:

10월에 부산에서 영화 축제가 열릴 거예요. (10wore busaneseo yeonghwa chukjega yeollil geoyeyo.)

In October, there will be a movie festival in Busan.

“November” in Korean

“November” in Korean is called 십일월 (shipirwol).

For example:

작년 11월부터 한국어를 공부하고 있어요. ( jangnyeon sibirwolbuteo hangugeoreul gongbuhago isseoyo.)

I’ve been studying Korean since November last year.

“December” in Korean

“December” in Korean is expressed as 십이월 (sibiwol). This translates to “twelfth month.” December in Korean is usually written as 12월 (sibiwol).

For example: 

많은 사람들이 12월을 즐겨요. (maneun saramdeuri 12woreul jeulgyeoyo.)

Many people enjoy December.

우리 나라의 제일 중요한 휴일은 십이월 말에 있습니다 (uri naraui jeil jungyohan hyuireun sibiwol mare itseumnida)

Our country’s most important holiday is at the end of December

How to Say “How Many Months” in Korean

When talking about months, it’s quite common to ask the question, “How many months.” You can say this question as 몇 개월 or 몇 개월이에요. The difference between the two is the level of politeness.

You’ll say 몇 개월이에요 if you’re asking the question “How many months?” to someone you want to be polite, such as someone you just met, a person who is older than you or a person who holds a higher social status than you. You can say how many months in Korean as 몇 개월 if you’re speaking to a friend or someone younger than you.

How to say the number of months in Korean

Talking about a period or number of months in Korean can be expressed as:

number of months + 개월

For example:

2 개월

3 개월

4 개월

5 개월

The numbers in the examples above are read using the Sino-Korean number system. You can read and say them as:

2 개월 – 이 개월 (i gaewol)

3 개월 – 삼 개월 (sam gaewol)

4 개월 – 사 개월 (sa gaewol)

5 개월 – 오 개월 (o gaewol)

When writing this using Arabic numerals, they can be written with or without space. However, writing it with no space is more common.

Another way of expressing a period or number of months in Korean is the use of the native Korean numbers and the word native Korean word 달 (dal).

For example:

한 달 (han dal)

두 달 (du dal)

세 달 (se dal)

This method or way can also be written as 1달, 2달, 3달. However 한 달 (han dal), 두 달 (du dal), 세 달 (se dal) is more natural than 1달, 2달, 3달.

The rule for spacing when using the native Korean numbers and the 달 (dal) is that you need to put a space between the number and 달 (dal).

For example:

한달 (X) → 한 달 (O)

두달 (X) → 두 달 (O)

세달 (X) → 세 달 (O)

However, both with or without spacing are allowed when using the numbers, such as in the examples below.

1달 (O) – 1 달 (O)

2달(O) – 2 달 (O)

3달 (O) – 3 달 (O)

You can also watch the video below that will teach you the months in Korean.

How to Write Dates in Korean

As you learn Korean, you might be asking how dates are written in Korean. Knowing how to write Korean dates will come in handy when living or visiting Korea for a period of time. For example, you may need to fill out some forms that require you to write your birthdate. You’ll also find it useful when reading Korean dates such as special days or holidays.

When writing dates in the Korean language, you’ll need to first familiarize yourself with these three words:

• 월 (wol)
• 일 (il)
• 년 (nyeon)

월 (wol) means month, 일 (il) means day, and 년 (nyeon) means year.

You’ll find these words in Korean dates.

For the next part of this lesson, let’s go over how to write full dates. That will allow you to add in the days and years as well. Here is the Korean date format:

YYYY년 MM월 DD일

YYYY(nyeon) MM(wol) DD(il)

Usually, the year is a 4-digit number, but you may see it written a 2-digit number as well.

Let’s use one of the BTS members’ age as an example. Jungkook’s birthday is on September 1st. He was born on September 1, 1997. We can write it as:

1997년 9월 1일 (cheongubaekgusip chil nyeon guwol iril)

Fun fact: Do you know how old Jungkook from BTS is in Korean age? Here’s how to find out.

Examples of Dates in Korean

Time to practice what we learned. Write the dates below in Korean using both numbers and words. Use the new vocabulary you learned above for 월 (wol) and 일 (il).  Then scroll down to check your answers.

March 1 – Independence Movement Day in Korea

July 1 – Canada Day

January 1  – New Year’s Day

February 14 – Valentine’s Day

April 14 – Black Day

August 15 – Liberation Day in Korea

December 25 – Christmas Day

October 31 – Halloween

July 4 – US Independence Day

December 26 – Boxing Day

October 9 – Hangeul Day

Answers:

3월 1일 – 삼월 일일 – March 1 – Independence Movement Day in Korea

7월 1일 – 칠월 일일 – July 1 – Canada Day

1월 1일 – 일월 일일 – January 1  – New Year’s Day

2월 14일 – 이월 십사일 – February 14 – Valentine’s Day

4월 14일 – 사월 십사일 – April 14 – Black Day

8월 15일 – 팔월 십오일 – August 15 – Liberation Day in Korea

12월 25일 – 십이월 이십오일 – December 25 – Christmas

10월 31일 – 시월 삼십일일 – October 31 – Halloween

7월 4일 – 칠월 사일 – July 4 – US Independence Day

12월 26일 – 십이월 이십육일 – December 26 – Boxing Day

10월 9일 – 시월 구일 – October 9 – Hangeul Day

“Date” in Korean

The word “date” in Korean is expressed as 날짜 (naljja). Below are examples of how you’ll use it:

오늘 날짜가 며칠이에요? (oneul naljjaga myeochirieyo)

What is the date today?

약속한 날짜가 언제예요? (yaksokan naljjaga eonjeyeyo)

When is the date we promised?

“Calendar” in Korean

The word “calendar” in Korean can be expressed in two ways. 

The first way is 달력 (dallyeok). This word is used for talking about the calendar we use for checking the dates. 

For example: 

테이블 위에 달력이 있어요. ( teibeul wie dallyeogi isseoyo.)

There’s a calendar on the table. 

The second way is 일정표 (iljeongpyo). This word can be used when referring to a calendar of events, schedule, or itinerary. 

For example:

회의 날짜를 일정표에 표시해 주세요. (hoeui naljjareul iljeongpyoe pyosihae juseyo.)

Please mark the date of the meeting on the schedule (calendar).

To learn more about the calendars used in Korea, here’s an article on Korean calendar.

“Year” in Korean

There are 2 words used for “year” in Korean language. You can use the Korean words 해 (hae) and 년 (nyeon). 해 (hae) is a native Korean word for “year” while 년 (nyeon) is a Sino-Korean word.

You’ll use the word 해 (hae) for native Korean words such as the following:

새해 (saehae) – new year

그해 (geuhae) – that year

올해 (olhae) – this year

On the other hand, you’ll use 년 (nyeon) with Sino-Korean words. For example:

작년 (jangnyeon) – last year

금년 (geumnyeon) – this year

내년 (naenyeon) – next year

매년 (maenyeon) – every year

Wrap Up

Congratulations! You have completed this lesson and successfully learned all the months of the year in Korean. You should now be able to read and write dates. That will help you understand Korean culture, as well as what happens in Korean films and series.

After this lesson, you also know the difference between the two words for “month” in Korean. Try writing your favorite date or month in Korean below in the comments, and let us know why that date is important to you.