Months in Korean – Complete List with Audio and Examples

Do you know how to say the various months in Korean? It’s really important when learning Korean!

Here is the list of months in Korean:

• 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, today’s date, as well as make plans on 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.

Months 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 for describing 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”.

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:

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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.

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.

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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 up the pronunciation. For example, 6 월 (유월) and 10 월 (시월) for the months 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.

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.

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April in Korean

The month of April is the fourth month of the year. In Korean, April 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.

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?

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.

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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.

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.

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  a 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 numbers. 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)

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How to Write Dates in Korean

As you learn Korean, you might be asking how dates are written in Korean. For the next part of this lesson, let go over how to write full dates. That will allow you to add in the days and years as well. You can write it using this 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 for 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 for practice for 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

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

Sample Sentences

Use these sample sentences as a guide to how to make Korean sentences using months and dates. Additionally, you can mix it up by substituting days of the week in Korean. These are great examples for assisting with learning Korean grammar, such as particles and markers.

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

My birthday is on April 7

여덟달 전에 한국에 왔어요 (yeodeoldal jeone hanguge wasseoyo)

I came to Korea eight months ago

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

Date in Korean

The word “date” 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?

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Year in Korean

There are 2 Korean words used for “year”. You can use 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

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 with understanding 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.