How to Say What's the Date in Korean (오늘 며칠이에요?)

What you'll learn

• Say 오늘 며칠이에요? aloud as [오늘 며치리에요], and answer with a month and a day.
• Choose between 오늘 며칠이에요?, 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요? and 오늘 무슨 요일이에요?.
• Read dates with Sino-Korean numbers, including the irregular months 유월 (June) and 시월 (October).
• Spell 며칠 correctly, and avoid 몇 일.

Before you start: you need to read Hangul; romanization is shown as an aid and can be hidden. Time: about 9 minutes. Audio plays only when you press a button.

How Do You Say What's the Date in Korean?

The most natural way to ask the date is 오늘 며칠이에요?. It joins 오늘 (today), 며칠 (which day of the month) and 이에요 (it is). Four polite lines cover the question and the answer.

The table lists the choices. The next section shows when each one fits.

What Are the Formal, Polite and Casual Ways to Say What's the Date?

Korean changes the sentence ending to match the listener's age, status and closeness. These endings are called speech levels, and the guide to Korean speech levels explains them in full. With a close friend, drop -요 and say 오늘 며칠이야? (oneul myeochiriya). In a formal setting, such as a notice or an announcement, say 오늘 며칠입니까? (oneul myeochimnikka). The four polite lines below cover the rest.

Polite: 오늘 며칠이에요? (oneul myeochirieyo)

오늘 며칠이에요? asks which day of the month it is. 며칠 is one word, and it answers with a number plus 일, such as 구 일 (the ninth). It does not ask for the month. If you need the month too, ask 오늘 몇 월 며칠이에요? (what month and day is it?).

Polite: 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요? (oneul naljjaga mwoyeyo)

날짜 means the date as a whole, so 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요? invites a full answer: month and day, and sometimes the year. It sounds a little more formal than 며칠, and it suits forms, documents and offices.

Polite: 오늘 무슨 요일이에요? (oneul museun yoirieyo)

오늘 무슨 요일이에요? asks which day of the week it is. 요일 means day of the week, and 무슨 means "which kind of". The answer ends in 요일, such as 금요일이에요 (it is Friday).

Polite: 오늘은 10월 9일이에요 (oneureun siwol guirieyo)

The answer follows the order month, then day. 10월 is read 시월 and 9일 is read 구일, so the whole sentence is 오늘은 시월 구 일이에요. Say 오늘은 (as for today) first, and the date after it. The numbers are Sino-Korean, not the native ones.

Four lines cover the question and the answer. Saying the main question cleanly comes next.

How Do You Pronounce 오늘 며칠이에요?

오늘 며칠이에요? is written with seven syllables and spoken as [오늘 며치리에요], oneul myeochirieyo. The spelling and the sound differ at the end, so say it slowly once.

1. 오 (o): "oh"
2. 늘 (neul): the vowel ㅡ is unrounded: spread your lips, do not round them
3. 며 (myeo): a quick "myuh" with an open, unrounded ㅓ
4. 칠 (chi-): the final ㄹ moves forward onto the next syllable, so you say "chi"
5. 이 (-ri-): the moved ㄹ lands here as "ri"
6. 에 (e): "eh"
7. 요 (yo): "yoh"; the question word 며칠 marks the question, so the end usually falls

Sound Changes to Listen For

Three points matter here, from the National Institute of Korean Language Standard Pronunciation (표준 발음법) and everyday speech.

• Liaison in 며칠이에요. The ㄹ of 칠 moves onto 이, so you hear [며치리에요]. See liaison (resyllabification). The same link makes 오늘은 [오느른] and 9일이에요 [구이리에요].
• Tense jj in 날짜. The ㅉ is written as a tense consonant, so Revised Romanization shows jj: naljjaga. By contrast, a plain ㅈ would be a softer sound. For the cases where a plain consonant becomes tense, see Korean tensification.
• ㄴ-insertion in 무슨 요일. The ㄴ is inserted before 요, so 무슨 요일 is [무슨 뇨일], and 무슨 요일이에요 is [무슨 뇨이리에요]. Revised Romanization romanizes the two spaced words separately, so it does not show the inserted sound: museun yoirieyo. Also, 몇 월 (which month) is [며둴], because the ㅊ is said as ㄷ and then moves onto 월.

With the sounds set, the next question is when to ask it.

When Should You Use 오늘 며칠이에요?, and When Should You Not?

Ask 오늘 며칠이에요? whenever you need the day of the month. Use 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요? for forms, and 오늘 무슨 요일이에요? for the weekday.

Situations Where It Fits

• Filling in a form. 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요? gets you the full date.
• Planning with a colleague. 오늘 며칠이에요? checks the deadline.
• Losing track on holiday. 오늘 무슨 요일이에요? is the natural question.
• Chatting with a friend. 오늘 며칠이야? is quick and friendly.

Situations to Avoid

• Spelling it 몇 일. The word is 며칠, written as one unit.
• Asking 오늘은 무슨 날이에요? It asks whether today is a special day, such as a holiday.
• Reading 6월 as 육월 or 10월 as 십월. Say 유월 and 시월.
• Asking an elder 오늘 며칠이야? Add -요.

These choices are easier to feel in real exchanges, so here are three.

What Does What's the Date Sound Like in a Real Conversation?

A date exchange is short. One person asks, and the other answers with a month and a day or a weekday.

What to notice: the clerk answers with month first, then day, and uses 오늘은 to start.

What to notice: the answer ends in 요일이에요, and 금요일이에요 links the ㄹ: [그묘리에요].

What to notice: both friends drop -요, and 9일이야 is read 구일이야.

Behind these lines sits some calendar culture worth knowing.

What Should You Know about the Culture behind What's the Date?

Korean dates run from the largest unit to the smallest, and the words for them are built from Sino-Korean numbers.

• Year, month, day. 2026년 10월 9일 is read from left to right: year (년), month (월), day (일).
• Sino-Korean numbers. Dates use the Sino-Korean set, so 3월 15일 is 삼월 십오 일. The guide to dates in Korean shows the full pattern.
• Two irregular months. 6월 is 유월 and 10월 is 시월. All other months follow the plain pattern, such as 사월 (April) and 구월 (September).
• Weekdays. 월요일 (woryoil, Monday), 화요일 (hwayoil, Tuesday), 수요일 (suyoil, Wednesday), 목요일 (mogyoil, Thursday), 금요일 (geumyoil, Friday), 토요일 (toyoil, Saturday), 일요일 (iryoil, Sunday).

An expert tip: 며칠 has two jobs. It asks "which day of the month" and "how many days". 오늘 며칠이에요? is the first, and 며칠 걸려요? (how many days does it take?) is the second. Context tells you which. This page covers asking for the date. Date formats, years and the full day-by-day list are on the dates pages.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with What's the Date in Korean?

Most mistakes come from the spelling of 며칠, the irregular months and the weekday question.

Learners often put the day before the month, as in English-style dates. Korean puts the larger unit first: 10월 9일, not 9일 10월. Say the month, then the day, every time.

Is It the Same as What Is the Date, Date Today or Today's Date?

Partly. The short answers below cover the other ways people search for this phrase.

• What is the date in Korean: the same question, 오늘 며칠이에요?. For the numbers behind it, see what is the date in Korean now.
• Date today in Korean: ask 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요?, or just say 오늘 날짜 (oneul naljja) as a label on a form.
• Today's date in Korean: 오늘 날짜 (oneul naljja). The answer is a month and a day, such as 10월 9일.
• A date with someone: that sense is 데이트 (deiteu), a borrowed word. It has nothing to do with 날짜.

Reading the forms is one thing; producing them on cue is another, so practise now.

Practice: Say It Aloud

Play the slow clip of 오늘 며칠이에요?, repeat it three times, then choose a form for each situation. Answers follow.

1. You need the day of the month.
2. You are filling in a form and need the full date.
3. You lose track of the weekday.
4. How do you read 10월?

Answers

1. 오늘 며칠이에요?
2. 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요?
3. 오늘 무슨 요일이에요?
4. 시월 (siwol); October is irregular.

The phrase flashcards drill all four lines with audio.

Related Phrases to Learn Next

Asking the date sits with the other time phrases.

• What time is it in Korean: the question for the hour.
• Happy birthday in Korean: a phrase you say on a special date.
• What is the date in Korean now: the numbers page with the full date pattern.
• Months in Korean: the twelve month names.

This guide belongs to the korean small talk collection. What this page does not cover: years, date formats and the full list of days. When in doubt, ask 오늘 며칠이에요?, and you can ask what's the date in Korean almost anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you say what's the date in Korean?

Say 오늘 며칠이에요? (oneul myeochirieyo). It asks for the day of the month. The answer is a month and a day, such as 오늘은 10월 9일이에요. For the full date on a form, ask 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요?.

How do you pronounce 오늘 며칠이에요?

It is [오늘 며치리에요]. The ㄹ of 칠 moves onto 이. Revised Romanization writes oneul myeochirieyo. The end usually falls, because 며칠 is a question word.

What is the difference between 오늘 며칠이에요? and 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요?

오늘 며칠이에요? asks for the day of the month and is the everyday form. 오늘 날짜가 뭐예요? asks for the whole date and fits forms and offices. Both are polite.

Can I use 오늘 며칠이에요? with friends, elders and strangers?

Yes with all three, because -요 is polite. With close friends you can say 오늘 며칠이야?. For a formal announcement, use 오늘 며칠입니까?.

What is the most common mistake with what's the date in Korean?

The most common mistake is spelling the word 몇 일. The correct word is 며칠. The second is saying 육월 or 십월 instead of 유월 and 시월.

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