Korean Time Words at a Glance
Korean time vocabulary has three layers. The first is the calendar: seven day names and twelve month names. The second is the clock-and-day layer: morning, noon, evening and night. The third is relative time: today, tomorrow, last year and the words for how often something happens. Each layer has its own page, and each page has audio for every word.
| List | What it holds | Open it when |
|---|---|---|
| Days of the week | The seven day names | You make plans for a particular day |
| Months | The twelve month names | You read dates or birthdays |
| Time expressions | Relative time, parts of the day, frequency | You say when or how often something happens |
The pages here list words only. Telling the clock time with hours and minutes is on telling time, and writing full dates is on dates. For the single word, see time in Korean.
Which List Should You Open First?
Open Time Expressions first if you want to speak at once. It holds the words you need every day: 오늘 (today), 내일 (tomorrow), 어제 (yesterday), 아침 (morning) and 가끔 (sometimes). Open Days of the Week next, for plans such as 월요일에 만나요 (let's meet on Monday). Open Months when you start reading dates and want the month names.
If you have a trip planned, the best order is days, then Time Expressions, then months. If you are reading a calendar or a birthday form, take months first. Days of the Week and Months have 20 words each and take a few days; Time Expressions has 50 words and three sub-pages.
Days of the Week
The seven day names end in 요일 (yoil, day of the week). Their first syllables are the Hanja-based characters 월화수목금토일, which mean moon, fire, water, wood, metal, earth and sun. So 월요일 is Monday, 화요일 is Tuesday, 수요일 is Wednesday, 목요일 is Thursday, 금요일 is Friday, 토요일 is Saturday and 일요일 is Sunday. Once you know the pattern, the whole week is predictable: after the moon, the five middle days follow the five elements of East Asian tradition (fire, water, wood, metal, earth), and the sun closes the week. The full list, with example sentences, is on Days of the Week.
Add 에 to say on a day: 월요일에 학교에 가요 means I go to school on Monday.
What Is in the Months List?
Month names are a number plus 월 (wol, month), using Sino-Korean numbers: 일월 is January (1월), 이월 is February (2월), 삼월 is March (3월), and so on. Two months are spelled differently from their numbers. June is 유월, not 육월, and October is 시월, not 십월. Learn those two first, because they break the pattern. The page on Months lists all twelve, with the numbers they use, and the number words are on Sino-Korean numbers.
Time Expressions
This list holds the everyday words and is the largest of the three. It has three parts, each with its own page. Korean Relative Time Words covers 오늘, 내일, 어제, 모레 (the day after tomorrow) and the year words 올해, 작년 and 내년. Korean Parts of the Day covers 아침 (morning), 점심 (noon, lunch), 저녁 (evening) and 밤 (night). Korean Frequency Adverbs covers 항상 (always), 보통 (usually), 자주 (often) and 가끔 (sometimes).
The parent page is Time Expressions, and it links the three parts above.
What Do All the Lists Have in Common?
Three habits apply to every list. First, the particle 에 marks a point in time: 월요일에 (on Monday), 아침에 (in the morning), 삼월에 (in March). Second, the relative words 오늘, 내일, 어제 and 지금 do not take 에. You say 내일 만나요 (see you tomorrow), not 내일에 만나요. Third, the calendar words use Sino-Korean parts, while the clock hour words use native numbers, which is why a time like 일곱 시 (seven o'clock) belongs to the numbers hub.
A sentence like 아침에 커피를 마셔요 (I drink coffee in the morning) shows the pattern: time word, then 에, then the rest. The same order works with every word on these three pages. Verbs and adjectives are handled in the verbs hub, and these lists are nouns and adverbs only.
Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet
Each of the three child pages has its own deck, and the vocabulary flashcard decks page lists all of them. Start with the days, since the seven day names are a quick win, then move to months. The vocabulary worksheets page lists available printable sheets. Until then, write the next seven days in Korean on a calendar, with the weekday name for each.
Where to Go Next
From here, open Days of the Week, Months or Time Expressions. When you finish, continue to Nature and the World for seasons and weather, or to Places and Travel. To return to the full list of topics, go to Korean Vocabulary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which List in Korean Time Words Should I Start With?
Start with Time Expressions if you want to speak straight away, because it holds 오늘, 내일, 어제 and the parts of the day. Open Days of the Week for planning and Months for reading dates. Days and Months have 20 words each and Time Expressions has 50, so plan on two to three weeks for all three.
How Are the Lists in Korean Time Words Organised?
There are three: days of the week, months and time expressions. Time Expressions has three parts of its own: relative time, parts of the day and frequency. Every page has Hangul, romanization, audio and example sentences.
Do These Lists Include Verbs and Adjectives?
No. These pages hold nouns and adverbs for time, such as 월요일, 유월, 오늘 and 가끔. Verbs for daily actions are on the verbs pages, and the clock times with hours and minutes are on telling time.
Why Are June and October Spelled 유월 and 시월?
Month names usually use a Sino-Korean number plus 월, so 6월 would be 육월 and 10월 would be 십월. In practice 6월 is read 유월 and 10월 is read 시월, because the final consonants of 육 and 십 (ㄱ and ㅂ) are dropped in those two names. Learn them as exceptions.
Where Can I Practise Time Words with Flashcards?
Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. Each child page has a deck with Hangul, romanization and audio, plus a short quiz. Run a deck in recognition mode first, then in listening mode. Your progress stays in your browser.