Key Facts
- Hangul: 날; Revised Romanization: nal
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: native Korean
- Register: Neutral, everyday native word.
- Senses: day; a particular day, occasion
Day in Korean: What Does 날 Mean?
날 means a day, either a particular day or an occasion. It is a neutral, native Korean word, and it usually comes with a describing word in front: 좋은 날 (a good day), 다음 날 (the next day), 특별한 날 (a special day).
How Do You Pronounce 날?
One syllable, nal. The final ㄹ is a light l-sound. When a vowel follows, as in 날이에요, the ㄹ shifts across and the word sounds like na-ri.
Example Sentences with 날
오늘은 날씨가 좋은 날이에요.
Oneureun nalssiga joeun narieyo
Today is a day with nice weather.
좋은 날 means a good day: 좋은 is the form of "good" that sits before a noun. 날씨 (weather) also starts with 날, but it is a separate word.
생일은 특별한 날이에요.
Saengireun teukbyeolhan narieyo
A birthday is a special day.
A special occasion. 특별한 날 means special day, and 생일은 gives the birthday as the topic.
다음 날 학교에 갔어요.
Daeum nal hakgyoe gasseoyo
I went to school the next day.
다음 날 means the next day, and 갔어요 is the polite past tense of "go".
Collocations
Common partners are 좋은 날 for a good day, 다음 날 for the next day, 날마다 for every day, and 생일날 for the birthday itself.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 좋은 날 | good day |
| 다음 날 | the next day |
| 날마다 | every day |
| 생일날 | birthday |
The Mistake to Avoid
Learners use 날 to count days.
Wrong: 삼 날 for "three days".
Correct: 3일 (삼 일), or the native 하루 for one day and 이틀 for two. 날 names a particular day; it does not count them.
Separately, in casual speech 날 can be a contraction of 나를 (me), so context decides which word you are hearing.
날 Compared with Similar Words
Three neighbours get confused: the counter 일, one-day 하루, and 날씨.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 날 | day | This page's word |
| 일 | day (counter) | Sino-Korean counter for dates and counting days: 3일 |
| 하루 | one day | a single day or a whole day |
| 날씨 | weather | contains 날 but means weather |
Where Does the Word Come From?
날 is a native Korean word, so it has no hanja. Its Sino-Korean partner for dates and counting is 일 (日).
Choosing a Day to Meet
Two coworkers are arranging coffee around their days off. 날 names the kind of day they need, while the weekday identifies it more precisely.
Jisu
쉬는 날이 언제예요?
Swineun nari eonjeyeyo?
When is your day off?
Alex
금요일이에요.
Geumyoirieyo.
It’s Friday.
Jisu
그날 같이 커피 마셔요.
Geunal gachi keopi masyeoyo.
Let’s have coffee together that day.
쉬는 날 literally means “a day when you rest”, so it naturally means a day off. 그날 points back to Friday, the day just mentioned. Neither speaker needs a calendar date because they already know which week they are discussing. With a distant plan, they would need to clarify the date too.
Which Day Does 날 Point To?
그날 means “that day”, a day already identifiable from the conversation or story. 다음 날 means “the next day”, measured from the day just mentioned. In a story about a trip last month, 다음 날 is the day after that event, rather than tomorrow from the reader’s point of view.
내일 means tomorrow relative to now. This distinction helps with the school example: 다음 날 학교에 갔어요 describes a past sequence. Replacing 다음 날 with 내일 would change the time reference and clash with that simple past meaning unless a special narrative context explained it.
Write 다음 날 as two words. By contrast, 그날 and 생일날 are written as single words. 생일날 adds the sense of “on the birthday itself”; the extra 날 does not introduce a second event after the birthday. It focuses attention on the day when the birthday occurs.
Phrases for Days That Matter
쉬는 날 is useful for a personal schedule. It can be your own day off even when shops and offices are open as usual. 공휴일 means a public holiday, so the two descriptions do not always identify the same dates. A shift worker’s 쉬는 날 might be a weekday.
좋은 날 can refer to pleasant weather, an enjoyable occasion or a fortunate day. The surrounding sentence tells you which quality matters. In the existing weather example, 날씨가 좋은 describes the weather specifically, so the meaning is much narrower than a general “good day”.
날마다 describes something happening every day. It fits a repeated routine, rather than one special occasion. In contrast, 특별한 날 picks out a special day. These partners make 날 useful for both everyday habits and memorable events without changing the noun itself.
Where Will You Hear 날?
날 appears in conversations about work schedules, memories, celebrations and plans. Drama dialogue may use 그날 to refer to a shared event without naming its date. A calendar or booking screen is more likely to show numbered dates with 일, because the reader needs an exact day of the month.
For a length of time, 하루 and 이틀 are especially common. 하루 names one day; 날 names the day being described or identified. Thinking about “how long?” versus “which day?” helps you choose between the existing duration and occasion examples.
Time Words to Keep Nearby
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 내일 | tomorrow | Count forward from today. |
| 어제 | yesterday | Count backward from today. |
| 요일 | day of the week | Use this when asking which weekday. |
| 공휴일 | public holiday | A calendar category, rather than anyone’s personal day off. |
The time expressions lesson groups words for days and routines. Learn these alongside 날 so you can distinguish a named occasion, a duration and a place on the weekly calendar.
Quick Self-Test
- In a story about last summer, does 다음 날 mean tomorrow from today?
- Which phrase means a personal day off?
- Which word fits a numbered calendar date: 날 or 일?
Show answers
- No. It means the day after the day being discussed.
- 쉬는 날.
- 일, as in 3일.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I count days?
Use Sino-Korean numbers with 일, as in 3일 (three days, or the 3rd of the month). For short counts the native words 하루 (one day) and 이틀 (two days) are common. 날 itself is not a counter.
What does 날마다 mean?
날마다 means every day. 마다 means "each", so the word is literally "each day" and describes a daily habit.
Does 날씨 mean day?
No. 날씨 means weather. It begins with the same syllable, but it is a separate word, as in 오늘은 날씨가 좋은 날이에요 (Today is a day with nice weather).
Can 날 mean me?
Yes. In casual speech 날 is a contraction of 나를, "me" as the object of a verb. The day sense usually comes with a time word such as 다음 날, so the two rarely clash.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: the time expressions words page groups 날 with its neighbours.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- The time-expressions list continues with the word for year.