Key Facts
- Hangul: 월급; Revised Romanization: wolgeup
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean, hanja 月給 (月 month + 給 pay)
- Register: Neutral; everyday word for a monthly wage.
Salary in Korean: What Does 월급 Mean?
월급 is the pay a salaried worker receives once a month. The verb is 받다: 월급을 받다 is to receive a salary, and 월급이 오르다 is for pay to go up. 월급날 is payday, the day the money lands. The word is neutral and everyday. More formal, written texts use 급여 for pay instead, and 연봉 is the yearly total.
How Do You Pronounce 월급?
Two syllables, wol-geup. The first ends in ㄹ, a light l, and the second ends in ㅂ, a closed p that is not released. The standard pronunciation has a plain ㄱ, though many speakers tense it to [월끕] in casual speech. In 월급날 the ㅂ meets ㄴ and becomes m, so payday is said wol-geum-nal and romanized wolgeumnal.
Example Sentences with 월급
월급을 받았어요.
Wolgeubeul badasseoyo.
I got my salary.
A common after-work sentence. 월급을 is the object and 받았어요 is the polite past of "received".
이번 달 월급이 많아요.
Ibeon dal wolgeubi manayo.
My salary this month is large.
이번 달 means "this month". 많아요 is "is a lot", so the sentence says the pay is large this month.
월급날에 친구를 만나요.
Wolgeumnare chingureul mannayo.
I meet a friend on payday.
월급날에 combines payday with the time particle. The sentence says what the speaker does when the money arrives.
Common Phrases and Collocations
Pay talk reuses these three combinations.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 월급을 받다 | receive a salary |
| 월급날 | payday |
| 월급이 오르다 | salary goes up |
The Mistake to Avoid
The scope of the word is narrower than English "pay".
Wrong: Using 월급 for any kind of pay.
Correct: 월급 specifically means monthly pay. Annual pay is 연봉 and an hourly wage is 시급.
Choose the word that matches the period the money covers.
월급 Compared with 급여 and 연봉
Two other words name pay over a different stretch of time.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 급여 | pay/salary | More formal and written, used on pay slips and in contracts. |
| 연봉 | annual salary | The yearly figure, quoted in job offers. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
월급 is written 月給 in hanja: 月 (month) plus 給 (pay). The first character is the reason the word means monthly pay only.
Finding out When Payday Is
A new employee asks a coworker about payday. The answer gives a day of the month, rather than the amount of pay.
New employee
월급날이 언제예요?
Wolgeumnari eonjeyeyo?
When is payday?
Coworker
매달 이십오 일이에요.
Maedal isibo irieyo.
It is the twenty-fifth of every month.
New employee
그럼 다음 주네요.
Geureom daeum juneyo.
Then it is next week.
Coworker
네. 첫 월급 받으면 뭐 할 거예요?
Ne. Cheot wolgeup badeumyeon mwo hal geoyeyo?
Yes. What will you do when you get your first salary?
This is an imagined workplace with its own payday; the date is not part of the meaning of 월급날. 언제 asks “when”, while 얼마 asks “how much”. Choosing the question word keeps a routine scheduling question separate from a personal question about earnings.
첫 월급 means “first salary” or “first paycheck”. 받으면 means “when/if you receive”, so the coworker asks about plans for after the money arrives.
Where Will You Hear 월급 or See 급여?
월급 is common in everyday talk about work, bills and plans after payday. 급여 is common in workplace documents and administrative messages. Neither word is rude. The difference is mainly one of context: a conversation about getting paid often uses 월급, while a document heading may use 급여.
급여 명세서 means “pay statement” or “payslip”. 명세서 is an itemized statement. It names the document explaining the pay, rather than the transfer itself. If someone asks about that document, knowing only 월급 may leave you looking for an amount when they are actually discussing a record.
A question about a person's salary can feel private even with a polite ending. Asking when payday falls concerns scheduling; asking how much someone earns concerns their finances. The neutral register of 월급 does not make every question containing it equally comfortable.
Phrases about Changes and Spending
월급이 오르다 means the salary increases. 월급을 올리다 means to raise the salary: someone, such as an employer, causes the change. The particle and verb work together. In the first phrase the pay rises; in the second, someone raises it.
월급을 모으다 means “save up one's salary”. 모으다 emphasizes accumulating money over time. 월급을 쓰다 means “spend one's salary”. English “use” is too broad as a translation here; with money as the object, 쓰다 commonly means spending.
한 달 월급 means “one month's salary”. A speaker can use it to compare a cost with monthly earnings, without telling you the exact amount. 연봉 instead names the annual salary. The period is part of the vocabulary, so establish whether the conversation concerns monthly, yearly or hourly pay before interpreting a number.
Pay Words to Recognize Next
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 시급 | hourly wage | A rate per hour, rather than monthly salary. |
| 연봉 | annual salary | The yearly pay figure. |
| 세전 | before tax | Describes a figure before tax deductions. |
| 세후 | after tax | Describes a figure after tax deductions. |
| 상여금 | bonus | A separate pay category; the word 월급 alone does not specify it. |
The office vocabulary lesson teaches the surrounding workplace words. When comparing two pay figures, look for the period and for 세전 or 세후. Those labels change what the figure represents, even though both amounts may be discussed under the broad subject of pay.
Quick Self-Test
- Which word names yearly rather than monthly pay?
- Does 월급이 오르다 describe receiving pay or an increase in pay?
- What question word asks when payday is?
Show answers
- 연봉.
- An increase in pay. Receiving pay is 월급을 받다.
- 언제, as in 월급날이 언제예요?
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say "salary" in Korean?
Say 월급 (wolgeup). It means monthly pay.
How do you say "payday"?
Say 월급날.
How do you say "pay goes up"?
Say 월급이 오르다, literally "the monthly pay rises".
What is the difference between 월급 and 연봉?
월급 is monthly pay, and 연봉 is annual pay.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Pay and workplace nouns are grouped in the office vocabulary list.
- See Korean words A to Z for more workplace words.
- Keep the pay words in one set in your vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Time off follows on the vacation page.