How to Type Korean on a Computer or Phone: A Beginner’s Guide

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Korean Days of the Week: Pronunciation and Everyday Use

Learning the Korean days of the week helps you do more than read a calendar. You can book an appointment, check your class schedule, and understand when a café is closed. These seven words are useful from your first days in Korea.

Every Korean weekday name ends with 요일 (yoil), meaning “day of the week.” Once you recognise that shared ending, the list becomes easier to remember.

This guide covers the names, pronunciation, schedule questions, and common opening-hours signs. Romanization is a pronunciation aid, so learn the Hangul alongside it. Try saying each word aloud as you work through the examples.

1. Learn Monday to Sunday in Korean

Start with the seven names below. Each one appears with a short sentence you can use in conversation. The day names themselves are neither polite nor casual; the sentence ending determines the speech level.

  • 월요일 (woryoil)—Monday
    월요일에 일해요.
    “I work on Monday.”
  • 화요일 (hwayoil)—Tuesday
    화요일에 수업이 있어요.
    “I have class on Tuesday.”
  • 수요일 (suyoil)—Wednesday
    수요일에 만나요.
    “Let’s meet on Wednesday.”
  • 목요일 (mogyoil)—Thursday
    목요일에 시간이 있어요.
    “I have time on Thursday.”
  • 금요일 (geumyoil)—Friday
    금요일에 예약했어요.
    “I made a reservation for Friday.”
  • 토요일 (toyoil)—Saturday
    토요일에 쇼핑해요.
    “I go shopping on Saturday.”
  • 일요일 (iryoil)—Sunday
    일요일에 쉬어요.
    “I rest on Sunday.”

A sentence such as “I work on Monday” may describe a particular Monday or a regular schedule, depending on context. Later, you will learn how to make “every Monday” explicit. For now, focus on recognising and saying the day names.

Some sounds connect across syllables. 월요일 sounds like 워료일, 목요일 like 모교일, and 일요일 like 이료일. These are pronunciation guides; keep using the original spelling.

Practise the names in order, then mix them up. Point to a day on a calendar and say it without looking at the English translation. This builds recognition more effectively than reciting the same sequence every time.

2. Ask “What Day of the Week Is It?”

무슨 요일이에요? (museun yoirieyo?) means “What day of the week is it?” It is an everyday polite question. Add 오늘 when you want to ask about today.

Person A: 오늘 무슨 요일이에요?
Oneul museun yoirieyo?
“What day is it today?”

Person B: 수요일이에요.
“It’s Wednesday.”

오늘 무슨 요일이에요? asks for a weekday name, not the numbered date. It is useful when travelling, especially when your usual work or school routine has disappeared.

You can also ask which day an activity takes place. Replace 오늘 with the event you are discussing.

Student: 수업은 무슨 요일이에요?
“What day is the class?”

Teacher: 화요일이에요.
“It’s on Tuesday.”

화요일이에요 (hwayo irieyo) means “It’s Tuesday.” All seven day names end in the consonant ㄹ, so they take 이에요 in this pattern.

To ask for the date, use 오늘 며칠이에요? (oneul myeochirieyo?)— “What’s the date today?” That question calls for a date such as October 11.

Person A: 오늘 며칠이에요?
“What’s the date today?”

Person B: 10월 11일이에요.
“It’s October 11.”

The date above is a practice example. Remember the distinction: 무슨 요일 asks for Monday, Tuesday, and so on. 며칠 asks for the date.

3. Talk About Plans with 에, This Week, and Next Week

Add 에 for “on” a day

금요일에 (geumyoire) means “on Friday.” Here, the particle 에 marks when something happens. Put it directly after the day name.

Customer: 금요일에 예약할 수 있어요?
“Can I make a reservation for Friday?”

Employee: 네, 가능해요.
“Yes, you can.”

You may hear speakers leave 에 out when the meaning is clear. As a beginner, practising day + 에 gives you a dependable pattern. Keep the complete phrase together when learning it.

Specify which week you mean

이번 주 (ibeon ju) means “this week,” and 다음 주 (daeum ju) means “next week.” Place either expression before the weekday.

Colleague A: 다음 주 월요일에 회의가 있어요.
“We have a meeting next Monday.”

Colleague B: 몇 시예요?
“What time?”

이번 주 금요일에 (ibeon ju geumyoire) means “this Friday.” It is useful when arranging plans.

Friend: 이번 주 금요일에 시간 있어요?
“Are you free this Friday?”

Use 매주 for a repeating schedule

매주 (maeju) means “every week.” Combine it with a day to describe something that happens on that day each week.

Student: 매주 수요일에 한국어를 공부해요.
“I study Korean every Wednesday.”

For an important booking, confirm the numbered date as well. Expressions such as “next Friday” can cause misunderstandings when people interpret the timing differently. A weekday, date, and time make the arrangement clearer.

4. Read Weekday, Weekend, and Closure Notices

평일 (pyeongil) generally means “weekday.” In opening-hours notices, it often refers to Monday through Friday excluding public holidays. Check the business’s own wording for the exact coverage.

주말 (jumal) means “weekend,” usually Saturday and Sunday. It is useful for both plans and opening hours.

Friend A: 주말에 뭐 해요?
“What are you doing this weekend?”

Friend B: 토요일에 친구를 만나요.
“I’m meeting a friend on Saturday.”

Calendars and shop notices often shorten the weekday names to their first syllable:

  • 월: Monday
  • 화: Tuesday
  • 수: Wednesday
  • 목: Thursday
  • 금: Friday
  • 토: Saturday
  • 일: Sunday

These abbreviations depend on context. A 월 above a calendar column indicates Monday, while 월 also appears in expressions for months. Look at the surrounding information.

월요일 휴무 (woryoil hyumu) means “Closed on Mondays” in an opening-hours notice. 휴무 (hyumu) indicates a non-working or closed day.

Customer: 월요일에 문 열어요?
“Are you open on Monday?”

Employee: 아니요, 월요일은 쉬어요.
“No, we’re closed on Mondays.”

매주 화요일 휴무 (maeju hwayoil hyumu) means “Closed every Tuesday.” 월–금 indicates Monday–Friday, while 토·일 can indicate Saturday and Sunday. 공휴일 (gonghyuil) means “public holiday,” which may have separate hours even when it falls on a weekday.

5. Choose Your Speech Level and Practise Pronunciation

Use 무슨 요일이에요? with unfamiliar people, employees, and in ordinary polite conversation. With a close friend who already uses casual speech with you, 무슨 요일이야? (museun yoiriya?) means “What day is it?”

Friend A: 오늘 무슨 요일이야?
“What day is it today?”

Friend B: 목요일이야.
“It’s Thursday.”

무슨 요일입니까? (museun yoirimnikka?) is the formal version of “What day of the week is it?” It fits more formal speech. You do not need it for every everyday question.

For sound practice, try 월요일 as 워-료-일, 목요일 as 모-교-일, 금요일 as 그-묘-일, and 일요일 as 이-료-일. Keep the standard spellings when writing.

Romanized eu represents the vowel 으; it is not pronounced like English “you.” Korean also has no uppercase-versus-lowercase distinction for weekday names. Focus on the spelling, connected sounds, and useful sentences.

Quick Practice

  1. A café notice says 매주 화요일 휴무. What does it mean?
  2. Complete “I have class next Monday”: 다음 주 ________ 수업이 있어요.
  3. You want to know whether today is Friday. Which question asks for the weekday?
    • A. 오늘 며칠이에요?
    • B. 오늘 무슨 요일이에요?

Answers

  1. Closed every Tuesday. 매주 makes the schedule recurring, and 휴무 indicates closure.
  2. 월요일에. 에 marks when the class takes place.
  3. B. 오늘 무슨 요일이에요? 며칠이에요? asks for the date instead.

Use Your Next Calendar as Practice

Learn the seven names, then practise 무슨 요일이에요? and day + 에. Add 이번 주, 다음 주, or 매주 to make your schedule clearer. Recognising 휴무 will also help you avoid visiting a closed business.

Look at a calendar and say today’s weekday in Korean. Then practise “다음 주 월요일에 수업이 있어요.” You have a useful sentence for your next class or conversation.

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If you are in Korea around Chuseok, you may hear the same phrase everywhere: at work, in a café, after class, or just before saying goodbye to a Korean friend. That phrase is 추석 잘 보내세요 . It is one of the most useful Korean holiday greetings you can learn, especially if you are a beginner. It may look simple, but translating it word for word does not quite explain how Koreans actually use it. In this lesson, you will learn what it really means, when to say it, how to make it casual or polite, and what to say after the holiday is over. 1. What Does “추석 잘 보내세요” Mean? 추석 잘 보내세요 (Chuseok jal bonaeseyo) Natural meaning: “Have a good Chuseok,” “Enjoy your Chuseok,” or “Have a nice Chuseok holiday.” This is probably the safest Chuseok greeting for a Korean learner to remember. The verb 보내다 (bonaeda) can mean “to send,” but when Koreans use it with time, a weekend, a vacation, or a holiday, it can mean “to spend” that time. So you do not need to translate 추석 잘 보내세요 word by word. T...
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Learning to recognize Hangul is only the first step. The next challenge is making the letters sound like natural Korean instead of reading them as if they were English. This is where many beginners get confused. Korean consonants such as ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, and ㄹ do not match English consonants perfectly, and vowels such as ㅓ and ㅡ can be especially tricky if you rely too heavily on Romanization. This Korean alphabet pronunciation guide focuses on the sounds that matter most in real life. You will practice words you can use in cafés, restaurants, subway stations, shops, and everyday conversations. Romanization can help at the beginning, but treat it as a temporary guide. Your long-term goal should be to connect Hangul directly with Korean sounds. 1. ㄱ, ㄷ, and ㅂ Are Not Exactly English G, D, and B One of the first things English speakers should understand is that Korean consonants do not always fit neatly into English sound categories. Take these three basic consonants: ㄱ — often desc...
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