Days of the Week in Korean

The days of the week in Korean (요일, yoil) follow a logical pattern based on celestial bodies and elements from traditional East Asian philosophy. This system is shared across East Asian languages, with slight variations in pronunciation between Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.

Each Korean day combines a celestial body or natural element with the suffix "요일" (yoil), which means "day of the week." The first character represents the element or celestial body, while "요일" remains constant. This creates a consistent, logical naming system that makes Korean weekday names relatively easy to learn once you understand the pattern.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about days of the week in Korean, including hangul representations, romanization, pronunciation guides, cultural context, and practical usage.

Korean pronunciation can be challenging for English speakers, but with some practice, you can master the days of the week. Here's a detailed guide to help you pronounce each day correctly:

Syllable Breakdown

• 월요일 (woryoil): wol-yo-il
• 화요일 (hwayoil): hwa-yo-il
• 수요일 (suyoil): su-yo-il
• 목요일 (mogyoil): mok-yo-il
• 금요일 (geumyoil): geum-yo-il
• 토요일 (toyoil): to-yo-il
• 일요일 (iryoil): il-yo-il

Important Pronunciation Notes

• The ㅓ in 월 (wol) is pronounced like the "o" in "caught" or "law"
• The ㅘ in 화 (hwa) is a combination of "w" + "a" sounds
• The ㅡ in 금 (geum) is pronounced like the "eu" in French "deux"
• The ㄹ in 일 (il) is between an English "r" and "l"
• The "-il" at the end of each day is pronounced with a slight pause before the final "l" sound

The Pattern: Element/Celestial Body + 요일

Each Korean day of the week follows the same consistent pattern:

• The first character represents an element or celestial body
• This is followed by 요일 (yoil), which means "day of the week"

The characters for the elements or celestial bodies are:

• 월 (wol): Moon - also means "month"
• 화 (hwa): Fire
• 수 (su): Water
• 목 (mok): Wood/Tree
• 금 (geum): Metal/Gold
• 토 (to): Earth/Soil
• 일 (il): Sun - also means "day" or "one"

The character 요일 (yoil) breaks down as:

• 요 (yo): A syllable used specifically in this context
• 일 (il): Day (same character as Sun and the number one)

Sino-Korean Origins

The Korean names for days of the week use Sino-Korean vocabulary (words of Chinese origin), which is why they share such similarities with Chinese and Japanese day names. These characters were adopted from Chinese and are pronounced according to Korean phonetic rules.

Common Phrases and Expressions

Here are some useful phrases for talking about days of the week in Korean:

• "오늘은 무슨 요일이에요?" (Oneul-eun museun yoil-ieyo?) - "What day of the week is today?"
• "오늘은 월요일이에요." (Oneul-eun woryoil-ieyo.) - "Today is Monday."
• "내일은 화요일이에요." (Naeil-eun hwayoil-ieyo.) - "Tomorrow is Tuesday."
• "어제는 일요일이었어요." (Eoje-neun iryoil-ieosseoyo.) - "Yesterday was Sunday."

Talking About Weekly Events

To describe something that happens on a certain day regularly, use the particle 에 (e) after the day:

• "수요일에 한국어 수업이 있어요." (Suyoil-e hangugeo suseop-i isseoyo.) - "I have Korean class on Wednesday."
• "매주 금요일에 회의가 있어요." (Maeju geumyoil-e hoeuiga isseoyo.) - "There is a meeting every Friday."

The word "매주" (maeju) means "every week" and can be used before the day to indicate a weekly recurring event.

Time Expressions with Days

• "월요일 아침" (Woryoil achim) - "Monday morning"
• "목요일 오후" (Mogyoil ohu) - "Thursday afternoon"
• "토요일 저녁" (Toyoil jeonyeok) - "Saturday evening"

Working Culture and the Week

The Korean workweek traditionally runs from Monday to Friday (월요일부터 금요일까지, Woryoilbuteo geumyoilkkaji), though many companies and industries may have Saturday work schedules as well. Work culture in Korea can be quite intense, with long hours being common in many sectors.

Weekend Culture

The Korean weekend (주말, jumal) consists of Saturday and Sunday, with these observations:

• Saturdays are often busy days for shopping, family activities, and personal appointments.
• Sundays may involve church attendance for Christian Koreans (a significant portion of the population) or family gatherings for others.
• In recent years, Korea has emphasized better work-life balance with initiatives like the "52-hour workweek" to reduce overtime.

Day-Specific Traditions

While not as prominent as in some cultures, certain Korean traditions are associated with specific days:

• 그날 (Geunal): Traditionally, certain days were considered lucky or unlucky for specific activities based on the lunar calendar, though this is less observed in modern urban Korea.
• 수요 예배 (Suyo yebae): Wednesday church service is common in Korean Christian communities.
• 불금 (Bulgeum): A modern slang term combining "fire" (불) and "Friday" (금요일), similar to "TGIF," celebrating the excitement of Friday evenings.

Pattern Recognition

The key to memorizing Korean days of the week is recognizing the consistent pattern: Element/Celestial body + 요일 (yoil). This means you only need to learn seven distinct characters plus the common suffix.

Element Associations

Create mental associations for the five elements:

• 화 (hwa): Fire - Think of a flame or heat
• 수 (su): Water - Visualize flowing water
• 목 (mok): Wood - Picture a tree or wooden object
• 금 (geum): Metal/Gold - Imagine gold coins or metal objects
• 토 (to): Earth - Think of soil or ground

Visual Mnemonics

For the celestial bodies:

• 월 (wol): Moon - The character somewhat resembles a crescent moon
• 일 (il): Sun - The straight horizontal line can represent the horizon with the sun above it

Connections to Other East Asian Languages

If you know Japanese or Chinese, you can make connections between these languages, as they all use similar systems:

• Japanese: 月曜日 (getsuyōbi), 火曜日 (kayōbi), etc.
• Chinese: 星期一/月曜日 (xīngqī yī/yuè yào rì), 星期二/火曜日 (xīngqī èr/huǒ yào rì), etc.