Korean Months and Dates: Number + 월, With Two Traps
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
Published · How we write & review
After this page, you can say any month and date in Korean, including the 유월 (yuwol) and 시월 (siwol) exceptions.
10-second answer
The short answer
Korean months couldn't be simpler: Sino-Korean number + 월 (wol, month). January is 일월 (irwol, 1월), December is 십이월 (sibiwol, 12월). The only traps: June is 유월 (yuwol, not 육월 yugwol) and October is 시월 (siwol, not 십월 sibwol) — both drop a final consonant for smoother pronunciation. Dates follow the same logic: number + 일 (il, day).
Quick check — did that land?
1. How do you say June in Korean?
Korean months look easy… until June and October.
The Twelve Months
| Month | Korean | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| January | 일월 (1월) | |
| February | 이월 (2월) | |
| March | 삼월 (3월) | |
| April | 사월 (4월) | |
| May | 오월 (5월) | |
| June | 유월 (6월) | ⚠️ NOT 육월 — the ㄱ drops |
| July | 칠월 (7월) | |
| August | 팔월 (8월) | |
| September | 구월 (9월) | |
| October | 시월 (10월) | ⚠️ NOT 십월 — the ㅂ drops |
| November | 십일월 (11월) | |
| December | 십이월 (12월) |
See also: Korean Numbers: Native vs Sino-Korean
Saying Full Dates
Korean dates run big-to-small: YEAR (년) → MONTH (월) → DAY (일) — the reverse of US order. All three use Sino-Korean numbers.
오늘은 팔월 십일일이에요.
oneureun parwol sibiririeyo.
Today is August 11th.
월 then 일 — month before day, always.
생일이 며칠이에요?
saengiri myeochirieyo?
What date is your birthday?
며칠 asks for the date — and yes, 며칠 is the correct spelling, not 몇일 (a misspelling even Koreans make).
시월에 한국에 가요.
siwore hanguge gayo.
I'm going to Korea in October.
시월 — the ㅂ of 십 is gone.
Why 유월 and 시월?
육월 and 십월 are awkward to say — the final consonants ㄱ and ㅂ collide with the ㅇ of 월. Korean solved it centuries ago by just dropping them. It's the same instinct behind batchim-driven sound changes everywhere in the language: pronunciation convenience wins.
Our printable days and months chart marks these two months in red so they stand out.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Saying 육월 or 십월
June is 유월, October is 시월 — the two exceptions worth over-learning, since calendars print 6월/10월 and hide the irregularity.
Mistake #2 — US-style day-before-month order
Korean always goes month → day: 팔월 십일일 (August 11th), never day first.
Mini Quiz
2. How do you say October?
3. What's the correct spelling for "what date"?
Related Knowledge
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