Lesson 5
After completing this lesson, you will be able to recognize and use the Korean words for each day of the week.
Sunday 일요일 [i-ryo-il]
Monday 월요일 [wo-ryo-il]
Tuesday 화요일 [hwa-yo-il]
Wednesday 수요일 [su-yo-il]
Thursday 목요일 [mo-gyo-il]
Friday 금요일 [geu-myo-il]
Saturday 토요일 [to-yo-il]
The syllable 요 and 일 together mean “day of the week” in Korean. Each day has its own unique first syllable.
Let’s glance at the 한자 characters (한자 is the Korean word for Chinese characters) that are used in the names of the days of the week.
月 = 월 [wol] = moon
火 = 화 [hwa] = fire
水 = 수 [su] = water
木 = 목 [mok] = tree
金 = 금 [geum] = gold, metal, iron
土 = 토 [to] = earth, soil, ground
日 = 일 [il] = sun
The names for the days of the week can also be related to some of the planets in the solar system.
화요일 = Tuesday / 화성 [hwa-seong] = Mars
수요일 = Wednesday / 수성 [su-seong] = Mercury
목요일 = Thursday / 목성 [mok-sseong] = Jupiter
금요일 = Friday / 금성 [geum-seong] = Venus
토요일 = Saturday / 토성 [to-seong] = Saturn
Sample Sentences
토요일에는 소풍을 갈 거예요.
[to-yo-i-re-neun so-pung-eul gal kkeo-ye-yo]
= I am going to go on a picnic on Saturday.
어제는 신나는 금요일이었어요.
[eo-je-neun sin-na-neun geu-myo-i-ri-eo-sseo-yo.]
= Yesterday was an exciting Friday.
저는 월요일에 영화를 봤어요.
[jeo-neun wo-ryo-i-re yeong-hwa-reul bwa-sseo-yo.]
= I watched a movie on Monday.