Months in Korean: All 12 Names, From Calendar Labels to Dates

Months in Korean: All 12 Names, From Calendar Labels to Dates

The two sixes in 6월 6일 do not become the same Korean syllable. June is 유월 (yuwol), but the sixth day keeps 육. Most months in Korean follow a Sino-Korean number plus 월. June and October have special written forms.

All twelve calendar labels

The Hangul column gives the names to write. The romanized readings help you connect them to their sounds.

Korean months of the year

English	Calendar label	Hangul	Reading aid
January	1월	일월	irwol
February	2월	이월	iwol
March	3월	삼월	samwol
April	4월	사월	sawol
May	5월	오월	owol
June	6월	유월	yuwol
July	7월	칠월	chirwol
August	8월	팔월	parwol
September	9월	구월	guwol
October	10월	시월	siwol
November	11월	십일월	sibirwol
December	12월	십이월	sibiwol

These are calendar names: 3월 means March. For the number system behind the labels, see Sino-Korean numbers.

What changes in writing, and what changes only in sound

For January, the official learner dictionary gives the spelling 일월 and the pronunciation [이뤌]. The brackets show sound. If you are writing the name on a calendar, keep 일월 rather than copying 이뤌.

June works differently. Its standard spelling is 유월, not 육월. October is 시월, not 십월. Those forms belong in the written name itself; they are not merely pronunciation notes beside a different spelling.

• 1월 → 일월 → [이뤌]: numeral label, written name, sound.
• 6월 → 유월 → [유월]: the written name already has 유.

November and December keep their written 십: 십일월 and 십이월. Their readings are [시비뤌] and [시비월], respectively. The special spelling of October does not turn November into 시일월. The Tokyo University of Foreign Studies reference lists the twelve names and their reading differences.

Keep the month and day in their own places

A full date can be written 2026년 6월 6일: year, month, day. The middle part names June; the last part identifies its sixth day. In Hangul, the last two parts are 유월 육 일. The numeral for six remains 육 before the day unit 일.

October 10 follows the same boundary: 10월 10일 → 시월 십 일. Only the calendar name takes 시. The day still uses 십. The National Institute of Korean Language explicitly distinguishes these forms.

Now compare two dates with 1 and 11 swapped:

November 1 and January 11

Date	Written in Hangul	Meaning
11월 1일	십일월 일 일	November 1
1월 11일	일월 십일 일	January 11

In the first row, 십일 + 월 names November. The following 일 + 일 contains the number one and the day unit. In the second row, 일 + 월 names January, while 십일 + 일 gives day eleven. The plus signs expose the parts; they are not part of the date's spelling.

The repeated 일 is therefore meaningful. In 십일 일, the first belongs to the number eleven and the last labels it as a day. Writing 십 일 instead would give day ten. You can also write the attached form 십일일; the meaning remains eleven followed by the day unit.