What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 오늘, which means 'today' and 월요일, which literally means 'Moon day' (Monday).
Which one should you use?
Depending on the situation, you can use different endings to the sentence. 오늘은 월요일입니다 is the formal version, while 오늘은 월요일이야 is the informal version.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to express this depending on the social context. 오늘은 월요일입니다 is a formal version suitable for professional situations, news broadcasts or official reports. Finally, 오늘은 월요일이야 is a casual or informal version used in casual settings, when speaking to friends or when speaking to people younger than you.
How does it change in a sentence?
The ending 이에요 is the polite form of the verb 'to be' used when the preceding noun ends in a consonant.
How do you pronounce it?
oneureun woryoirieyo
Did you know?
- In casual settings, Koreans might use the slang '월요병' to describe the 'Monday sickness' or the dread felt when the weekend ends.
- The word 월 in 월요일 is the same character used to mean 'month', because both are based on the lunar cycle.
- If you were to say 'today is Tuesday', you would use 화요일, where 화 refers to 'Fire'. The Korean days are a poetic sequence of 'Moon', 'Fire', 'Water', 'Wood', 'Metal', 'Sun' and 'Earth'.
Examples in context
- 앗, 오늘은 월요일이에요!at, oneureun wol-yo-il-i-e-yo!Ah, today is Monday!
- 달력을 보니 오늘은 월요일이에요.dal-ryeok-eul bo-ni oneureun wol-yo-il-i-e-yo.Looking at the calendar, today is Monday.
Example conversation
Subin and Jihun are talking about the start of the week.
- 수빈 Su-bin지훈 씨, 오늘 무슨 요일이에요?ji-hun ssi, o-neul mu-seun yo-il-i-e-yo?Jihun, what day is it today?
- 지훈 Ji-hun오늘은 월요일이에요.o-neu-reun wol-yo-il-i-e-yo.Today is Monday.
- 수빈 Su-bin벌써 월요일이라니 너무 빠르네요.beol-sseo wol-yo-il-i-ra-ni neo-mu ppa-reu-ne-yo.I can't believe it's Monday already.
- 지훈 Ji-hun맞아요, 수빈 씨도 힘내세요!ma-ja-yo, su-bin ssi-do him-nae-se-yo!That's true, hang in there, Subin!
