무슨 요일?
museun yoil?
The English phrase "what day?" is expressed in Korean as 무슨 요일? (museun yoil?)
This phrase is used to ask which day of the week it is.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 무슨, meaning "what" or "which" and 요일, meaning "day of the week".
Which one should you use?
While 무슨 요일? specifically asks for the day of the week, other forms focus on different information: 몇 월 며칠이에요? asks for the month and date and 오늘은 며칠입니까? or 오늘은 며칠이야? asks for the date.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form 무슨 요일? is informal and should only be used with close friends or people younger than you. To make the question polite for use with strangers or elders, you should use the polite form 무슨 요일이에요?
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase polite, add the verb 이에요? (is it?) to the end of the base phrase to form 무슨 요일이에요?
How do you pronounce it?
museun yoil?
Did you know?
- The modern form 무슨 likely originated from a mistake, as it was a hypercorrection of the Middle Korean word 므슴.
- While standard Korean uses 무슨, some older speakers in the Gyeongsang dialect still use variations like 무삼 or 무슴.
Examples in context
- 몇 월 며칠이에요?What month and day is it?
- 며칠이야?What day is it?
- 오늘 무슨 요일?oneul museun yoil?What day is it today?
Example conversation
Hyunwoo and Seoyeon are planning a meeting.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo우리 언제 만날까?uri eonje man-nalkka?When shall we meet?
- 서연 Seo-yeon다음 주에 만나자.da-eum ju-e mannaja.Let's meet next week.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo그럼 무슨 요일?geureom museun yoil?Then, what day?
- 서연 Seo-yeon금요일이 좋을 것 같아.geum-yoil-i joeul geot gata.I think Friday would be good.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 무슨, 요일, CC BY-SA 4.0.
