The 80/20* of How to Say ‘Today’ in Korean

Vocabulary:

today  –오늘 (oneul)

 

How to remember (association):

It’s Shaquille O’Neal‘s birthday today. (오늘 / oneul)

 

Maybe you’ve already learned some words and know how to say ‘yesterday‘ in Korean. So today in this article, we’ll teach you how to say ‘today’ in Korean. Read on for more example sentences, ways to say it, associations, lots of other useful tips!

*80/20 Pareto Principle – The 20% you should learn that will give you 80% of the results.

 

 

 

‘Today’ in Korean

The word for how to say today in Korean is 오늘 (oneul). It is the basic way to express the day that you are presently living, and the one most commonly used. However, another word with almost the same exact meaning is 금일 (geumil), although this word is not typically used in everyday conversation.

There are also a few words with a similar meaning that you can learn and put to use, once you are ready to. Firstly, there is the word 오늘날 (oneullal), which translates to ‘present day’. The word is usually used to mean ‘today’ when there is a comparison point between that and the past.

Secondly, there is the word 요즘 (yojeum). This can loosely be translated to mean today, though it is usually used in reference to ‘these days’ and ‘lately’ rather than just the current day you are living.

Lastly, there is the word 현대 (hyeondae). This has the widest and loosest connection to the word ‘today’, as it most directly refers to the modern times as a whole.

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Association:

It’s Shaquille O’Neal‘s birthday today. (오늘 / oneul)

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What associations can you think up to remember 오늘? Remember, the more unique or strange the story is, the easier it is to remember.

A word of caution about Romanization

While it is possible for you to study the words in this article simply by reading their romanized versions, it will come in handy for you to be able to read Hangeul if you ever wish to come to Korea. Hangeul is the Korean alphabet, and not difficult to learn. In fact, you can learn it in just 90 minutes.

After you’ve familiarized yourself with Hangeul, life in Korea will suddenly seem so much easier and the country won’t appear so foreign for you. So, if you’re serious about learning Korean, why not learn Hangeul today?

 

Sample Sentences

 

Standard:

오늘 비 많이 내릴 예정이라서 대신 내일 만날까요? (oneul bi mani naeril yejeongiraseo daesin naeil mannalkkayo?)

     As they are forecasting a lot of rain for today shall we meet tomorrow instead?

 

오늘날에는 사람들은 옷가게로 가기 대신 인터넷을 통해 쇼핑을 많이 해요. (oneullareneun saramdeureun otgagero gagi daesin inteoneseul tonghae syopingeul mani haeyo.)

     Today people shop a lot online instead of going to the clothing store.

 

현대사람들의 생각방식은 옛날사람들과 많이 다른가요? (hyeondaesaramdeurui saenggakbangsigeun yennalsaramdeulgwa mani dareungayo?)

     Is the way of thinking among today’s people very different from older generations?

 

Informal:

오늘 우리의 1년째 기념일이라서 큰 선물을 준비했어. (oneul uriui 1nyeonjjae ginyeomiriraseo keun seonmureul junbihaesseo.)

      I prepared a big gift since it is our first anniversary today.

 

오늘부터 맨날 운동을 하기로 했어. (oneulbuteo maennal undongeul hagiro haesseo.)

     I decided to exercise everyday starting today.

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: BigStockPhoto

 

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