Why is it ‘며칠,’ not ‘몇 일’?

In standard Korean, 며칠 is used both for asking the date and for talking about a number of days. 몇일 and 몇 일 are not the standard spellings for this meaning.

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

Learners and native speakers alike may write ‘오늘 몇 일이야?’ or ‘몇 일 동안,’ but that is not the standard spelling.

✅ STANDARD FORM

Use ‘오늘 며칠이야?’ and ‘며칠 동안.’ The National Institute of Korean Language says 며칠 covers both the date-question and duration uses.

EASIEST WAY TO REMEMBER IT

Whether you mean a calendar date or ‘how many days,’ remember the single standard form 며칠.

Sources & context

2026-09-18