Learn how to tell time in Korean
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Intro |
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| Michael: How do you ask for the time in korean? |
| Kyejin: And how do you tell the time? |
| Michael: At KoreanClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following scenario: during a school break, Sasha Morris asks her classmate Seo-young Sin about the time. They don't want to be late for their next class. Sasha asks, |
| "What time is it now?" |
| Sasha Morris: 지금 몇 시예요? (Jigeum myeot siyeyo?) |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Morris: 지금 몇 시예요? (Jigeum myeot siyeyo?) |
| Seo-young Sin: 세 시 십오 분이에요. (Se si sib-o bun-ieyo.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Morris: 지금 몇 시예요? (Jigeum myeot siyeyo?) |
| Michael: "What time is it now?" |
| Seo-young Sin: 세 시 십오 분이에요. (Se si sib-o bun-ieyo.) |
| Michael: "It’s a quarter past three" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Knowing how to ask for the time, as well as how to tell time, is essential when you’re learning Korean. In this lesson, you will learn how to do both. The Korean word for "time," by the way, is |
| Kyejin: 시간 (sigan) |
| Michael: One of the most important things you must understand when it comes to telling time in Korean is that there are two number systems used. For telling hours, the determiners derived from native Korean or the pure Korean number system are used. For telling minutes, the Sino-Korean numbers are used. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Sasha Morris says "What time is it now?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Kyejin: 지금 몇 시예요? (Jigeum myeot siyeyo?) |
| Kyejin: 지금 (Jigeum) |
| Michael: means “now,” so this one basically means “What time is it now?” and is the most common way to ask time in Korean. A much simpler one would be |
| Kyejin: 몇 시예요? (Myeoch siyeyo?) |
| Michael: or “What time is it?” Another one would be |
| Kyejin: 지금 몇 시입니까? (Jigeum myeot siibnikka?) |
| Michael: This also stands for “What time is it now?”, but the ending differs from the previous sentences. This one is spoken in the formal, addressee-raising politeness level while the previous sentences are in informal, addressee-raising level. Alternatively, you can say |
| Kyejin: 실례합니다. 혹시 지금 몇 시인지 아십니까? (Sillyehabnida. Hogsi jigeum myeot siinji asibnikka?) |
| Michael: which means “Excuse me. Do you happen to know what time it is right now?” |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let’s take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Seo-young Sin says "It’s a quarter past three?" |
| Kyejin: 세 시 십오 분이에요. (Se si sib-o bun-ieyo.) |
| Michael: Let’s break this down to better understand how to tell time in Korean. When telling the hour, we use the word, |
| Kyejin: 시 (si) |
| Michael: which can be translated as “o’clock” in English. Here, a determiner from the native Korean number system is also used. These determiners are the same with the native Korean numbers, except for the first four numerals—1,2,3 and 4. The native Korean number for three is |
| Kyejin: 셋 (saet) |
| Michael: while the determiner derived from this number, which we use to tell time, is |
| Kyejin: 세 (se). |
| Michael: And for the minutes, a number from the Sino-Korean number system is used, and, for fifteen, we have, |
| Kyejin: 십오 (sibo) |
| Michael: Literally, the example in this dialogue would be translated as “Three o’clock and fifteen it is.” Keep in mind that, while there is a word in Korean for “half past,” which is, |
| Kyejin: 반 (ban), |
| Michael: There is no single word equivalent to “past” or “till” as used for “a quarter past” and “a quarter till”in English. This means that |
| Seo-young Sin: 세 시 십오 분이에요. (Se si sib-o bun-ieyo.) |
| Michael: can be said for both “Its three fifteen” and “It’s quarter past three.” |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you learned the most common ways to ask for the time, as well as how to tell the time in Korean. Let’s take this time to review some of the things we’ve learned, starting with |
| Kyejin: 몇 시예요? (Myeoch siyeyo?) |
| 두 시예요 (du siyeyo) |
| Michael: “What time is it? It’s two o’clock.” |
| Kyejin: 지금 몇 시예요? (Jigeum myeot siyeyo?) |
| 네시 반이에요. (Nesi banieyo.) |
| Michael” “What time is it now? Half past four.” |
| Kyejin: 실례합니다. 혹시 지금 몇 시인지 아십니까? (Sillyehabnida. Hogsi jigeum myeot siinji asibnikka?) |
| 여섯 시 십오 분이에요. (Yeoseot si sib-o bun-ieyo.) |
| Michael: “Excuse me. Do you happen to know what time it is right now?” “It’s a quarter past six.” |
| Expansion |
| Michael: If you’re wondering what time format Korea uses, the answer is both the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock. Koreans use both of these systems in daily life, although in different situations. The 12-hour format is what is used in spoken Korean, while the 24-hour format is used in more formal situations, particularly in written form, such as when time is shown on TV or at airport timetables. In the 24-hour format, you tell time by saying the hour, plus |
| Kyejin: 시 (si), |
| Michael: which, as mentioned, is the equivalent of “o’clock” in English. For instance, if you want to say it’s 2:10 using the 24-hour format, you can say, |
| Kyejin: 십사시 십분 (Sibsasi sibbun) |
| Michael: or “14:10.” One important thing you need to remember when telling the time in the 24-hour format is that you normally use determiners from the pure-Korean number system for 1:00 to 12:00 and the ones from the Sino-Korean number system for 13:00 to 24:00. What about A.M. and P.M.? Does Korean use these markers for telling time, as well? In fact, it does. The Korean vocabulary for A.M., which marks the time from 12 A.M. to noon, is |
| Kyejin: 오전 (ojeon) |
| Michael: and, for P.M., the time from noon to midnight, it’s |
| Kyejin: 오후 (ohu) |
| Michae: However, unlike in English, these two markers are placed before the time instead of after. For instance, if you want to say, “It’s 2:13 A.M.,” you say that as |
| Kyejin: 오전 두 시 십삼 분 (ojeon du si sipsam bun) |
| Michael: And, if you want to say “7:30 P.M.,” that would be |
| Kyejin: 오후 일곱 시 반 (ohu ilgop si ban) |
| Michael: There are also some other words that indicate the time of the day like, |
| Kyejin: 새벽 (saebyeok) |
| Michael: “dawn” or “very early morning hours.” |
| Kyejin: 아침 (achim) |
| Michael: “morning,” |
| Kyejin: 저녁 (jeonyeok) |
| Michael: “evening,” |
| Kyejin: 밤 (bam) |
| Michael: “night.” |
| These words can be placed before the time like A.M. and P.M., so 2:00 A.M. may also be put as |
| Kyejin: 새벽 두 시 (saebyeok du si) |
| Michael: and “7:30 in the evening” as |
| Kyejin: 저녁 일곱 시 반 (jeonyeok ilgop si ban). |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Korean people are very flexible when it comes to time. In Korean, there is what people would refer to as |
| Kyejin: 한국 시간 (hangug sigan) |
| Michael: which means, “Korean time.” Other cultures have this phenomenon too, so it’s not a surprise if Korea has one as well. “Korean time” simply describes the relaxed attitude Koreans have toward appointment times. This means it’s not uncommon for people to arrive at an appointment between five and twenty minutes behind. This practice has become apparent in the way many Koreans make appointments. So you might often hear Koreans say |
| Kyejin: 몇 시쯤… (meot sijjeum…) |
| Michael: or “What time, roughly...” when making statements or raising questions on time or appointments. Does this mean Koreans do not value time? Far from it. Koreans value punctuality, as it is a sign of respect. This is highly observable in the corporate world where business meetings are scheduled a couple of weeks ahead. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Kyejin: 안녕히 계세요 (annyeonghi gyeseyo) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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