🕐 Korean Time Expressions: Your Ticket to Time Travel!
Imagine you have a magic time remote control. With it, you can jump to any day, any month, any hour. But the remote only works if you speak Korean! Let’s learn the secret words to control time.
📅 Days of the Week: Your Seven Friends
Think of the week as seven friends who visit you in order, every single week. Each friend has a special name!
| Day | Korean | Pronunciation | Memory Trick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 월요일 | wol-yo-il | 🌙 Moon-day (월 = moon) |
| Tuesday | 화요일 | hwa-yo-il | 🔥 Fire-day (화 = fire) |
| Wednesday | 수요일 | su-yo-il | 💧 Water-day (수 = water) |
| Thursday | 목요일 | mok-yo-il | 🌳 Wood-day (목 = wood) |
| Friday | 금요일 | geum-yo-il | ✨ Gold-day (금 = gold) |
| Saturday | 토요일 | to-yo-il | 🏔️ Earth-day (토 = earth) |
| Sunday | 일요일 | il-yo-il | ☀️ Sun-day (일 = sun/day) |
The Pattern: Every day ends with 요일 (yo-il) which means “day of the week.”
🎯 Quick Example: “See you on Friday!” → 금요일에 만나요! (geum-yo-il-e man-na-yo)
🗓️ Months of the Year: Counting to Twelve
Here’s a secret: Korean months are super easy! Just count 1-12 and add 월 (wol) meaning “month.”
| Month | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1월 | il-wol |
| February | 2월 | i-wol |
| March | 3월 | sam-wol |
| April | 4월 | sa-wol |
| May | 5월 | o-wol |
| June | 6월 | yu-wol |
| July | 7월 | chil-wol |
| August | 8월 | pal-wol |
| September | 9월 | gu-wol |
| October | 10월 | si-wol |
| November | 11월 | sib-il-wol |
| December | 12월 | sib-i-wol |
🎯 Quick Example: “My birthday is in July.” → 제 생일은 7월이에요. (je saeng-il-eun chil-wol-i-e-yo)
🌅 Time of Day Expressions: Painting the Sky
The Korean day is like a painting that changes colors. Each part of the day has its own beautiful word!
graph TD A["🌙 새벽<br>sae-byeok<br>Dawn"] --> B["🌅 아침<br>a-chim<br>Morning"] B --> C["☀️ 낮<br>nat<br>Daytime"] C --> D["🌆 저녁<br>jeo-nyeok<br>Evening"] D --> E["🌙 밤<br>bam<br>Night"] E --> A
| Time of Day | Korean | Pronunciation | When? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dawn | 새벽 | sae-byeok | Before sunrise |
| Morning | 아침 | a-chim | Wake up time |
| Daytime/Noon | 낮 | nat | Bright sun time |
| Afternoon | 오후 | o-hu | After lunch |
| Evening | 저녁 | jeo-nyeok | Sunset time |
| Night | 밤 | bam | Dark outside |
🎯 Quick Example: “Good morning!” → 좋은 아침이에요! (jo-eun a-chim-i-e-yo)
⏰ Relative Time: The Time Machine Words
These are your time travel words! They help you talk about yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Days Around Today
| English | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Day before yesterday | 그저께 | geu-jeo-kke |
| Yesterday | 어제 | eo-je |
| Today | 오늘 | o-neul |
| Tomorrow | 내일 | nae-il |
| Day after tomorrow | 모레 | mo-re |
Weeks & Months
| English | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Last week | 지난주 | ji-nan-ju |
| This week | 이번 주 | i-beon ju |
| Next week | 다음 주 | da-eum ju |
| Last month | 지난달 | ji-nan-dal |
| This month | 이번 달 | i-beon dal |
| Next month | 다음 달 | da-eum dal |
🎯 Quick Example: “See you tomorrow!” → 내일 봐요! (nae-il bwa-yo)
🕐 Telling Time: Hours
Korean has two number systems. For hours, we use the Native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋…).
Think of it like this: The clock has a Korean heart!
| Hour | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 o’clock | 한 시 | han si |
| 2 o’clock | 두 시 | du si |
| 3 o’clock | 세 시 | se si |
| 4 o’clock | 네 시 | ne si |
| 5 o’clock | 다섯 시 | da-seot si |
| 6 o’clock | 여섯 시 | yeo-seot si |
| 7 o’clock | 일곱 시 | il-gop si |
| 8 o’clock | 여덟 시 | yeo-deol si |
| 9 o’clock | 아홉 시 | a-hop si |
| 10 o’clock | 열 시 | yeol si |
| 11 o’clock | 열한 시 | yeol-han si |
| 12 o’clock | 열두 시 | yeol-du si |
Add AM/PM:
- 오전 (o-jeon) = AM (morning)
- 오후 (o-hu) = PM (afternoon)
🎯 Quick Example: “It’s 3 PM.” → 오후 세 시예요. (o-hu se si-ye-yo)
⏱️ Telling Time: Minutes
For minutes, switch to Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼…). The same numbers you use for months!
| Minutes | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 오 분 | o bun |
| 10 minutes | 십 분 | sip bun |
| 15 minutes | 십오 분 | sib-o bun |
| 20 minutes | 이십 분 | i-sip bun |
| 25 minutes | 이십오 분 | i-sib-o bun |
| 30 minutes | 삼십 분 | sam-sip bun |
| 45 minutes | 사십오 분 | sa-sib-o bun |
Bonus Words:
- 반 (ban) = half (30 minutes)
- 정각 (jeong-gak) = exactly/sharp
🎯 Quick Example: “It’s 3:30.” → 세 시 반이에요. (se si ban-i-e-yo) “It’s 7:15.” → 일곱 시 십오 분이에요. (il-gop si sib-o bun-i-e-yo)
⏳ Duration Expressions: How Long?
Duration is like measuring how much time passes. Use Native Korean numbers for hours, Sino-Korean for minutes!
| Duration | Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | 한 시간 | han si-gan |
| 2 hours | 두 시간 | du si-gan |
| 30 minutes | 삼십 분 | sam-sip bun |
| 1 hour 30 min | 한 시간 반 | han si-gan ban |
| 1 day | 하루 | ha-ru |
| 2 days | 이틀 | i-teul |
| 3 days | 사흘 | sa-heul |
| 1 week | 일주일 | il-ju-il |
| 1 month | 한 달 | han dal |
The Formula:
[Number] + 시간 (hours) / 분 (minutes) / 동안 (during)
🎯 Quick Example: “I studied for 2 hours.” → 두 시간 동안 공부했어요. (du si-gan dong-an gong-bu-hae-sseo-yo)
🎯 Putting It All Together
Now you can build complete time expressions!
Full Date + Time Pattern:
[Year]년 [Month]월 [Day]일 [Day of week] [AM/PM] [Hour]시 [Minute]분
Example: December 25th, Friday, 3:30 PM 12월 25일 금요일 오후 세 시 반 (sib-i-wol i-sib-o-il geum-yo-il o-hu se si ban)
🚀 You Did It!
You now have the magic words to control time in Korean! Remember:
- Days end with 요일
- Months are just numbers + 월
- Hours use Native Korean numbers + 시
- Minutes use Sino-Korean numbers + 분
- Relative time words let you time travel!
Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be a time master! ⏰✨