LEARN + KOREAN / 13 of 125 TOPIK I

What Time Is It? 몇 시예요?

The meeting starts at 2:30. Say the hour with native Korean numbers and 시, then the minutes with Sino-Korean numbers and 분: 두 시 삼십 분. Korean switches number sets within the same time.

The Hour

Korean	English
한 시 han si	1 o'clock
두 시 du si	2 o'clock
세 시 se si	3 o'clock
네 시 ne si	4 o'clock
다섯 시 daseot si	5 o'clock
여섯 시 yeoseot si	6 o'clock
일곱 시 ilgop si	7 o'clock
여덟 시 yeodeol si	8 o'clock
아홉 시 ahop si	9 o'clock
열 시 yeol si	10 o'clock
열한 시 yeolhan si	11 o'clock
열두 시 yeoldu si	12 o'clock

Hint · 힌트

This is the one sentence where the two number systems actually collide: 여덟 시 이십 분 (8:20) is native Korean for the hour immediately followed by Sino-Korean for the minutes, in the same breath. There’s no partial credit for mixing them up, native numbers never label minutes and Sino-Korean numbers never label the hour.

jigeum myeot siyeyo?

What time is it now?

ilgop si banieyo.

It's 7:30.

gichaga yeodeol si isip bune chulbalhaeyo.

The train departs at 8:20.

From, Until, When It Starts

부터 (from) and 까지 (until) bracket a time range. 시 attaches straight to the hour for a single point in time.

sueobi ilgop sibuteo ahop sikkaji isseoyo.

Class is from 7 to 9.

jeomsimeul yeoldu sie meogeoyo.

I eat lunch at 12.

yeonghwaga myeot sie sijakhaeyo?

What time does the movie start?

In Real Life

오전/오후 (AM/PM) mostly shows up when there’s real ambiguity, a train schedule, an exam time, a formal appointment. In everyday conversation Koreans lean on context the same way English speakers do: “meet you at 7” doesn’t need “PM” attached if it’s obviously evening.

Vocabulary

Korean	English
오전 ojeon	AM
오후 ohu	PM
시 si	hour
분 bun	minute
반 ban	half past
아침 achim	morning
점심 jeomsim	lunch
저녁 jeonyeok	dinner
늦다 neutda	to be late
일찍 iljjik	early
이따가 ittaga	later, in a bit
곧 got	soon

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