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In this post we’ll cover basic Korean vocabulary related to time, days, and dates.
낮, 밤 nat, bam: Day, Night
Let’s start with some basic vocabulary related to time of day: 낮 nat day; 밤 bam night; 아침 achim morning; 오후ohu afternoon; 저녁 jeonyeok evening.
- 이른/늦은 시간이에요.
ireun/neujeun shiganieyo.
It’s early/late. - 나는 밤에 잔다.
na-neun bam-e janda.
I sleep at night. - 나는 낮에 일한다.
na-neun naj-e ilhanda.
I work during the day. - 우리는 저녁에 책을 읽는다.
uri-neun jeonyeog-e chaeg-eul ilkneunda.
We read in the evening.
몇 시예요? myeot shiyeyo? What time is it?
To ask what time it is, use 몇 시예요? myeot shiyeyo? The answer will follow the format ___시예요. ___shiyeyo. (it is ___ o’clock.) You’ll use Native Korean numbers for the hour, but note that the numbers 하나 hana (one), 둘 dul (two), 셋set (three), and 넷 net (four) are shortened when they’re attached to 시 shi (hour): 한시 hanshi, 두시 dushi, 세시 seshi, 네시 neshi. You can use 반 ban to mean half-past, or the number삼십 samship thirty. Just remember that if you give minutes, you should use Sino-Korean numbers with the counter 분 bun. (If you’re unfamiliar with Native Korean and Sino-Korean numbers, check out this post.)
- 몇 시예요?
myeot shiyeyo?
What time is it? - 정오예요.
jeongoyeyo.
It’s noon. - 한시예요.
hanshiyeyo.
It’s 1:00. - 두시예요.
dushiyeyo.
It’s 2:00. - 세시 삼십분이에요.
seshi samshipbunieyo.
It’s 3:30. - 열시 반이에요.
yeolshi ban ieyo.
It’s ten thirty. - 다섯시 사십 오분이에요.
daseotshi saship obunieyo.
It’s 5:45. - 기차는 몇 시에 떠나요?
gicha-neun myeot shi-e tteonayo?
When does the train leave? - 기차는 오후 한시 반에 떠나요.
gicha-neun ohu hanshi ban-e tteonayo.
The train leaves at one thirty in the afternoon. - 몇 시에 가게 열어요? / 닫아요?
myeot shi-e gage yeoreoyo? / dadayo?
What time does the store open/close? - 가게는 오전 열 시에 문 열어요.
gage-neun ojeon yeol shi-e mun yeoreoyo.
The store opens at ten o’clock in the morning.
오늘은 무슨 요일이에요? oneul-eun museun yoirieyo? What day is it today?
The days of the week in Korean are: 월요일woryoil Monday; 화요일 hwayoil Tuesday; 수요일 suyoil Wednesday; 목요일 mogyoil Thursday; 금요일 geumyoil Friday; 토요일 toyoil Saturday; 일요일 iryoil Sunday. Some other key vocabulary is: 오늘 oneul today, 내일 naeil tomorrow, 어제eoje yesterday, 오늘 저녁 jeonyeog tonight, 주 ju the week, 주말 jumal the weekend.
- 오늘은 무슨 요일이에요?
oneur-eun museun yoirieyo?
What day is it today? - 나는 월요일, 화요일, 수요일, 목요일, 금요일에 일한다.
naneun woryoil, hwayoil, suyoil, mogyoil, geumyoir-e ilhanda.
I work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. - 우리는 토요일마다 친구들을 만난다.
uri-neun toyoilmada chingudeur-eul mannanda.
We see our friends every Saturday. - 오늘 저녁에 뭐해요?
oneul jeonyeog-e mwohaeyo?
What are you doing tonight? - 어제 뭐 했어요?
eoje mwo haesseoyo?
What did you do yesterday? - 이번 주말에 너를 만날 것이다.
ibeon jumal-e neo-reul mannal geoshida.
I’ll see you this weekend.
이번주 ibeonju: This Week
Some other important vocabulary to know when you’re talking about dates and times are: 주 ju week; 달 dal month, 해 (년) hae(nyeon) year.
- 이번주, 이번달, 이번해 (올해/금년)
ibeonju, ibeondal, ibeonhae (olhae/geumnyeon)
this week, this month, this year - 지난주, 지난달, 지난해 (작년)
jinanju, jinandal, jinanhae (jaknyeon)
last week, last month, last year - 다음주, 다음달, 다음해 (내년)
daeumju, daeumdal, daeumhae (naenyeon)
next week, next month, next year - 수업은 다음주/ 다음달/ 다음해 (내년) 에 시작해요.
sueobeun daeumju/ daeumdal/ daeumhae (naenyeon)-e shijakhaeyo.
The class starts next week/ month/ year. - 수업은 지난주/ 지난달/ 지난해(작년)에 시작했어요.
sueobeun jinanju/ jinandal/ jinanhae(jaknyeon)-e shijakhaesseoyo.
The class started last week/ month/ year.
오늘이 며칠이에요? oneul-i myeochirieyo? What’s the date today?
The months of the year are: 일월 irwol January, 이월 iwol February, 삼월 samwol March, 사월 sawol April, 오월 owol May, 유월 yuwol June, 칠월 chirwol July, 팔월 parwol August, 구월 guwol September, 시월shiwol October, 십일월 shibirwol November, 십이월 shibiwol December. Notice that the months in Korean are simply the Sino-Korean numbers attached to –월 -wol.
- 생일이 언제예요?
saengiri eonjeyeyo?
When is your birthday? - 내 생일은 십일월 이십사일이예요.
nae saengir-eun shibirwol ishipsairiyeyo.
My birthday is on November twenty-fourth. - 우리 가족은 팔월 이일에 도착해요.
uri gajog-eun parwol iir-e dochakhaeyo.
My family arrives on August second. - 우리는 칠월 팔일부터 이십일까지 휴가를 가요.
uri-neun chirwol paril-buteo ishibil-kkaji hyuga-reul gayo.
We go on vacation from July eighth through July twentieth.
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