Periods Of Time In Korean
In this lesson, you will learn periods of time in Korean. If you’re not sure what periods of time are, in English they are words like second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, 2 days, 3 months, and so on. In order to make sentences with periods of time in Korean you need to know the correct counter for that period of time, and native and Sino-Korean numbers.
Periods Of Time In Korean
An important thing to know about periods of time in Korean is that some use Sino-Korean numbers and some use native Korean numbers. In the table below, you can see a list of Korean counters used for periods of time, and whether or not they use native or Sino-Korean numbers.
| Time Periods That Use Sino-Korean Numbers | Time Periods That Use Native Korean Numbers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 초 (second) | – | 이 초 (2 seconds) |
| 분 (minute) | – | 오 분 (5 minutes) |
| – | 시간 (hour) | |
| 일 (day) | – | 칠 일 (seven days) |
| 주(일) (week) | 주(일) (week) | 일주일 [Sino] / 한 주일 [native] (1 week) |
| 개월 (month) | 달 (month) | 육 개월 [Sino] / 여섯 달 [native] (6 months) |
| 년 (year) | 해 (year) | 삼 년 [Sino] / 세 해 [native] (three years) |
As you can see, Sino-Korean numbers are used with the following periods of time: seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, and years. And, Native Korean numbers are used with the following periods of time: hours, weeks, months, and year.
Periods Of Time In Korean: Example Sentences
Next, let’s take a look at some example sentences using the above periods of time.
| English | Korean | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| When does your lesson finish? | 언제 수업이 끝나요? | |
| It will finish in 20 minutes. | 이십 분 후에 끝나요. | |
| When did you start studying Korean? | 언제 한국어 공부를 시작했어요? | |
| I started 3 years ago. | 삼 년 전에 시작했어요. | |
| How long does it take from here to the airport? | 여기에서 공항까지 얼마나 걸려요? | |
| I takes 1 hour and 30 minutes. | 한 시간 삼십 분 걸려요. |
Related Lessons
Thanks for reading. I hope you found this lesson on periods of time in Korean useful. Before you go, check out these related lessons:
Telling The Time In Korean
Korean Adverbs Of Frequency
Korean Numbers