Both number systems, in one breath. This is where 117 and 118 finally collide.
Hours take native Korean numbers. Minutes and seconds take Sino-Korean.
There is no logic to recover here — it is simply the convention, and mixing it up is the single most common time mistake. 두 시 삼십 분, never 이 시 삼십 분 and never 두 시 서른 분.
Note also that the hour uses the counter form — 두 시, not 둘 시 — because 시 is a counter like 개 and 명 (119).
The two columns
| Hours — native | Minutes — Sino | |
|---|---|---|
| 한 시 | 1 | 일 분 |
| 두 시 | 2 | 이 분 |
| 세 시 | 3 | 삼 분 |
| 네 시 | 4 | 사 분 |
| 다섯 시 | 5 | 오 분 |
| 여섯 시 | 6 | 육 분 |
| 일곱 시 | 7 | 칠 분 |
| 여덟 시 [여덜 씨] | 8 | 팔 분 |
| 아홉 시 | 9 | 구 분 |
| 열 시 | 10 | 십 분 |
| 열한 시 | 11 | 이십 분 · 삼십 분 |
| 열두 시 | 12 | 사십 분 · 오십 분 |
The four shortened forms — 한, 두, 세, 네 — carry through the teens: 열한 시, 열두 시.
Parts of the day
Prefix the hour with 오전 (AM) or 오후 (PM).
| Korean | Hanja | English |
|---|---|---|
| 정오 | 正午 | noon |
| 자정 | 子正 | midnight |
| 오전 | 午前 | morning, AM |
| 오후 | 午後 | afternoon, PM |
| 전 | 前 | before |
| 후 | 後 | after |
And the informal bands, which are what people actually use:
| Band | Roughly | Meal |
|---|---|---|
| 새벽 | 1am – 6am | — |
| 아침 | 7am – 12pm | 아침(밥) — breakfast |
| 점심 | 12pm – 6pm | 점심(밥) — lunch |
| 저녁 | 6pm – 9pm | 저녁(밥) — dinner |
| 밤 | 9pm – 12am | 야식 — a late-night snack |
아침, 점심 and 저녁 are each both a time of day and the meal eaten in it. 점심(을) 먹어요 is “I’m having lunch”; 점심에 is “at midday”. Which one is meant comes from the particle.
반 and 전
Two shortcuts:
2시 30분 = 2시 반 — half past two (반 = half) 6시 45분 = 7시 15분 전 — a quarter to seven
The 전 construction states the later hour first and subtracts. 7시 15분 전 is literally “15 minutes before 7 o’clock”, so the hour you hear is not the hour it is — worth listening for.
Verbs that take a time
| Verb | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 일어나다 | to get up | 아침 7시에 일어나요. |
| 자다 | to sleep | 밤 11시 반에 자요. |
| 열다 | to open | 아침 9시에 문(을) 열어요. |
| 닫다 | to close | 밤 10시에 문(을) 닫아요. |
| 시작하다 | to start | 회의(가) 오전 10시에 시작해요. |
| 끝나다 | to finish | 회의(가) 오후 4시에 끝나요. |
The time takes 에, from 125 — and remember 지금 does not.
Dialogue
투이: 민수 씨, 수진 씨를 언제 만나요? Minsu, when are you meeting Sujin?
민수: 내일 오후에 만나요. Tomorrow afternoon.
투이: 오후 몇 시에 만나요? What time in the afternoon?
민수: 세 시 삼십 분에 만나요. At 3:30.
내일 has no 에; 오후 does. Both are in the same sentence, which makes it a good one to keep.
Practice
Q: 몇 시에 점심(을) 먹어요? — What time do you have lunch? A: 매일 11시 반에 먹어요. — Every day at 11:30.
Q: 회의(가) 몇 시에 시작해요? — What time does the meeting start? A: 오후 2시에 시작해요.
Work culture: 국물 요리, the soup dishes
English has “soup” and “stew”. Korean has four words, and the distinction is how much liquid there is and how it gets to the table. Ordering the wrong one gets you something quite different from what you pictured.
| Type | The rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 국 | Boiled with a lot of water. Thin, served in an individual bowl with rice. | 미역국 · 콩나물국 · 계란국 · 김칫국 |
| 탕 | The Sino-Korean word for 국 — but in practice more solids, less broth, and usually a dish in its own right rather than a side. | 곰탕 · 설렁탕 · 갈비탕 · 해물탕 · 매운탕 |
| 찌개 | Boiled with little water and seasoned with 고추장 or 된장. Thicker, saltier, and shared from the middle of the table. | 김치찌개 · 된장찌개 · 순두부찌개 |
| 전골 | Ingredients arranged in a pot, broth poured over, and cooked at the table as you eat. | 해물전골 · 버섯전골 · 불고기전골 |
The practical distinction at a Korean table is the last one in each row. 국 comes in your own bowl; 찌개 sits in the middle and everyone eats from it. That is a social fact as much as a culinary one, and it is why 찌개 turns up in every description of Korean communal eating — including the table manners in 113.
전골 is the one that arrives raw. If a burner appears at your table, it is 전골, and it is not ready yet.