Your language exchange partner texts you: "내일 세 시 반에 강남역에서 봐요!" You read 세 and think "three," you read 반 and think "half," and you show up at 2:30 to be safe. She arrives at 3:30.
The next week you try to say "I studied for three hours" and it comes out as "I studied at three o'clock." Korean time is not hard, but it hides two small traps.
To tell time in Korean, say the hour with native Korean numbers plus 시 and the minutes with Sino-Korean numbers plus 분: 3:20 is 세 시 이십 분 (se si isip bun).
And 반 (ban) means “half past,” not “half to.” So 세 시 반 is 3:30, always.
How do you say the hours in Korean?
Hours use native numbers, with the short forms for 1 to 4. There are only twelve to learn.
| Time | Korean | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | 한 시 | han si |
| 2:00 | 두 시 | du si |
| 3:00 | 세 시 | se si |
| 4:00 | 네 시 | ne si |
| 5:00 | 다섯 시 | daseot si (said da-seot-ssi) |
| 6:00 | 여섯 시 | yeoseot si (said yeo-seot-ssi) |
| 7:00 | 일곱 시 | ilgop si |
| 8:00 | 여덟 시 | yeodeol si |
| 9:00 | 아홉 시 | ahop si |
| 10:00 | 열 시 | yeol si |
| 11:00 | 열한 시 | yeolhan si |
| 12:00 | 열두 시 | yeoldu si |
Learners often say 일 시 or 이 시 because Sino numbers feel easier. People will understand you, but it sounds like reading a robot’s display. Hours are native.
How do you say the minutes?
Minutes use Sino-Korean numbers plus 분 (bun). This is the same system you use for money and dates, so it is pure logic: 이십오 is “two-ten-five,” 25.
1:05 = 한 시 오 분 han si o bun
4:15 = 네 시 십오 분 ne si sibo bun
8:40 = 여덟 시 사십 분 yeodeol si sasip bun (said sa-sip-ppun)
10:52 = 열 시 오십이 분 yeol si osibi bun
12:30 = 열두 시 반 yeoldu si ban
When the minutes are near the hour, Koreans often count down with 전 (jeon, "before"). 4:50 can be 다섯 시 십 분 전 (daseot si sip bun jeon), "ten to five." On the dot is 정각 (jeonggak): 세 시 정각.
How do you ask what time it is?
The question is 지금 몇 시예요? (jigeum myeot siyeyo?), “What time is it now?” In speech, 몇 시 sounds like myeot-ssi.
지금 몇 시예요? jigeum myeot siyeyo? = What time is it now?
두 시 십 분이에요. du si sip bunieyo = It's 2:10.
몇 시에 만날까요? myeot sie mannalkkayo? = What time shall we meet?
일곱 시에 만나요. ilgop sie mannayo = Let's meet at seven.
The particle 에 (e) after a time means “at”: 일곱 시에, “at seven.”
오전 and 오후: AM and PM
Korean puts AM and PM before the time, not after. 오전 (ojeon) is AM and 오후 (ohu) is PM.
- 오전 아홉 시 (ojeon ahop si) = 9 AM
- 오후 두 시 반 (ohu du si ban) = 2:30 PM
In everyday talk, people usually swap these for words that describe the part of the day. They sound warmer and more natural.
| Word | Romanization | Roughly covers | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 새벽 | saebyeok | small hours, after midnight to dawn | 새벽 두 시, 2 AM |
| 아침 | achim | morning | 아침 여덟 시, 8 AM |
| 점심 | jeomsim | around noon, lunchtime | 점심 열두 시 반, 12:30 PM |
| 오후 | ohu | afternoon | 오후 세 시, 3 PM |
| 저녁 | jeonyeok | evening | 저녁 일곱 시, 7 PM |
| 밤 | bam | night | 밤 열한 시, 11 PM |
새벽 is a fun one. Koreans use it for anything from about 1 AM until sunrise, so if a K-drama character says they got home at 새벽 네 시, they mean 4 AM, not “the evening.”
시 vs 시간: o’clock or hours?
This is the trap from the scene. 시 (si) is a point on the clock. 시간 (sigan) is an amount of time. Both take native numbers.
세 시에 공부했어요. se sie gongbuhaesseoyo = I studied at three o'clock.
세 시간 공부했어요. se sigan gongbuhaesseoyo = I studied for three hours.
Minutes do not change: 분 is both “minute on the clock” and “minutes of duration.” 삼십 분 기다렸어요 (samsip bun gidaryeosseoyo) means “I waited 30 minutes.”
한 시간 han sigan = one hour
한 시간 반 han sigan ban = an hour and a half
두 시간 십오 분 du sigan sibo bun = 2 hours 15 minutes
서울에서 부산까지 KTX로 두 시간 반쯤 걸려요. seoureseo busankkaji KTX-ro du sigan banjjeum geollyeoyo = Seoul to Busan takes about two and a half hours by KTX.
What about the 24-hour clock?
Train tickets, schedules and phones in Korea often show 24-hour time, like 15:30. In speech, most people still convert to 오후 세 시 반. When they do read the 24-hour number, you will hear both 십오 시 삼십 분 (sibo si samsip bun), common in announcements, and 열다섯 시 삼십 분 (yeoldaseot si samsip bun).
Put it together
Try saying your daily schedule out loud: when you wake up, when you eat lunch, when you go to bed, and how many hours you sleep. That one routine practices hours, minutes, 반, time-of-day words and 시간.
If you want to check a time, type it into the Korean number converter, which reads any clock time in natural Korean. For the logic behind the two number systems, see native vs Sino-Korean numbers, and for ordering at the cafe once you get there, the Korean counters guide.
Sources: National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) Standard Korean Language Dictionary and Standard Pronunciation rules; Revised Romanization of Korean (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).
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