How to Tell Time in Korean: Hours, Minutes, and Seconds

How to Tell Time in Korean: Hours, Minutes, and Seconds

Learning how to tell time in Korean is one of those small skills that becomes useful everywhere.

You will use it when you are meeting a friend, catching a bus, booking a table, checking a class schedule, or asking what time a café closes.

The good news is that Korean time expressions follow a clear pattern. The tricky part is that Korean uses different number systems for hours and minutes.

Let’s walk through this together.

The basic Korean time pattern

To say a full time in Korean, use this order:

[hour] 시 [minute] 분 [second] 초

For example:

세 시 십오 분 이십 초

3:15:20

• 시 = hour / o’clock
• 분 = minute
• 초 = second

1. Telling the hour in Korean

For hours, Korean usually uses native Korean numbers.

Time	Korean	Meaning
1:00	한 시	one o’clock
2:00	두 시	two o’clock
3:00	세 시	three o’clock
4:00	네 시	four o’clock
5:00	다섯 시	five o’clock
6:00	여섯 시	six o’clock
7:00	일곱 시	seven o’clock
8:00	여덟 시	eight o’clock
9:00	아홉 시	nine o’clock
10:00	열 시	ten o’clock
11:00	열한 시	eleven o’clock
12:00	열두 시	twelve o’clock

Important: four special hour forms

When native Korean numbers come before a counter like 시, some numbers change shape.

• 하나 becomes 한
• 둘 becomes 두
• 셋 becomes 세
• 넷 becomes 네

So you say:

• 한 시, not 하나 시
• 두 시, not 둘 시
• 세 시, not 셋 시
• 네 시, not 넷 시

This is an important part of Korean grammar basics. It may feel unfamiliar at first, but you will hear these forms all the time.

2. Telling the minutes in Korean

For minutes, Korean uses Sino-Korean numbers.

Minutes	Korean
1 minute	일 분
5 minutes	오 분
10 minutes	십 분
15 minutes	십오 분
20 minutes	이십 분
30 minutes	삼십 분
45 minutes	사십오 분
59 minutes	오십구 분

For example:

세 시 십 분

3:10

여섯 시 삼십 분

6:30

열한 시 오십오 분

11:55

You do not need to memorize every minute separately. Once you know Sino-Korean numbers, you can build any time.

3. Telling the seconds in Korean

Seconds also use Sino-Korean numbers.

일 초

one second

십 초

ten seconds

삼십 초

thirty seconds

오십구 초

fifty-nine seconds

For example:

일곱 시 이십 분 십오 초

7:20:15

In everyday conversation, people do not usually mention seconds unless they are talking about a race, a countdown, cooking, timing an exercise, or checking an exact schedule.

Still, knowing 초 is helpful for understanding Korean in real life.

4. Full time examples

Here are some useful examples:

• 한 시 오 분

1:05

• 두 시 십오 분

2:15

• 네 시 삼십 분

4:30

• 여덟 시 사십오 분

8:45

• 열 시 이십 분 삼십 초

10:20:30

• 열두 시 오 분 십 초

12:05:10

For learn Korean for beginners learners, it helps to first say the hour, then add the minutes slowly.

For example:

다섯 시

5:00

Then:

다섯 시 이십 분

5:20

Then, when you feel ready:

다섯 시 이십 분 십 초

5:20:10

You are doing great. Build the time in small pieces.

5. How to ask for the time in Korean

A very useful question is:

지금 몇 시예요?

What time is it now?

You may also hear:

지금 몇 시야?

What time is it?

This is casual, so use it with friends or people close to your age.

A polite answer could be:

지금 세 시예요.

It is 3:00 now.

지금 여섯 시 십 분이에요.

It is 6:10 now.

These are useful basic Korean phrases for everyday life.

6. Morning, afternoon, and night

Korean often adds a time-of-day word before the clock time.

• 오전 = AM / morning
• 오후 = PM / afternoon or evening
• 밤 = night

Examples

오전 아홉 시

9:00 AM

오후 두 시

2:00 PM

밤 열한 시

11:00 PM

For appointments, schedules, and travel, listen carefully for 오전 and 오후. They can completely change the meaning of the time.

For example:

오전 여덟 시

8:00 AM

오후 여덟 시

8:00 PM

7. Real-life Korean conversation examples

Here are a few simple Korean real-life dialogues you may hear.

Meeting a friend

A: 몇 시에 만날까요?

What time should we meet?

B: 오후 세 시에 만나요.

Let’s meet at 3:00 PM.

Checking a class schedule

A: 수업이 몇 시에 시작해요?

What time does class start?

B: 오전 열 시에 시작해요.

It starts at 10:00 AM.

At a café

A: 카페가 몇 시에 닫아요?

What time does the café close?

B: 밤 열 시에 닫아요.

It closes at 10:00 PM.

These are great sentences for Korean conversation practice because you can change only one number and create many new conversations.

8. A common mistake: using the same numbers for everything

A common learner mistake is using Sino-Korean numbers for the hour.

For example:

일 시

This is understandable, but it is not the normal way to say 1:00.

Instead, say:

한 시

Remember:

• Hours use native Korean numbers.
• Minutes use Sino-Korean numbers.
• Seconds use Sino-Korean numbers.

A simple memory trick is:

Native numbers for the big clock section.

Sino-Korean numbers for the smaller details.

9. Useful time vocabulary

Here are a few words that make telling time even easier.

Korean	Meaning
시	hour / o’clock
분	minute
초	second
지금	now
오늘	today
내일	tomorrow
어제	yesterday
오전	AM
오후	PM
밤	night
일찍	early
늦게	late

Learning time words alongside a Korean verbs list can be especially helpful.

For example:

여덟 시에 일어나요.

I wake up at 8:00.

아홉 시에 출근해요.

I go to work at 9:00.

열한 시에 자요.

I sleep at 11:00.

10. Practice: say these times in Korean

Try reading these aloud.

1. 1:30

한 시 삼십 분

1. 4:05

네 시 오 분

1. 7:20

일곱 시 이십 분

1. 9:45

아홉 시 사십오 분

1. 12:10:25

열두 시 십 분 이십오 초

1. 2:00 PM

오후 두 시

For more Korean conversation practice, try looking at the time around you and saying it in Korean. Start with just the hour. Then add minutes when it feels comfortable.

Final tip

Use native Korean numbers with 시 for hours.

Use Sino-Korean numbers with 분 for minutes and 초 for seconds.

Once you know that one rule, telling time in Korean becomes much easier. You will be ready to make plans, ask about schedules, and understand everyday conversations with more confidence.