Telling the Time in Korean

Native hours, Sino minutes

세 시 삼십 분 is 3:30. The three is native Korean and the thirty is Sino-Korean, in the same breath. Saying 삼 시 for three o'clock is wrong, and so is 서른 분 for thirty minutes.

The first four native numbers shorten in front of 시: 하나 becomes 한, 둘 becomes 두, 셋 becomes 세, 넷 becomes 네.

반 always means half past the hour named, so there is no equivalent of the German or Dutch half-to trap.

오전 and 오후 come before the hour rather than after: 오후 세 시 is 3pm.

Three of the day-part words double as meal names. 아침 is morning and breakfast, 점심 is midday and lunch, 저녁 is evening and dinner, so 저녁 먹었어요 means did you eat dinner and is also a common way of asking how someone is.

• 지금 일곱 시 반이에요.It is 7:30 now.
• 오후 네 시에 만나요.Let's meet at 4pm.