Minutes Counter in Korean: 분 (bun) and 초 (cho) Explained

What you'll learn

• Say any number of minutes with Sino-Korean numbers and 분, including 5, 15, 30 and 45.
• Say seconds with 초 and read a stopwatch time such as 7분 30초.
• Say how long something takes with 걸려요 and ask 몇 분 걸려요?
• Tell 분 (minutes) from the honorific 분 (people).
• Prerequisites: Sino-Korean numbers up to 60. Estimated time: 25 minutes.

What Is the Minutes Counter in Korean?

The minutes counter in Korean is 분, a counter (단위 명사) that attaches to a Sino-Korean number and says how many minutes there are. A counter is a short word that follows a number and names the unit. English uses a few too, such as "two sheets of paper". Korean uses a counter almost every time it counts.

The pattern is Sino-Korean number + 분. The seconds counter 초 follows the same pattern.

Both words come from Chinese characters (分 and 秒), and both keep the Sino-Korean numbers. This is the opposite of 시 (hour), which takes native numbers. The hour counter is covered on the page about the hour with 시. Together they give the formula for clock time: native number + 시 + Sino-Korean number + 분.

The Sino-Korean numbers themselves are listed on the page for Sino-Korean numbers 1-100. Next, here are the minutes people use most.

How Do You Say Minutes?

You say minutes by putting a Sino-Korean number before 분. The numbers 1 to 59 all work. The table shows the ladder that covers the most common minutes in daily life.

Spell the minutes with a space between the number and 분. With digits, the counter attaches: 15분, 30분. The spelling rules (한글 맞춤법 제43항) of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) allow a counter to attach to Arabic digits.

On the clock, 30 minutes has a second form: 반 (half). So 3:30 is 세 시 삼십 분 or 세 시 반. For a 30-minute duration on its own, 삼십 분 is the usual choice; 반 시간 (half an hour) exists but is heard less often.

Expert insight: learners often memorise the five-minute ladder (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30) and then freeze above 30. The pattern does not change: 35 is 삼십오, 40 is 사십, 45 is 사십오. Read the tens first, then the units.

Once minutes are clear, seconds follow the same pattern, one unit smaller.

How Do You Say Seconds?

You say seconds by putting a Sino-Korean number before 초. A minute has 60 seconds, so 60 seconds is 육십 초 or 일 분. In a stopwatch time, say the minutes first and the seconds second.

You will meet seconds in a few places: timers (삼십 초 남았어요, "30 seconds left"), exercise routines, sports times and cooking. A countdown often reads the Sino-Korean digits one by one: 오, 사, 삼, 이, 일.

Clock time rarely includes seconds. People say the hour and the minute and stop there. Seconds are for measuring, not for telling the time.

Minutes and seconds appear in two settings: on the clock face and as lengths of time. The next section separates them.

How Do You Use 분 on the Clock and for Duration?

The counter 분 appears on the clock and in durations with the same Sino-Korean numbers. The difference is the word that surrounds it. On the clock, 분 follows an hour. In a duration, 분 stands alone or follows a verb such as 걸리다 (to take time).

Notice that the number words do not change between the two uses. 오 분 is 5 minutes in both. Only the sentence around it tells you whether it is a time or a length.

To ask a duration, use the question word 몇 (how many) before 분:

• 집에서 학교까지 몇 분 걸려요? (How many minutes from home to school?)
• 십오 분 걸려요. (It takes 15 minutes.)
• 라면은 몇 분 끓여요? (How many minutes do you boil ramyeon?)
• 삼 분 끓여요. (Three minutes.)

The page on the 시간 counter covers durations in hours, and the two pages together give you full phrases such as 한 시간 삼십 분 (1 hour 30 minutes).

Durations raise a new question: how do you point to a moment before or after now?

How Do You Say "in 5 Minutes" and "5 Minutes Ago"?

You say "in 5 minutes" with 오 분 후에 and "5 minutes ago" with 오 분 전에. The words 후 and 뒤 mean after, and 전 means before. Each one attaches to a minute phrase and then takes the particle 에.

The word 전 has two jobs. After a plain minute phrase it means "ago", as in 오 분 전에. After an hour and a minute, it means "to": 세 시 오 분 전 is 2:55. The context decides, and the safe beginner pattern for "minutes to" is just to read the clock: 두 시 오십오 분.

The 분 counter has a twin that sounds identical, and learners often confuse them.

How Is 분 (minutes) Different from 분 (people)?

The two 분 are different words that sound the same. The minute counter 분 takes Sino-Korean numbers. The honorific counter 분 means "person" in a respectful way and takes native numbers. The number you hear tells you which one is being used.

A restaurant host asks 몇 분이세요? ("How many people are in your party?"), and you answer 두 명이에요. Use 명 for your own group, because the honorific 분 shows respect to other people, not to yourself. A friend asks 몇 분 걸려요? ("How many minutes does it take?"), and you answer with a Sino-Korean number. The honorific counter has its own lesson at the honorific counter 분.

The cue is the number word. If it is native (한, 두, 세, 네), you are counting people. If it is Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼, 사), you are counting minutes.

On the clock face, minutes always come after an hour, which is the next pattern.

How Do Minutes Combine with Hours on the Clock?

On the clock, minutes follow the hour in the order hour, then minutes. Because the two parts use different counters, each part keeps its own number system. The table shows the five patterns that cover nearly every minute you will say.

A useful mental picture is a clock face split into 5-minute steps. Each step adds five to the Sino-Korean number: 오, 십, 십오, 이십, 이십오, 삼십, 삼십오, 사십, 사십오, 오십, 오십오. Say the whole ladder aloud once a day, and the minute list becomes automatic within a few days.

The full hour-and-minute method is on the page about how to tell time in Korean. Minutes also appear in schedules, where the same numbers work without an hour.

How Do You Talk about Minutes in a Daily Schedule?

Minutes in a schedule describe how long each part of the day takes. You use the same Sino-Korean numbers with 분, then a verb such as 걸리다 (to take), 기다리다 (to wait) or 늦다 (to be late). Here are eight sentences that cover commuting, cooking and waiting.

Each sentence uses 분 for a length, not a clock time. When a native speaker says "twenty minutes by bus", the pattern is vehicle + 로 + number + 분 + 걸려요. Swap the vehicle and the number to describe your own journey.

A short exchange shows the same pattern in a real question:

• 회사까지 몇 분 걸려요? (How many minutes to the office?)
• 버스로 사십 분쯤 걸려요. (About 40 minutes by bus.)

The word 쯤 after 분 means "about", just as it does after 시. Now check the three ideas that most often mislead learners.

Which Misconceptions Slow Learners Down?

Three beliefs cause most errors with 분 and 초. Each sounds logical, which is why it persists.

"Minutes use the same numbers as the hour." Learners assume one system for the whole time. In fact the hour uses native numbers and the minutes use Sino-Korean numbers, so 세 시 삼 분 has a different word for each "three".

"반 is a number." The word 반 means "half". On the clock it replaces 삼십 분 after an hour. For a 30-minute duration, say 삼십 분 걸려요 (it takes 30 minutes); 반 appears in durations mainly after an hour count, as in 한 시간 반 (an hour and a half).

"초 is only for sports." Seconds also appear in phone timers, cooking steps and exercise routines, such as 삼십 초 (30 seconds). The counter itself is simple, and it is the same Sino-Korean pattern as 분.

The sound of numbers before 분 needs one more check.

Which Numbers Sound Different before 분?

A few Sino-Korean numbers change their pronunciation when 분 follows. The spelling stays the same. Learners only need to know the main cases so that they are not surprised.

After a number ending in a ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sound, 분 is tensed, so 십 분 sounds like [십뿐] and 육 분 like [육뿐]. Treat the brackets as a guide and trust the audio. The standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) describe the changes in full. The reasons behind these sound changes are the same as in the page on Sino-Korean numbers 1-100.

Honest limit: the pronunciations in this section follow textbook rules. Real speech varies by speaker and speed.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with 분 and 초?

Learners make four mistakes with minutes and seconds.

1. Using native numbers for minutes. Wrong: 세 분, 열 분. Fix: 삼 분, 십 분.
2. Using Sino numbers for the hour next to the minutes. Wrong: 삼 시 십오 분. Fix: 세 시 십오 분.
3. Forgetting 분 after the number. Wrong: 십오 걸려요. Fix: 십오 분 걸려요.
4. Mixing 분 and 초. Wrong: 삼십 초 for half an hour. Fix: 삼십 분.

Each fix comes from the same rule: native numbers for the hour, Sino-Korean numbers for what follows.

Practice Set

Answer each item before you read the answers.

1. Say "10 minutes".
2. Say "45 seconds".
3. Say "7 minutes 30 seconds".
4. Ask "How many minutes does it take?"
5. Say "I arrived 5 minutes ago."
6. Which means "3 people": 삼 분 or 세 분?

Answers:

1. 십 분 (sip bun)
2. 사십오 초 (sasibo cho)
3. 칠 분 삼십 초 (chil bun samsip cho)
4. 몇 분 걸려요? (myeot bun geollyeoyo?)
5. 오 분 전에 도착했어요. (o bun jeone dochakaesseoyo)
6. 세 분. 삼 분 means 3 minutes.

If you got four or more correct, you are ready for the next page.

What Should You Learn Next?

You now know the minutes counter in Korean: Sino-Korean number plus 분, with 초 for seconds. Continue in this order:

• The hour with 시 to pair minutes with native-number hours.
• How to tell time in Korean to combine hours, minutes and AM or PM in one method.
• AM, PM and half past for 반 and 전 in more detail.
• Telling time in Korean for the whole section.

Frequently Asked Questions