Korean Counter Si (시): Saying the Hour with Native Numbers

What you'll learn

• Say all 12 hours with 시, including the shortened 열한 시 and 열두 시.
• Tell 시 (o'clock) from 시간 (hours of duration) with a two-line test.
• Ask and answer 몇 시 questions.
• Add 정각 (exactly) and 쯤 (about) to an hour.
• Prerequisites: native numbers 1 to 12. Estimated time: 25 minutes.

What Is the Korean Counter Si?

The Korean counter si (시) is a short word that attaches to a native Korean number to name an hour on the clock. A counter (단위 명사, a unit noun) tells you what the number measures. With 시, the number measures a position on the clock face, so 세 시 means "three o'clock".

The pattern is simple: native number + 시.

One fact surprises learners. The word 시 comes from the Chinese character 時, yet it takes native numbers, not Sino-Korean ones. So 3 o'clock is 세 시, never 삼 시. The Sino-Korean numbers appear after 시, in the minutes: 세 시 십오 분. The lesson on Sino vs native Korean numbers explains the wider split.

Before you can say every hour, you need the twelve forms, and two of them change shape.

How Do You Say Each Hour?

You say each hour by putting a native number from 1 to 12 before 시. The numbers 1 to 4 use their short forms (한, 두, 세, 네), and 11 and 12 use the special forms 열한 and 열두.

The Sound column shows the pronunciation after the spelling. For 5, 6, 7 and 9, the 시 sounds like [씨] with a tense consonant, because the number ends in a stop sound, [ㄷ] or [ㅂ]. After 여덟 (8) and 열 (10) the standard sound is plain, [여덜시] and [열시], although many speakers say [여덜씨] and [열씨]. The Revised Romanization of Korean in the reading aid column spells 시 as "si" every time.

Why Are 11 and 12 Different?

The numbers 11 and 12 are different because Korean builds them as 열 (10) plus 하나 (1) or 둘 (2), and before a counter 하나 and 둘 shorten to 한 and 두, exactly as they do in 한 시 and 두 시. Native 11 is 열하나 and native 12 is 열둘 when you count out loud. Before 시, they become 열한 and 열두.

If you can say 열한 시 and 열두 시 without hesitating, you have learned the hardest part of the clock hours. The same short forms appear in the lesson on native Korean numbers 1-10 when you count things.

The hours are one half of the topic. The other half is a pair of words that look almost identical.

What Is the Difference between 시 and 시간?

시 names a point on the clock, and 시간 names a length of time. 세 시 means "3 o'clock", and 세 시간 means "three hours". The two words share the syllable 시, which makes them easy to mix up.

A two-line test. First, can you replace the phrase with "o'clock"? Then use 시. Second, can you replace it with "hours"? Then use 시간. In "meet at three", the English word "o'clock" fits, so you say 세 시. In "study for three hours", the word "hours" fits, so you say 세 시간.

Expert insight: the spelling difference is only the final 간, which means "interval". It is the same 간 as in 시간표 (timetable) and 공간 (space). A good habit is to listen for the extra syllable in 세 시간 whenever a Korean speaker talks about how long something takes.

The page on the 시간 counter teaches durations in full. Back on the clock, the hours often need a small modifier.

How Do You Say "about" or "Exactly" with 시?

Add 쯤 for "about" and 정각 for "exactly on the hour". Both go right after the hour. 쯤 attaches to the time without a space, and 정각 is a separate word.

In a sentence, the particle 에 follows the time word:

• 세 시쯤에 만나요. (Let's meet around 3.)
• 세 시 정각에 시작해요. (It starts at exactly 3.)

정각 is never needed in a plain answer. 세 시예요 already means "It's 3 o'clock". Add 정각 only when you want to stress that the time is exact.

Now that you can say the hours, the next step is asking for them.

How Do You Ask What Time with 몇 시?

You ask the time with 몇 시, where 몇 means "how many" or "what" and 시 is the counter. The most common question is 지금 몇 시예요? (What time is it now?). The answer is the hour plus 예요: 세 시예요.

Two grammar notes help here. The ending is 예요 after a word that ends in a vowel, such as 시, and 이에요 after a word that ends in a consonant. The particle 에 appears when an event happens at a time (몇 시에 만나요?) but not when the time is the answer itself (지금 몇 시예요?).

The phrase page on what time is it in Korean adds casual and formal versions. The full method that adds minutes is on how to tell time in Korean.

Twelve o'clock raises a special question, so it gets its own section.

How Do You Say Noon and Midnight?

Noon is 정오 (jeongo) or 낮 열두 시, and midnight is 자정 (jajeong) or 밤 열두 시. The plain phrase 열두 시 can mean either, because Korean uses the 12-hour clock in daily speech and the day part gives the answer.

When you use 오전 and 오후, the usual reading is 오후 열두 시 for noon and 오전 열두 시 for midnight. English works the same way: noon is called 12 PM and midnight 12 AM. Because convention varies, 정오 and 자정 are the safest words when the exact moment matters, such as in a plan or a deadline. The lesson on AM, PM and half past explains all the day-part words.

Learners should also know where the counter 시 does not apply.

Does 시 Work with the 24-Hour Clock?

The 24-hour clock is a different system from the one this page teaches. Daily speech uses the 12-hour clock with 오전 and 오후, as in 오후 세 시 for 3 PM. Written timetables, tickets and schedules often show 24-hour times such as 15:00.

This page does not teach how to read 24-hour times aloud. The honest limit: a Korean teacher or the audio on your transport ticket will show how people actually say them, and practice varies by setting. For conversation, stay with the 12 hours above plus 오전 or 오후.

In writing, you can attach 시 directly to a digit: 3시, 7시, 12시. The standard spelling rules (한글 맞춤법 제43항) allow a counter to attach to Arabic digits. Reading them aloud always gives 세 시, 일곱 시, 열두 시.

With the written forms covered, the next step is using the hours inside full sentences.

How Do Hours Work inside a Full Sentence?

Hours work inside a sentence as a time phrase placed before the verb, usually with 에 after it. The pattern is time + 에 + verb, and the order of other parts stays flexible. Here are eight everyday sentences that use only the hour.

You also hear the hour as a name for scheduled things. The "nine o'clock news" is 아홉 시 뉴스, and an "eight o'clock train" can be 여덟 시 기차. In these phrases the hour works like an adjective, with no 에.

A short dialogue puts the pieces together:

• 몇 시에 퇴근해요? (What time do you leave work?)
• 여섯 시에 퇴근해요. (I leave at 6.)
• 그럼 일곱 시에 만나요. (Then let's meet at 7.)

Each answer repeats the hour from the question, which is how Korean conversations stay short. The same hour words also meet the day-part words, which the next section previews.

Which Day-Part Words Go with 시?

Day-part words go before the hour to make clear which part of the day you mean. 아침 means morning, 낮 means daytime, 저녁 means evening and 밤 means night. Together with 오전 (AM) and 오후 (PM), they remove doubt about which "seven" you mean.

The lesson on AM, PM and half past lists every day-part word and when each one sounds natural. With the vocabulary in place, it is worth clearing up the ideas that lead to errors.

Which Misconceptions Slow Learners Down?

Three beliefs cause most errors with 시. Each one sounds logical, which is why it persists.

"시 and 분 must use the same number system." Learners assume that both parts of a time use one system. In fact, 시 takes native numbers and 분 takes Sino-Korean numbers. They are different counters with different rules, so 세 시 십오 분 is correct and 삼 시 십오 분 is not.

"The 시 in 시간 is the same word as the 시 in 세 시." The two share a syllable, but 시간 is a separate word meaning "time" or "hour(s) of duration". That is why 세 시간 (three hours) keeps working with the native 세 yet means something different from 세 시 (3 o'clock).

"Native numbers above 12 can be used for hours." The 12-hour clock stops at 열두 시. Higher native forms such as 열세 시 are not part of everyday speech, which uses 오후 with 1 to 12 instead.

Check yourself with the mistakes in the next section.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with 시?

Learners make four mistakes with 시, and each one has a simple fix.

1. Using Sino-Korean numbers. Wrong: 삼 시, 오 시. Fix: 세 시, 다섯 시.
2. Using the long forms. Wrong: 하나 시, 둘 시, 열하나 시. Fix: 한 시, 두 시, 열한 시.
3. Confusing 시 and 시간. Wrong: 세 시 걸려요 for "it takes three hours". Fix: 세 시간 걸려요.
4. Adding 에 to the question. Wrong: 지금 몇 시에예요? Fix: 지금 몇 시예요?

Limits of this lesson: it covers the hour only. Minutes need a different counter and different numbers, and they are taught on the page about minutes and seconds.

Practice Set

Answer each item before you read the answers.

1. Say "5 o'clock".
2. Say "11 o'clock".
3. Say "about 8 o'clock".
4. Ask "What time do you eat lunch?"
5. Choose the right phrase for "two hours": 두 시 or 두 시간.
6. Correct the mistake: 이 시에 만나요.

Answers:

1. 다섯 시 (daseot si)
2. 열한 시 (yeolhan si)
3. 여덟 시쯤 (yeodeol sijjeum)
4. 점심은 몇 시에 먹어요? (jeomsimeun myeot sie meogeoyo?)
5. 두 시간. 두 시 means 2 o'clock.
6. 두 시에 만나요. The hour needs the native 두, not the Sino 이.

Four or more correct means you are ready for the next page.

What Should You Learn Next?

You now know how the Korean counter si works: a native number from 한 to 열두, then 시, with 시간 reserved for durations. Continue in this order:

• How to tell time in Korean to add minutes, AM and PM in one method.
• Minutes and seconds for the Sino-Korean half of the clock.
• The 시간 counter for durations such as "two hours".
• Telling time in Korean to see the whole section.

Frequently Asked Questions