Korean Time Expressions: 50 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Time Expressions at a Glance

Most Korean time words are nouns or adverbs that sit near the start of a sentence, before the verb. Many are used with no particle at all, and others take 에 (at, on, in). Knowing which is which is the main skill on this page. Words about days of the week and months have their own pages: Days of the Week and Months. This page is the hub for three deeper lists, Korean Relative Time Words, Korean Parts of the Day and Korean Frequency Adverbs.

The page belongs to Time Words. If you want to say the exact clock time with numbers, continue to telling time after this list.

Which Time Expressions Should You Learn First?

Learn 오늘, 어제, 내일, 지금 and 언제 first. They let you ask and answer when something happens with no grammar beyond the verb. Next add 아침, 점심, 저녁 and 밤, which name the parts of the day, and then the this/last/next pattern. Learn the clock words last, because they need numbers.

• Say first. 오늘, 내일, 지금, 언제, 매일, 아침, 저녁.
• Recognise. 정오, 자정, 모레, 그저께. They appear in notices and news.
• Sentence helpers. 이따가, 곧, 아직, 벌써. They are small words that change the feel of a sentence.

The scene below shows a wall clock, a calendar and a daily timeline with ten of the words as numbered items.

Word · 10

1. 1

   오늘

   Play

   oneul

   today

2. 2

   내일

   Play

   naeil

   tomorrow

3. 3

   어제

   Play

   eoje

   yesterday

4. 4

   아침

   Play

   achim

   morning

5. 5

   점심

   Play

   jeomsim

   lunch; midday

6. 6

   저녁

   Play

   jeonyeok

   evening; dinner

7. 7

   밤

   Play

   bam

   night

8. 8

   지금

   Play

   jigeum

   now

9. 9

   주

   Play

   ju

   week

10. 10

    시간

    Play

    sigan

    time; hour (duration)

Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow

The core day words form a line: 그저께, 어제, 오늘, 내일, 모레. Each is one short noun, and none takes 에. Say 내일 가요, not 내일에 가요. Past days go with a past verb and future days with a present or future verb. 매일 and 하루 belong here because they count days: 매일 means every day, and 하루 means a span of one day.

Example Sentences

The sentences keep the same frame: time word, then the rest, then the verb. Replace 오늘 with 어제 and change the verb to the past to see how the tense follows the time word. Listen first, repeat the whole sentence, then change one word.

For the full 그저께 to 글피 line, see Korean Relative Time Words.

How Do You Say Weeks, Months and Years in Korean?

A pattern does most of the work. 지난 (past), 이번 (this) and 다음 (next) go in front of the period word: 지난주, 이번 주, 다음 주; 지난달, 이번 달, 다음 달. Years have their own words: 작년 (last year), 올해 (this year), 내년 (next year). The units 주, 달 and 년 also count: 한 주 (one week), 한 달 (one month), 삼 년 (three years).

Note that 달 is a span of time and counts with native numbers, while 년 follows Sino-Korean numbers. This difference is also covered on Months. For the past-tense verb forms that go with 지난주 or 작년, see the past tense lesson.

How Do You Say Morning to Night in Korean?

The day has several names. 새벽 is before the sun rises, 아침 is the morning, 낮 is the bright part of the day, 점심 is around noon, 저녁 is the evening and 밤 is the night. 오전 and 오후 are the clock labels for a.m. and p.m. Three of these have two meanings: 아침 is morning and breakfast, 점심 is midday and lunch, and 저녁 is evening and dinner. Context makes it clear: 아침을 먹어요 is "I eat breakfast", and 아침에 먹어요 is "I eat in the morning".

Two cautions. First, 밤 also means chestnut, so check the verb: 밤을 먹어요 is likely chestnuts. Second, the boundaries between the parts of the day are loose and depend on the speaker. For a closer look, see Korean Parts of the Day.

How Do You Say Now, Soon, Later in Korean?

These ten words place an event around the moment of speaking. 지금 is now, 방금 is just now, 아까 is a while ago, 곧 is soon, and 이따가 and 나중에 are two kinds of later. 이따가 means later the same day, while 나중에 is open-ended. 먼저 means first, 요즘 means these days, 벌써 means already, and 아직 means still or not yet.

The sentence with 아직 shows that one word covers both "still" and "not yet". With a negative verb, 아직 안 왔어요 means "has not come yet". With a positive verb, 아직 있어요 means "is still here". Frequency words like 항상 and 가끔 are on Korean Frequency Adverbs.

Time of the Day with 에

The particle 에 attaches to a point in time: 아침에, 오후에, 세 시에, 월요일에. It does not attach to the relative words 오늘, 어제, 내일, 모레, 그저께, 지금 or 언제. Compare:

• 아침에 운동해요. (I exercise in the morning.) Uses 에.
• 내일 운동해요. (I exercise tomorrow.) No 에.
• 세 시에 만나요. (We meet at three o'clock.) Uses 에.
• 언제 만나요? (When shall we meet?) No 에.

The clock words below finish the group. 시 follows a native number (세 시), 분 and 초 follow Sino-Korean numbers (십 분), and 반 means half.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Several time words change sound at the end or in the middle. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which does not mark every sound change.

The pair to practise is 늦게 and 일찍. Both have a tense consonant in the second syllable ([께] and [찍]), a sound English lacks: say it with a tight throat and no puff of air.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The clips below replay the trickiest words slowly. Play one, repeat it, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Time Expressions?

Five mistakes come up often.

1. Adding 에 to 오늘, 어제 or 내일. Leave it off.
2. Treating 밤 as only night. 밤 can also be a chestnut.
3. Using 시 with Sino-Korean numbers. Say 세 시 (three o'clock), not 삼 시.
4. Using 분 with native numbers. Say 십 분 (ten minutes), not 열 분.
5. Leaving out the negative with 아직. 아직 안 왔어요 needs 안 to mean "not yet", because 아직 alone does not say "not yet".

The clock mistakes come from the two number systems, so telling time explains the pairing in full.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Run the deck in recognition mode until the day words come quickly, then switch to listening mode and take the quiz. The deck holds all 50 words with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, draw a line from morning to night, write the Hangul for each part of the day and add one sentence under each.

Where to Go Next

Continue with Korean Relative Time Words for the full past-to-future line, then Korean Parts of the Day and Korean Frequency Adverbs. Or go back to Months and Time Words.

Pages in This Section

• Korean Relative Time Words: 30 words from 그저께 to 글피, with last, this and next periods.
• Korean Parts of the Day: 25 words from dawn to midnight, with greetings by time.
• Korean Frequency Adverbs: 20 words from always to never, with every-X nouns.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow in Korean?

Today is 오늘 (oneul), yesterday is 어제 (eoje) and tomorrow is 내일 (naeil). None of them takes 에. Say 내일 만나요 for "We meet tomorrow". The day before yesterday is 그저께 and the day after tomorrow is 모레.

When Do You Use 에 with a Time Word?

Use 에 with a point in time such as 아침, 오후, 세 시 or a day name: 아침에, 세 시에, 월요일에. Do not use it with 오늘, 어제, 내일, 지금 or 언제, which already work as adverbs.

How Do You Say Last Week, This Week and Next Week in Korean?

Say 지난주 for last week, 이번 주 for this week and 다음 주 for next week. The same pattern works for months: 지난달, 이번 달 and 다음 달. For years, use 작년, 올해 and 내년.

What Is the Difference between 이따가 and 나중에?

이따가 means later the same day, usually within hours: 이따가 전화할게요. 나중에 is open-ended, any time later or some other time: 나중에 이야기해요. 이따가 takes no 에, while 나중에 already contains it.

Why Does 아침 Mean Both Morning and Breakfast?

Korean often uses the time of the meal as the word for the meal. 아침 is breakfast, 점심 is lunch and 저녁 is dinner, as well as morning, midday and evening. The verb and particle show which: 아침을 먹어요 is "I eat breakfast", and 아침에 먹어요 is "I eat in the morning".

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.