Korean Relative Time Words: 30 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Relative Time Words at a Glance

A relative time word names a moment by its distance from now, not by a date. Korean builds these words from a small set of parts: 지난 (past), 이번 (this), 다음 (next), plus a repeated first syllable for "two away": 지지난 (the one before last) and 다다음 (the one after next). The page belongs to Time Expressions, with Korean Parts of the Day and Korean Frequency Adverbs as its neighbours.

The central pattern is this: the first word says how far you move, and the second says which unit.

Days and years are the exceptions. Weeks and months share the 지난, 이번, 다음 frame, but days have their own line (그저께, 어제, 오늘, 내일, 모레) and so do years (재작년, 작년, 올해, 내년, 내후년).

Which Relative Time Words Should You Learn First?

Learn the centre of the line first: 어제, 오늘, 내일, and then 지난주, 이번 주, 다음 주. These six cover most of the time talk in the first months. Add the month and year equivalents next. Learn the two-away words (그저께, 모레, 지지난주, 다다음 주) last, because they are rarer and follow the same logic.

• Say first. 어제, 오늘, 내일, 지난주, 이번 주, 다음 주, 작년, 올해, 내년.
• Pattern words. 지난, 이번, 다음, 전, 후.
• Recognise. 그끄저께, 글피, 내후년, 금년. They appear in writing and set phrases.

The scene below shows a timeline from three days back to three days ahead, with a tick on today.

Word · 10

1. 1

   그저께

   Play

   geujeokke

   the day before yesterday

2. 2

   어제

   Play

   eoje

   yesterday

3. 3

   오늘

   Play

   oneul

   today

4. 4

   내일

   Play

   naeil

   tomorrow

5. 5

   모레

   Play

   more

   the day after tomorrow

6. 6

   지난주

   Play

   jinanju

   last week

7. 7

   이번 주

   Play

   ibeon ju

   this week

8. 8

   다음 주

   Play

   daeum ju

   next week

9. 9

   작년

   Play

   jangnyeon

   last year

10. 10

    내년

    Play

    naenyeon

    next year

Days (그저께 to 모레)

Seven words make a line of days. In the middle is 오늘, and the words step out from it. Two days back is 그저께 and two ahead is 모레. Three days back is 그끄저께, and three ahead is 글피. The three-day words are rare in speech, and many people say 삼 일 전 (three days ago) instead. 어제, 오늘 and 내일 never take 에. With the rarer 모레 and 글피 you will hear both forms, with and without 에, as in 글피에 다시 만나요.

Example Sentences

Notice the verb tense. Words on the left of 오늘 pair with a past verb: 그저께 시험을 봤어요. Words on the right pair with a present or future form: 모레 여행을 떠나요. The tense of the verb is how Korean tells a listener which side of today you mean. The forms behind 봤어요 and 왔어요 are explained in the past tense lesson.

How Do You Say Weeks in Korean?

The week set is the base for the other sets. 이번 주 is this week, 지난주 is last week, 다음 주 is next week. Add a second 지난 to move back again: 지지난주. Repeat 다음 to move forward again: 다다음 주. 일주일 names a span of seven days, and is used with 동안 to say "for a week". For a single entry, see last week in korean.

In casual speech you will also hear 저번 주 for last week; 지난주 works in both speech and writing, so it is the safer one to learn first. Note the spacing: 이번 주 and 다음 주 are two words, while 지난주 is one.

Months

Months follow the weeks exactly. 지난달 is last month, 이번 달 is this month, 다음 달 is next month. Add the doubling for two away: 지지난달 and 다다음 달. All five use 달, the native word, because they measure a stretch of time in the calendar rather than naming a numbered month. For the numbered names, see Months.

Usage tip: 다음 달부터 means "from next month". The particle 부터 (from) attaches directly to the relative word, and 까지 (until) works the same way: 다음 달까지.

How Do You Say Years in Korean?

Years do not follow the 지난, 이번, 다음 frame. They have their own words. 작년 is last year and 재작년 is the year before last. 올해 is this year. 내년 is next year and 내후년 is the year after next. Two extra forms exist: 지난해 is a written variant of 작년 that is common in news writing, and 금년 is a formal word for this year, used on notices. For a single entry, see next year in korean.

올해 is the everyday word for this year and the one to learn; 금년 is formal. You can combine a year word with 에: 작년에, 내년에. Some speakers drop it in casual speech, and both are accepted.

Now and Later

The last five words are not on the day-week-month-year line. 지금 is now. 얼마 전 is a short while ago with no fixed length. 전 and 후 are "before" and "after" and need an amount in front: 삼 일 전 (three days ago), 삼 일 후 (in three days). 나중에 is open-ended later. These words give you a way out when you do not remember the special word for a day.

Here is a sentence builder that uses the whole page. Pick one word from each column.

So 지난주에 친구를 만났어요 is "I met a friend last week", and 내년에 친구를 만날 거예요 is "I will meet a friend next year". The verb endings follow the time word, which is why the line matters.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Relative time words have several sound changes where one syllable ends in a consonant and the next begins with ㄴ or a vowel. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean.

The pair to practise is 지난주 and 지지난주. The only difference is one extra 지, so count the syllables when you listen.

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 Relative Time Words?

Five mistakes come up often.

1. Using 다음 for "last". 다음 is next; last is 지난.
2. Confusing 작년 and 내년. Check the tense: 작년에 갔어요 is past, 내년에 갈 거예요 is future.
3. Using the week frame for years. Say 작년, not 지난년.
4. Adding 에 to 어제, 오늘 or 내일. Leave it off.
5. Reading 전 and 후 without an amount. 전 means "before" and needs a number in front: 삼 일 전.

The tense link is the key habit. If the time word is on the left of the line, the verb is past.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Run the deck in recognition mode until each position on the line comes quickly, then switch to listening mode and take the quiz. The deck holds all 30 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 with 오늘 in the middle, write the day words on either side and a verb tense under each.

Where to Go Next

Continue with Korean Parts of the Day to say which part of a day, or Korean Frequency Adverbs to say how often. To go up, return to Time Expressions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Day before Yesterday and Day after Tomorrow in Korean?

The day before yesterday is 그저께 (geujeokke) and the day after tomorrow is 모레 (more). Going one step further, three days back is 그끄저께 and three days ahead is 글피. In speech many people say 삼 일 전 (three days ago) and 삼 일 후 (in three days) instead of the last two.

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

Last week is 지난주, this week is 이번 주 and next week is 다음 주. The week before last is 지지난주, and the week after next is 다다음 주. The same frame works for months: 지난달, 이번 달, 다음 달.

What Is the Difference between 작년 and 지난해?

Both mean last year. 작년 is the everyday word and 지난해 is a written variant that appears in news and reports. This year has the same split: 올해 is everyday and 금년 is formal.

How Do You Say the Year before Last and the Year after Next?

The year before last is 재작년 (jaejangnyeon) and the year after next is 내후년 (naehunyeon). They fit with 작년 (last year), 올해 (this year) and 내년 (next year) to form a five-word line.

How Do You Say Three Days Ago in Korean?

Say 삼 일 전 (sam il jeon), or the word 그끄저께. The pattern amount + 전 means "ago", and amount + 후 means "later", so 삼 일 후 is in three days.

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.

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