얼마나
eolmana[ʌ̹ɭma̠na̠]
To ask how long in Korean, meaning for what length of time, use 얼마나 (eolmana).
얼마나 asks about an amount or degree, and with time it asks how long. To stress duration, it is often paired with 오래, long, as in 얼마나 오래.
Meaning: how long (length of time) (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
얼마나 literally means how much.
Which one should you use?
The same word asks how much about quantity or degree, so context tells you whether it means time.
How does it change in a sentence?
When how long is part of a larger sentence, as in I don't know how long, the verb takes a connecting ending such as 는지.
How do you pronounce it?
It is romanized as eolmana.
Did you know?
- The phrase 얼마나 is often used in 'rhetorical' expressions to mean 'so much' or 'extremely'. For example, saying 얼마나 예쁜지 몰라요 doesn't ask a question but means 'you have no idea how beautiful it is'.
- While 얼마나 asks about the duration of time, the word for 'long' in a time context is 오래. If you want to describe a physically 'long' object, such as a rope, you must use the word 길다.
- When asking how long something has been, Koreans often use the verb 되다, which means 'to become'. This frames the question as 'how much time has become' rather than asking for a duration.
Examples in context
- 거기서 얼마나 있을 예정이야?How long do you plan to stay there?Here 얼마나 있을 예정이야 asks how long someone plans to stay.Tatoeba #8417354 by Eunhee, translation #8416879 by CK
- 얼마나 오래 거기 있을 거야?How long are you going to be there?This question adds 오래 after 얼마나 to stress the length of the stay.Tatoeba #8417356 by Eunhee, translation #8416720 by CK
- 너 여기서 산 지 얼마나 됐어?How long have you lived here?The pattern 산 지 얼마나 됐어 asks how much time has passed since someone started living here.Tatoeba #8306533 by ljj, translation #61746 by CK
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ji-hoon and Min-ji are talking about a movie.
- 지훈 Ji-hun이 영화 얼마나 길어?i yeonghwa eolmana gireo?How long is this movie?
- 민지 Min-ji두 시간 정도 될 거야.du sigan jeongdo doel geoya.It will probably be about two hours.
- 지훈 Ji-hun기다리는 데 얼마나 걸려?gidarineun de eolmana geollyeo?How long does it take to wait?
- 민지 Min-ji십 분이면 충분해.sip bunimyeon chungbunhae.Ten minutes should be enough.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “how long” translations and entries 얼마나, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
