한 번
han beon
In Korean, "one time" is expressed as 한 번 (han beon).
The phrase 한 번 is used to refer to a single occurrence of an event or action.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 한 (han), meaning "one" and 번 (beon), meaning "time" or "occurrence".
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the spaced form 한 번 and the single word 한번. When written with a space as 한 번, it refers to a literal count of one time. Writing it as one word, 한번, changes the meaning to an idiomatic sense such as "once" (as in "once upon a time") or "sometime" (as in "try doing something once").
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as a noun phrase to mean a literal "one time", the words are written with a space between them: 한 번. Additionally, you can use the phrase 한 번 더 informally to mean "one more time".
How do you pronounce it?
han beon
Did you know?
- The character 한 is a homonym with several distinct meanings, including the name of Korea 韓 and the deep feeling of sorrow or resentment known as 한 (恨).
- In spoken Korean, the difference between the literal 한 번 and the idiomatic 한번 is often impossible to hear, so listeners rely entirely on the context of the conversation.
- Because 한 can represent 'great' or 'big' in certain archaic Korean contexts, a learner might confuse a 'great number' with 'one' if they only study the modern counter.
Examples in context
- 한 번만 말해 주세요Please say it once
- 한 번 더 해 주실래요?Can you do it one more time?
- 이거 한 번만 도와 줘Help me with this just once
- 우리 이거 한 번 더 해 볼까?Shall we try this one more time?
- 한 번만 도와 주세요.Please help just once.
- 한 번 더 말씀해 주세요.han beon deo malsseumhae juseyo.Please say it one more time.
- 그 영화를 한 번 봤어요.geu yeonghwa-reul han beon bwasseoyo.I saw that movie one time.
Example conversation
Subin and Hyunwoo are talking about visiting a new cafe.
- 수빈 Su-bin현우 씨, 거기 가 봤어요?Hyunwoo ssi, geogi ga bwasseoyo?Hyunwoo, have you been there?
- 현우 Hyeon-woo아니요, 한 번 가보고 싶어요.aniyo, han beon gabogo sipeoyo.No, I want to go there one time.
- 수빈 Su-bin그럼 이번 주말에 같이 가요.geureom ibon jumare gachi gayo.Then let's go together this weekend.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo좋아요, 그때 봐요.johayo, geuttae bwayo.Sounds good, see you then.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 번, 한, CC BY-SA 4.0.
