몇 시예요?
myeot si-yeyo?
In Korean, the phrase for "what time is it?" is 몇 시예요? (myeot si-yeyo?)
The phrase is a question used to ask for the current time of day. You can add 지금 (now) to the beginning of the phrase to ask "What time is it now?" (지금 몇 시예요?).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 몇 (how many/what), 시 (hour/o'clock) and 예요? (is it?).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The polite form 몇 시예요? uses the ending -예요 and is suitable for strangers or people you are not close to. For highly professional settings, news broadcasts or military contexts, use the formal version 몇 시입니까? In contrast, the informal version 몇 시야? is used with close friends or people younger than you.
How do you pronounce it?
myeot si-yeyo?
Did you know?
- When answering 몇 시예요?, Koreans use two different number systems: Native Korean numbers for the hour 시 and Sino-Korean numbers for the minutes 분.
- While 몇 시예요? is polite, asking a stranger the time can sometimes be seen as an implicit request for help, often leading to the speaker bowing slightly while asking.
- The word 몇 was first recorded in the hangul script in the 1447 work 용비어천가, which was created to praise the virtues of the Joseon dynasty's founders.
Examples in context
- 지금 몇 시예요?jigeum myeot siyeyo?What time is it now?
- 실례지만, 몇 시예요?sillyejiman, myeot siyeyo?Excuse me, what time is it?
- 혹시 몇 시예요?hoksi myeot siyeyo?By any chance, what time is it?
Example conversation
Hyunwoo and Seoyeon are waiting at a bus stop.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo서연 씨, 지금 몇 시예요?Seoyeon ssi, jigeum myeot siyeyo?Seoyeon, what time is it now?
- 서연 Seo-yeon지금 두 시 반이에요.jigeum du si ban-ieyo.It is two thirty now.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo버스가 곧 오겠네요.beoseuga got ogenneyo.The bus should be coming soon.
- 서연 Seo-yeon네, 금방 올 거예요.ne, geumbang ol geoyeyo.Yes, it will be here soon.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 몇, CC BY-SA 4.0.
