Lesson 5
In this lesson, you will learn how to say “approximately” or “about” when talking quantity, frequency, time, and so on. There are many different ways to say this in Korean, but the most commonly used expression is -쯤.
In English, “about”, “approximately”, and “around” are used BEFORE nouns. However, in Korean, the word -쯤 is used AFTER nouns.
Ex)
1 o’clock = 한 시
Around 1 o’clock = 한 시쯤
1,000 won = 천 원
About 1,000 won = 천 원쯤
One month = 한 달
Approximately one month = 한 달쯤
4 kilometers = 4킬로미터
About 4 kilometers = 4킬로미터쯤
Similar expressions : 정도, 약
-쯤, 정도 are used after nouns, whereas 약 is used BEFORE nouns.
한 달 = one month
한 달쯤 = about a month
한 달 정도 = about a month
약 한 달 = about a month
* Note that 정도 has a space before it and 쯤 does not. Sometimes people also use 약 and 쯤 together or 약 and 정도 together.
약 한 달쯤 = about a month
약 한 달 정도 = about a month
Sample Sentences
100명쯤 왔어요.
= About 100 people came.
독일에서 2년쯤 살았어요.
= I lived in Germany for about two years.
언제쯤 갈 거예요?
= Approximately when are you going to go?
내일 몇 시쯤 만날까요?
= Around what time shall we meet tomorrow?
다섯 시쯤 어때요?
= How about around five o’clock?