In this lesson, we are going to look at how to say “approximately” or “about” when you talk
about quantity, frequency, time, etc. There are many different ways you can say this in Korean,
but the most commonly used expression is 쯤 [ jjeum].
In English, “about”, “approximately”, and “around” are used BEFORE nouns. However, in Korean,
the word 쯤 [ jjeum] is used AFTER nouns.
Examples
1 o’clock = 한 시 [han si]
Around 1 o’clock = 한 시쯤 [han si-jjeum]
1,000 won = 천 원 [cheon won]
About 1,000 won = 천 원쯤 [cheon won-jjeum]
One month = 한 달 [han dal]
Approximately one month = 한 달쯤 [han dal-jjeum]
4km = 4킬로미터 [sa kil-lo-mi-teo]
About 4 km = 4킬로미터 쯤 [sa kil-lo-mi-teo jjeum]
Similar expressions
Similar words: 정도 [ jeong-do], 약 [yak]
정도 [ jeong-do] is used after nouns, just like 쯤 [ jjeum], whereas 약 [yak] is used BEFORE
nouns.
한 달 [han dal] = one month
한 달쯤 [han dal-jjeum] = about a month
한 달 정도 [han dal jeong-do] = about a month
약 한 달 [yak han dal] = about a month
Note that 정도 has a space before it and 쯤 doesn’t. Sometimes people also use 약 and 쯤
together or 약 and 정도 together.
약 한 달쯤 [yak han dal-jjeum] = about a month
약 한 달 정도 [yak han dal jeong-do] = about a month
Sample sentences
1. 100명쯤 왔어요.
[baek-myeong-jjeum wa-sseo-yo.]
= About 100 people came.
2. 독일에서 2년쯤 살았어요.
[do-gi-re-seo i-nyeon-jjeum sa-ra-sseo-yo.]
= I lived in Germany for about two years.
3. 언제쯤 갈 거예요?
[eon-je-jjeum gal geo-ye-yo?]
= About when are you going to go?
4. 내일 몇 시쯤 만날까요?
[nae-il myeot si-jjeum man-nal-kka-yo?]
= Around what time shall we meet tomorrow?
5. 다섯 시쯤 어때요?
[da-seot si-jjeum eo-ttae-yo?]
= How about around five o’clock?
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