Korean word

쯤

Pronunciation

Romanizationjjeum

Meaning

  • particlearound

Example

저녁쯤 만날까요?cheo nyeok jjeum man nal kka yo

Shall we meet sometime in the evening?

Illustration for 쯤 (around)

More examples

영화는 두 시간쯤 상영해요.yeong hwa neun tu si gan jjeum sang yeong hae yo

The movie runs for about two hours.

Core concept

A marker that leaves room on either side of a stated value instead of fixing it exactly.

Common phrases

  • 두 시간쯤tu si gan jjeum

    around two hours

  • 세 시쯤se si jjeum

    around three o'clock

  • 다섯 명쯤ta seot myeong jjeum

    around five people

Definition in Korean

수나 시각, 정도 등을 따르는 명사 뒤에 붙어 그 값을 어림으로 표시하는 결합 조사로서 말하는 이의 주관적인 애매함을 나타내는 조사이다.su na si gak cheong do teung eul tta reu neun myeong sa twi e pu teo keu kap sseul eo ri meu ro pyo si ha neun kyeol hap cho sa ro seo mal ha neun i ui chu gwan jeo gin ae mae ha meul na ta nae neun cho sa i da

Word origin

쯤 (jjeum, "around") has no securely established meaningful decomposition, and its form is best remembered as an established particle for approximate values.

Usage tips

  • In Korean, the expression being estimated comes first and 쯤 (jjeum, "around") follows it, a useful pattern for hearing approximate times and numbers in conversation.

Other meanings

  • aboutparticle

Word lists with this word