Time & Daily Routine
Talk about time and simple daily routines politely.
Telling time in Korean famously mixes the two number systems. Hours use native Korean numbers with the modification rule: 한 시 (1:00), 두 시 (2:00), 세 시 (3:00). Minutes use Sino-Korean numbers: 오 분 (5 minutes), 십 분 (10), 삼십 분 (30). Combined: 세 시 삼십 분 (3:30). This mixed system feels strange at first but becomes automatic after a few weeks of practice.
Daily routine vocabulary follows the standard verb conjugation: 일어나다 (to wake up) → 일어나요, 자다 (to sleep) → 자요, 먹다 (to eat) → 먹어요. You can chain time expressions with daily activities to describe your whole day: 아침 일곱 시에 일어나요. 여덟 시에 아침을 먹어요. 아홉 시에 일해요. The particle 에 marks the time point ('at seven o'clock'), and Koreans expect this particle in time expressions — leaving it out sounds noticeably broken.
에 (Time Marker)
Use 에 after time expressions to indicate when something happens.
아/어요 (Polite Present)
Use 아/어요 to make polite present tense sentences.
How It Works
The polite present ending -아요/-어요 is the workhorse of spoken Korean, and the choice between the two forms depends on the last vowel of the verb stem. If that vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ, you use -아요; otherwise you use -어요. 가다 has stem 가 with ㅏ, giving 가요. 먹다 has stem 먹 with ㅓ, giving 먹어요. This is vowel harmony — the ending matches the character of the stem vowel.
Several contractions then apply, which is why the forms often look shorter than expected. When the stem already ends in ㅏ, the ending merges rather than doubling: 가 + 아요 becomes 가요, not 가아요. Verbs ending in 하다 are irregular in a useful way — 하 + 어요 becomes 해요, which is why 공부하다 gives 공부해요 and 하다 itself gives 해요. Since an enormous number of Korean verbs are built with 하다, this single irregular form covers a great deal of ground.
에 is the time particle and it works simply: attach it to a time expression to say when. 아홉 시에, 저녁에, 아침에. It is the same particle used for location, and the overlap is not a coincidence — Korean treats points in time much like points in space. Note that some time words reject 에, most notably 오늘, 어제 and 내일, which appear bare.
Where You'll Hear It
-아요/-어요 is the register you will live in. It is polite enough for shopkeepers, colleagues, and people you have just met, but not stiff like -습니다, which is reserved for formal announcements and presentations. If you learn one verb ending properly, this is the one.
Daily-routine sentences are the natural first use. 아침에 일어나요, 저녁에 자요, 매일 공부해요. These are genuinely useful for small talk, which in Korean often runs through schedules and meals rather than weather.
에 appears in every arrangement you make. 몇 시에 만나요? ('what time shall we meet?') and 아홉 시에 시작해요 ('it starts at nine') are the backbone of scheduling, and you will hear the pattern in shop opening hours and class times.
The 하다 verbs deserve particular attention because they are everywhere. 공부해요 ('study'), 일해요 ('work'), 운동해요 ('exercise'), 요리해요 ('cook'), 전화해요 ('call') — almost any activity noun can take 하다 and become a verb, which means learning 해요 unlocks hundreds of verbs at once. This is the highest-leverage single form in beginner Korean.
Cultural & Language Note
The particle 에 marks a point in time much as Japanese に does — 세 시에 and 三時に line up neatly. But Korean omits 에 with words like 오늘, 어제, and 내일, exactly as Japanese omits に with 今日 and 明日. The parallel holds even at the level of which words take the particle and which do not, which is a useful shortcut for Japanese speakers.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Attaching 에 to 오늘 or 내일 is the most frequent error here — 내일에 만나요 is wrong; it is simply 내일 만나요. The 아/어요 conjugation also trips learners up because the vowel of the stem decides the ending: stems with ㅏ or ㅗ take 아요, everything else takes 어요, and 하다 becomes the irregular 해요.
How to Practice This Lesson
Start with 해요 verbs, not with the vowel harmony rule. Because 하다 compounds are so numerous and 해요 is a single fixed form, you can produce dozens of correct sentences immediately without applying any rule at all. Build that fluency first, then learn the harmony.
When you do tackle -아요 versus -어요, sort verbs into two columns by their stem vowel rather than memorising conjugations one at a time. Put 가다, 보다, 오다 on the ㅏ/ㅗ side and 먹다, 읽다, 마시다 on the other. Seeing the split visually makes the rule obvious.
Then write your own daily routine — five sentences, each with a time expression and 에 — and say it aloud every morning for a week. You get the ending, the particle, and genuinely useful personal vocabulary in one exercise, and repetition on your own schedule sticks better than textbook sentences about other people.