How To Use 쯤, 약, 정도, 한 | Approximates Lesson

안녕하세요 리더님! Koreanstudyjunkie에서 Junie입니다~ Today we’ll be learning how to use these 4 words for saying “about”, “around”, “approximately” in Korean: 쯤, 약, 정도, 한. Also what is the difference between these 4 (if there is any notable difference?)

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쯤, 정도, 한, 약 = about, approximately, or around

쯤/정도 = used after nouns.

한/약 = used before nouns.

In English, when you want to talk about the number or amount of something which is not 100% accurate, or is a rough guess, words like ‘about‘, ‘approximately‘ and ‘around‘ are used (“about 5 minutes“, “approximately 3 km“, “around 5 o’clock“, etc).

The most common way to express this in Korean is to use 쯤/정도. These are both commonly used in spoken language and are used after nouns. 정도 is a little more formal, so it is also sometimes used in written language.

As for conjugation rules, 쯤 is attached to a noun without any space, whereas 정도 follows a noun with a space.

Examples:

1시 (one o’clock) → 1시쯤

2주 (2 weeks) → 2주쯤

3명 (3 people) → 3명쯤

4개 (4 pieces) → 4개쯤

3시쯤 = around 3 o’clock

3시쯤 만날까요?

Shall we meet around 3?

6개월쯤 = about 6 months

한국에서 6개월쯤 살았어요.

I lived in Korea for about six months.

50,000 원 정도 = approximately 50000 won

전기세로 50,000원 정도 냈어요.

I paid approximately 50,000 won for the electric bill.

Unlike 쯤/정도 which are used after nouns, 한/약 are used before nouns.

한 is often used in spoken language, and 약 is often used in written language as 약 is quite formal.

As for conjugation rules, you just need to remember that both 한 and 약 come right before a noun and to leave a space between 한/약 and the noun.

Conjugation examples

1시 (one o’clock) → 한 1시

2주 (2 weeks) → 한 2주

3명 (3 people) → 한 3명

4개 (4 pieces) → 한 4개

1시 (one o’clock) → 약 1시

2주 (2 weeks) → 약 2주

3명 (3 people) → 약 3명

4개 (4 pieces) → 약 4개

In real conversations, 쯤/정도 are often used together with 한/약 to emphasize that the thing being stated is not accurate.

한/약 comes before the noun and 쯤/정도 comes after the noun.

For example:

한 1년쯤 = about a year

약 1년쯤 = about a year

한 1년 정도 = about a year

약 1년 정도 = about a year

가: 보통 몇 시에 일어나요?

A: What time do you usually wake up?

나: 6시쯤에 일어나요.

B: I wake up around 6.

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DIFFERENCES & SIMILARITIES:

한

• Comes before

• Gives a rough estimate

• Very common in spoken Korean

• No specific type of number matters here - anything works

쯤

• Comes after

• Means “around / approximately”

• Often used with time or specific quantities

• Feels more certain than 한

약

• Comes before numbers

• Formal / neutral tone

• Common in writing, news, TOPIK

• This one sounds most objective and factual

• Doesn’t need to be used with any specific type of number - anything goes

정도

• Comes after numbers

• Works with nouns, verbs, clauses

• Very common in everyday

speech

• Can express amount, level, intensity

Types of numbers:

• time sounds most natural with 쯤, 정도 (한 as well but mostly when combined with one of the other two)

• dates sound most natural with 약, 쯤

• quantities - all work

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PRACTICE TIME!

Translate each sentence

The answers will be at the very end!

1).

가: 서울에서 런던까지 얼마나 걸려요?

A: How long does it take to get to London from Seoul?

나:

B: It takes about 14 hours by plane.

2).

가: 기차가 언제 출발해요

A: When does the train leave?

나:

B: It will leave in about 10 minutes.

3).

가: 파티에 몇 명 정도 왔어요?

A: Approximately how many people came to the party?

나:

B: About 50 people came.

4).

가: 이 집은 월세가 얼마예요?

A: How much is the monthly rent for this house?

나:

B: It’s around 1,000,000 won.

5).

We’ll be going to Korea around October

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That’s all for this lesson! If you learned something new today, leave a like on this blog OR comment below a sentence using one of these words!

You can keep learning at koreanstudyjunkie.com/blog

ANSWER SECTION:

1). 비행기로 약 14시간 정도 걸려요.

2). 기차는 약 10분 정고 출발할 것입니다.

3). 한 50명 쯤 왔어요.

4). 백만원 정도예요.

5). 우리는 한 10월쯤 한국에 갈 거예요.