2 · Tense and aspect
How long: 동안, 만에 and 지나다
expressions of duration
동안 for how long something lasts, 만에 for how long until it happens, 지나다 for time going by.
동안 after a length of time says how long something goes on: 두 시간 동안 공부했어요, "I studied for two hours". It is a noun, so it stands apart: 일주일 동안, 삼 년 동안, 방학 동안 (during the holidays). After a verb it needs the modifier -는: 제가 자는 동안, "while I was asleep". In speech 동안 is often left out after a number: 두 시간 공부했어요.
만에 is the one English speakers do not expect. It counts the time until something happens, usually after a gap: 삼 년 만에 고향에 갔어요, "I went home for the first time in three years". It can also measure how quickly something was done: 한 시간 만에 끝났어요, "it was finished within an hour". The greeting 오랜만이에요, "long time no see", contains the same word.
The verb 지나다, "to pass", says how much time has gone by. The time is the subject and the verb is past: 벌써 일 년이 지났어요, "a year has already passed". The word 지 after a past modifier — 온 지, 배운 지 — means "since", and pairs with 지나다 or 되다: 한국에 온 지 일 년이 됐어요, "it has been a year since I came to Korea". Note the space: this 지 is a word of its own.
The question is 얼마 동안, "for how long", or more casually 얼마나; for the time something takes, Korean uses the verb 걸리다: 얼마나 걸려요?, "how long does it take?". Native numbers count hours (두 시간), Sino-Korean numbers count minutes, days and years (십 분, 삼 일, 오 년), although one and two days are usually the native words 하루 and 이틀; months can be either, 두 달 or 이 개월.
The form
| for how long | 두 시간 동안 |
| while doing | 자는 동안 |
| after a gap of | 삼 년 만에 |
| time passes | 일 년이 지났어요 |
| since doing | 온 지 한 달이 됐어요 |
| asking | 얼마 동안? 얼마나 걸려요? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
동안 follows a length of time and says how long something lasted.
세 시간 동안 기다렸어요.I waited for three hours.
After a verb, 동안 needs -는 and means "while".
제가 요리하는 동안 청소 좀 해 주세요.Please do some cleaning while I cook.
만에 counts the time until something happens again or is finished.
오 년 만에 친구를 다시 만났어요.I saw my friend again for the first time in five years.
With 지나다, the time is the subject and the verb is past.
벌써 한 달이 지났어요.A month has already gone by.
지 after a past modifier counts the time since something happened.
한국어를 배운 지 일 년이 됐어요.It has been a year since I started learning Korean.
A closer look
How long something takes
The time an activity needs is expressed with 걸리다, and the time is its subject: 집에서 회사까지 삼십 분 걸려요, "it takes thirty minutes from home to work". The particle on the time is usually dropped in speech; the full form is 삼십 분이 걸려요. The question is 얼마나 걸려요?.
Do not combine 걸리다 with 동안. "It takes thirty minutes" is a measure, not a stretch of activity, so 삼십 분 동안 걸려요 is wrong. 동안 belongs with verbs of doing — 삼십 분 동안 걸었어요, "I walked for thirty minutes".
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the time phrase is 오랜만, "after a long time"
it is written as one word and takes 에 or the copula: 오랜만에, 오랜만이에요.
오랜만에 영화관에 갔어요.I went to the cinema for the first time in a long while.
오랜만 is a shortening of 오래간만 and is treated as a single noun. 오랫만, with an extra final consonant, is a common misspelling.
How to spot it
- 동안
- 만에
- 지나다
- 얼마 동안
- 얼마나
- 걸리다
Example sentences
방학 동안 할머니 댁에 있었어요.I stayed at my grandmother's during the holidays.
일주일 동안 비가 왔어요.It rained for a week.
정말 오랜만이에요!It's been ages!
두 시간 만에 숙제를 다 끝냈어요.I finished all my homework in two hours.
이 회사에서 일한 지 삼 년이 지났어요.Three years have passed since I started working at this company.
서울에서 부산까지 기차로 얼마나 걸려요?How long does it take from Seoul to Busan by train?
8 more example sentences
한 달 동안 유럽을 여행했어요.I travelled around Europe for a month.
제가 없는 동안 무슨 일이 있었어요?What happened while I was away?
얼마 동안 한국에 계실 거예요?How long will you be in Korea?
십 분 만에 버스가 왔어요.The bus came after ten minutes.
졸업한 지 벌써 오 년이 됐어요.It's already been five years since I graduated.
시간이 정말 빨리 지나가요.Time really flies.
집에서 학교까지 걸어서 이십 분 걸려요.It takes twenty minutes to walk from home to school.
삼 일 만에 감기가 다 나았어요.My cold was completely gone in three days.
Worth knowing (1)
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Leaving out 동안
In speech, 동안 is often left out when a number of hours or days already makes the meaning clear: 두 시간 기다렸어요. Keep it when the length is a noun without a number, such as 방학 or 휴가: 휴가 동안.
어젯밤에 열 시간 잤어요.I slept for ten hours last night.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
"For the first time in ten years" is not a length of activity but a gap, and Korean uses 만에 for it. 동안 would say that the going home itself lasted ten years.
Dongan for how long it lasts, mane for how long until it happens.
Your turn
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