Adverbs of Past Time in Korean – Let's Study Korean

Past is not just past…. Reflecting on your own past and sharing your past with someone are all important! That’s why! Today, I want to introduce you adverbs to indicate past tense in Korean. 🙂

방금 = just now

아까 = a few hours ago

며칠 전에 = a few days ago

몇 달 전에 = a few months ago

몇 년 전에 = a few years ago

예전에 = a long time ago

오래전에 = a long time ago

1. 방금 vs 아까

How to distinguish 방금 from 아까 could be ambiguous sometimes. In general, ‘방금’ means ‘just now’; ‘아까’ means a few hours ago.

2. 예전에 vs 오래전에

‘예전에’ is more commonly used when you want to describe what you did in the past but feel lazy to remember exactly when you did it.

‘오래 전에’ means the same, but it sounds either nostalgic or private. Let’s say your friends ask you, ‘When did you break up with girlfriend?” If you answer “오래 전에”, it sounds like you just want to keep it private and don’t want to share it with your friends.

Leave a ReplyCancel Reply

Trending now