Korean

Syllable

분 • ‎(bun)

1. A Hangul syllabic block made up of ㅂ, ㅜ, and ㄴ.

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 分 ‎(“minute”)

Noun

분 • ‎(bun) ‎(hanja 分)

1. (time) minute
   • 8(여덟)시 45(사십오)분‎ ― 8(yeodeol)si 45(sasibo)bun ― 8:45 (time)

Etymology 3

Possibly from Chinese 分/份 ("part, portion").

Noun

분 • ‎(bun)

1. (honorific) person

Counter

분 • ‎(bun)

1. (honorific) people (honorific counter)
   • 교실에서 교수님 다섯 분은 계시다‎ ― gyosir-eseo gyosunim daseot bun-eun gyesida ― There are 5 professors in the classroom

Usage notes

As with most count words (a.k.a. classifiers), 분 (bun) is preceded by native Korean numerals. More technically, 분 is classified as a "counter," not a noun. The concept of a counter is unusual in English, but common in Korean. It is the equivalent of the word "loaf" in three loaves of bread.

See also

• 시 (si, “o'clock”), 시간 (sigan, “hours”), 번 (beon, “times”), 살 (sal, “years”), 사람 (saram, “people”), 갑 (gap, “packs”), 마리 (mari, “animals”), 권 (gwon, “volumes”), 채 (chae, “houses”)