For “soon,” write ‘금세,’ not ‘금새’

Because Korean also has words such as 어느새 and 그새, native speakers often find 금새 visually convincing. But when you mean “soon” or “in no time,” the standard form is 금세, contracted from 금시에.

❌ COMMON MISTAKES

Casual messages often contain phrases such as ‘금새 갈게’, ‘금새 끝났어’ or ‘금새 연락할게’.

✅ STANDARD FORMS

Write ‘금세 갈게’, ‘금세 끝났어’ and ‘금세 연락할게’. Here 금세 comes from 금시에.

WHY DOES 어느새 USE 새?

The National Institute of Korean Language explains that 어느새 developed from 어느 사이, while 금세 comes from 금시에. They only happen to sound structurally similar today.

A NATURAL CHAT EXAMPLE

A: 아직 멀었어? — “Are you still far away?” B: 아니, 금세 도착해. — “No, I’ll be there soon.”

‘금새’ DOES EXIST — WITH ANOTHER MEANING

금새 can be a legitimate word referring to the price or price level of goods. But for the everyday meaning “soon,” use 금세.

Sources & context

2026-09-18