Understanding Time Zone Abbreviations (EST, PST, KST)
What abbreviations like EST, PST, KST, and CET mean, and why the abbreviation alone isn't enough.
Common time-zone abbreviations
Here's what the abbreviations you often see in the news or on schedules mean.
- KST: Korea Standard Time (UTC+9)
- JST: Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- EST/EDT: US Eastern Standard Time / Daylight Time (UTC−5/−4)
- PST/PDT: US Pacific Standard Time / Daylight Time (UTC−8/−7)
- CET/CEST: Central European Time (UTC+1/+2)
Why abbreviations are ambiguous
The same abbreviation can mean different times in different regions. ‘CST’ could be US Central Time (UTC−6) or China Standard Time (UTC+8). That's why, in international communication, a UTC offset or IANA identifier is recommended instead of an abbreviation.
Safe notation
To avoid confusion, always include a clear reference such as ‘14:00 UTC’ or ‘Asia/Seoul’.
World Clock shows each city's offset in real time, so there's no need to memorize abbreviations.