counting in korean
a full guide to native vs. sino-korean numbers, counters, and more
There is no need to try and emphasize the necessity of numbers. Whether it’s for counting, telling time, or expressing cost, numbers are in our life everyday.
In English, we typically use the same set of numbers for everything. In Korean, however, there are actually two sets of numbers: Sino-Korean and Native-Korean. Since their usage depends on the context, it may confusing to figure out which numbers are used. Additionally, Korean uses the traditional East Asian counting system known as myriads (usage of 10,000s rather than 1,000s). On top of that, they also have a system of “counters,” used to describe the nouns the number is counting. So with all that in mind, let’s break down Korean numerals!
Native Korean Numbers
USAGE
- General Counting up to 99
- Time in Hours
- Ages
- Ordinal Numbers (-번째 beonjjae)
Native numbers one through four have shortened forms that are used when counting. For example, you may expect to say 둘시 dul-si for two o’clock, but it’s actually 두시 du-si. Similarly, one, three, and four are shortened to 한 han , 세 se, and 네 ne, respectively.
When using ordinal numbers, you simply stick on -번째 beonjjae to the end of the Native Korean number. However, when saying first, you say 첫 cheot instead of 하나 hana. Other than that, like when saying hours, you say two, three, and four as their respective shortened forms (두, 세, and 네) and other numbers stay the same.
Sino-Korean Numbers
USAGE
- Phone Numbers
- Prices and Money
- Dates (Months, Days, and Years)
- Time in Minutes
- Addresses
- Any Numbers above 99
Typically, Sino-Korean numbers are used with other Sino-Korean words. However, since they’re used for all numbers 100 and above, they are also used for Native Korean nouns in that case.
Another thing to note is the word for zero: 영 yeong. This is usually used when talking about the value itself, but when talking about the digit (like in phone numbers or zip codes), it may be more natural to use 공 gong.
Native Korean vs. Sino-Korean General Knowledge
Time is interesting in Korean. When talking about the hour, you use Native Korean numerals, but when talking about the minute, you use Sino-Korean. Take the example of 4:36 PM.
4 o’clock is said as 네시 nesi (remembering to shorten the 넷), but the 36 minutes are said as 삼십육분 samsimnyukbun. Together, it would be 오후 네시 삼십육분 ohu nesi samsimnyukbun.
For terms where both would make sense, it may help to think of Native Korean numbers having a counting-relating meaning, whereas Sino-Korean numbers are usually used to label or in a mathematical sense. Wiktionary provides a great example of this:
Additionally, for loanwords from English or other languages, Sino-Korean numerals are usually used. For example, three feet of length would be said as 삼 피트 sam piteu).
Numbers above 10
Sino-Korean
Sino-Korean numbers above 10 are very simple. For example, fifteen is just ten-five in Sino-Korean (십오). Similarly, fifty is just five-ten (오십). This continues as you go into to hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, etc.
Native Korean
On the other hand, Native Korean multiples of 10 have their own words that you have to memorize.
After that, you simply stick on the value in the ones place as normal. Fifty-one would still be fifty-one (쉰하나), whereas in Sino-Korean, this would be realized as five-ten-one (오십일).
Myriad System
Unlike the counting system in English, which uses thousands as the base, Korean uses the myriad system of ten thousands (similar to Chinese and Japanese). This means that rather than having a new word every three digits (one thousand, one million, one billion), there’s a new word for every four digits (ten thousand, 100 million, one trillion). It’s also important to remember that these are all in Sino-Korean numbers since they’re above 100.
Other than that, it’s not that unlike English, but it definitely needs some getting used to. Here are the numbers that you need to know:
For example, take the following number: 123,456,789 (123 million, 456 thousand, 789)
I follow a series of steps that makes converting English numbers to Korean a bit easier:
- Remove all commas: 123456789
- Starting on the right, put spaces every four digits: 1 2345 6789
- Starting on the right, insert 만, 억, and 조 in the spaces as necessary: 1 억 2345 만 6789
- Fill in the Korean words for the numbers in between: 일억 이천삼백사십오만 육천칠백팔십구
It may seem unnecessary to know how to count this high, but when you see the exchange rates between US dollars and the Korean won, it will make more sense.
Not bad, right?
Counters
In Korean, “counter” words are used to describe the noun that the number is counting. The closest approximation in English would be saying “three sheets of paper” or “four heads of cattle,” with sheets and heads referring to different things. You wouldn’t really say “four sheets of cattle,” and it works similarly in Korean.
There are two main ways of using counters in Korean. Take the follow example sentence: I met two students. The counter here is 명 myeong, the counter for people.
Type 1: Noun Number Counter
저는 학생 두 명을 만났어요.
Jeoneun haksaeng du myeongeul manasseoyo.
I student two 명+direct-object-ending met.
Type 2: Number Counter-의 Noun
저는 두 명의 학생을 만났어요.
Jeoneun du myeonge haksaengeul manasseoyo.
I two 명+possessive-ending student+direct-object-ending met.
In the first example, the direct object particle is attached to the counter itself, as 학생 두 명 is treated as one entity that was met. In the second example, the direct object particle is attached to “student”, but the possessive ending is added to the counter.
Below are some common counters that you may encounter in the wild:
Overall, it’s very important to know the distinction between Sino-Korean and Native Korean numbers. Although it may seem like a lot at first, breaking large segments and studying the different use cases will make this journey a lot easy, and I hope this post helped too. Good luck!
