Korean has two number systems. Use native Korean numbers, 하나, 둘, 셋 (hana, dul, set), for counting things and people, for the hour on a clock, and for age. Use Sino-Korean numbers, 일, 이, 삼 (il, i, sam), for minutes, dates, months, money, phone numbers, floors, and large numbers, since native numbers stop at ninety-nine.
| Number | Native Korean | Sino-Korean |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 하나 (hana) | 일 (il) |
| 2 | 둘 (dul) | 이 (i) |
| 3 | 셋 (set) | 삼 (sam) |
| 4 | 넷 (net) | 사 (sa) |
| 5 | 다섯 (daseot) | 오 (o) |
| 6 | 여섯 (yeoseot) | 육 (yuk) |
| 7 | 일곱 (ilgop) | 칠 (chil) |
| 8 | 여덟 (yeodeol) | 팔 (pal) |
| 9 | 아홉 (ahop) | 구 (gu) |
| 10 | 열 (yeol) | 십 (sip) |
| 20 | 스물 (seumul) | 이십 (isip) |
| 30 | 서른 (seoreun) | 삼십 (samsip) |
| 40 | 마흔 (maheun) | 사십 (sasip) |
| 50 | 쉰 (swin) | 오십 (osip) |
| 100 | (none in everyday use) | 백 (baek) |
Sino-Korean is the easy one: it builds like a calculator. Eleven is 십일 (sibil), ten-one. Twenty-five is 이십오 (isibo), two-ten-five. Native numbers have their own word for every ten, so you have to memorize 스물, 서른, 마흔, and the rest. Sixty to ninety are 예순 (yesun), 일흔 (ilheun), 여든 (yeodeun), and 아흔 (aheun).
Before a counter word, five native numbers shorten. This trips up almost everyone, because English “one” never changes shape.
| Number | Alone | Before a counter | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 하나 (hana) | 한 (han) | 한 개 (han gae), one thing |
| 2 | 둘 (dul) | 두 (du) | 두 명 (du myeong), two people |
| 3 | 셋 (set) | 세 (se) | 세 잔 (se jan), three cups |
| 4 | 넷 (net) | 네 (ne) | 네 시 (ne si), four o’clock |
| 20 | 스물 (seumul) | 스무 (seumu) | 스무 살 (seumu sal), twenty years old |
The shortening also applies inside bigger numbers: 열한 개 (yeolhan gae), eleven things; 스물두 살 (seumuldu sal), twenty-two years old. Note that 스물 keeps its final l when another number follows it. Twenty shortens to 스무 only when it stands alone before the counter.
English puts the number first: two coffees. Korean usually names the thing first, then the number, then a counter word: 커피 두 잔 (keopi du jan), coffee two cups. You can say 두 잔 alone once the coffee is clear.
| Counter | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 개 (gae) | things in general | 사과 세 개 (sagwa se gae), three apples |
| 명 (myeong) | people | 학생 다섯 명 (haksaeng daseot myeong), five students |
| 분 (bun) | people, honorific | 손님 두 분 (sonnim du bun), two guests |
| 잔 (jan) | cups, glasses | 물 한 잔 (mul han jan), a glass of water |
| 병 (byeong) | bottles | 맥주 두 병 (maekju du byeong), two bottles of beer |
| 마리 (mari) | animals | 고양이 한 마리 (goyangi han mari), one cat |
| 권 (gwon) | books | 책 세 권 (chaek se gwon), three books |
| 장 (jang) | flat things, tickets | 표 두 장 (pyo du jang), two tickets |
When you forget the right counter, 개 is the safety net for objects. It is not correct for people, though. 사람 두 개 sounds like you are counting people as things.
This is where English speakers stumble most. The hour uses native numbers with 시 (si). The minutes use Sino-Korean numbers with 분 (bun).
Durations follow the same split. Hours: 두 시간 (du sigan), two hours, native. Minutes: 이십 분 (isip bun), twenty minutes, Sino-Korean.
분 is two different words. After a Sino-Korean number it means minutes. After a native number it is the honorific counter for people. 삼 분 (sam bun) is three minutes. 세 분 (se bun) is three people, said respectfully, the way staff ask 몇 분이세요? (myeot buniseyo?), how many in your party? Mix the systems and you will tell someone you need three people instead of three minutes.
번 (beon) works the same way. 세 번 (se beon), native, means three times. 삼 번 (sam beon), Sino-Korean, means number three, as in 삼 번 출구 (sam beon chulgu), exit three at a subway station, or 삼 번 버스 (sam beon beoseu), the number three bus.
Dates are entirely Sino-Korean. Months are the number plus 월 (wol), and days are the number plus 일 (il). Two months change spelling: June is 유월 (yuwol), not 육월, and October is 시월 (siwol), not 십월.
October sixteenth is 시월 십육 일 (siwol simnyuk il). The year comes first, then month, then day, the reverse of the American order. A duration of months can go either way: 삼 개월 (sam gaewol) with Sino-Korean, or 세 달 (se dal) with native numbers, both meaning three months.
Prices use Sino-Korean numbers with 원 (won). The hard part is not the numbers but the grouping. English counts in thousands. Korean has a separate word, 만 (man), for ten thousand, and counts in units of it.
| Amount | Korean | Logic |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 천 원 (cheon won) | one thousand |
| 10,000 | 만 원 (man won) | one ten-thousand |
| 15,000 | 만 오천 원 (man ocheon won) | ten-thousand and five thousand |
| 50,000 | 오만 원 (oman won) | five ten-thousands |
| 100,000 | 십만 원 (simman won) | ten ten-thousands |
| 1,000,000 | 백만 원 (baengman won) | one hundred ten-thousands |
Two habits to drop. Don’t say 오십천 (osipcheon) for fifty thousand; it is 오만. And don’t put 일 in front of 십, 백, 천, or 만 in everyday speech: a hundred is 백 (baek), not 일백.
Numbers only become automatic when you have to produce them at speed: a time, a price, a head count at a restaurant door. Saying real prices and times out loud every day does more than any chart.
Native Korean numbers are the original Korean words. Sino-Korean numbers come from Chinese and arrived with Chinese vocabulary centuries ago. Each settled into different jobs, which is why both are still used.
Learn native numbers one to ten with their shortened forms, and Sino-Korean numbers up to ten plus 백, 천 and 만. That covers counting, time, prices and dates for daily life.
In phone numbers and similar sequences, zero is usually 공 (gong). In math and scores you will also hear 영 (yeong).
No. From one hundred up, Sino-Korean takes over. With some counters the last digits can switch back to native forms, as in 백한 개 (baekhan gae), one hundred and one things.
