Korean Numbers

Korean has two sets of numbers: pure Korean numbers and Sino-Korean numbers. Pure Korean
numbers only go up to 99

Sino-Korean numbers pure Korean numbers

original form form before a counter
1 il hana han
2 i tul tu
3 sam seyt sey
4 sa neyt ney
5 o ta-st
6 yuk y-st
7 chil il-gop
8 pal y-dl
9 ku a-hop
10 ship yl
11 shi-bil yl-hana yl-han
20 i-ship s-mul s-mu
30 sam-ship s-rn
40 sa-ship ma-hn
50 o-ship shwin
60 yuk-ship ye-sun
70 chil-ship il-hn
80 pal-ship y-dn
90 ku-ship a-hn
100 paek
1000 chn
10,000 man

Sino-Korean Numbers are used for:

1. figures
2. sums
3. prices
4. minutes and seconds
5. saying the date
6. counting days, weeks and years
7. in place of pure-Korean numbers for amounts over 99 (and often for amounts over 40)

EAKLE Lucien Brown, July 2008

Pure Korean numbers are used for:
1. counting tangible, physical objects such as potatoes, cars, people, tickets and cups of tea
2. age
3. hours
4. counting hours

Counting objects using pure Korean numbers

When counting physical objects, pure Korean numbers do not appear alone but with counters
(grammatical category similar to English two loaves of bread).

Unit marker Example Question (how many)

objects kae one apples
animals (alive mari two cats
and for food)
cups, glasses * chan three Cokes
paper, tickets chang four sheets of paper
books kwn five books
bottles * pyng six bottles of Coke
vehicles, tae six buses
appliances
people myng seven students
seven people
* saram eight people -
* pun nine people

*These counters differ from the others in that they have referential meaning (in other words,
means bottle and / mean person). The other counters have no meaning as such and
cannot be used in other contexts.

EAKLE Lucien Brown, July 2008