When it comes to learning a language, one of the first steps to fluency is learning your chosen language's number system. With Korean, we have the joy of learning two!
Native Korean numbers and Sino-Korean numbers are both used in all aspects of the Korean language so you definitely cannot get away with learning just one. However, I hope you will find that they are relatively straightforward and quite enjoyable to learn.
The two number systems in question have different names for numbers, ways of forming numbers, and uses of their numbers... Confusing, I know. Luckily, we shall be looking into all of these areas today! In this blog post, we will be covering...
Pure-Korean Numbers:
The Pure-Korean number system, as you might imagine, is the original number system used in Korea. It is also the number system that is more closely related to English, in that our numbers follow the same structure.
In Pure-Korean, each subsequent group of 10 has its own name, like how in English we have the 20s and the 30s etc. This means the pure Korean number system relies a little more on memory and less on logic. This often makes this number system more difficult for learners.
Another important piece of information about the Pure-Korean number system is that it doesn't have values above 99. If you ever have to use a number larger than 99 in Korean, you use a Sino-Korean number. It also has no value for 0, so we use Sino-Korean for this.
Now, let's get into learning the numbers and their pronunciations!
Pure Korean 1-10:
1* = 하나 (hana)
2* = 둘 (dul)
3* = 셋 (set)
4* = 넷 (net)
5 = 다섯 (dasot)
6 = 여섯 (yeoseot)
7 = 일곱 (ilgob)
8 = 여돏 (yeodeol)
9 = 아홉 (ahop)
10 = 열 (yeol)
* When these numbers are spoken in relation to other things, eg. 1 sock or 4 cakes, we do not pronounce the last letter. When written the numbers are also spelled differently.
하나 = 한
둘 = 두
셋 = 세
넷 = 네
Pure Korean 10-90:
As mentioned above, the Pure Korean number system is similar to English in that it has its own names for each subsequent denomination of 10. We have already met 열 (10) so let's meet the other 8 numbers we must learn!
10 = 열 (yeol)
20 = 스물 (seumul)
30 = 서른 (seoreun)
40 = 마흔 (maheun)
50 = 쉰 (swin)
60 = 예슨 (yeseun)
70 = 일흔 (ilheun)
80 = 여든 (yeodeun)
90 = 아흔 (aheun)
Putting numbers together:
When it comes to putting numbers together in the Pure Korean method this is pretty simple. Simply attach a single-digit number to a double-digit number and you're sorted!
For example...
23 = 20 + 3 = 스물 + 셋 = 스물셋
56 = 50 + 6 = 쉰 + 여섯 = 쉰여섯
18 = 10 + 8 = 열 + 여덟 = 열여덟
92 = 90 + 2 = 아흔 + 둘 = 아흔둘
Sino-Korean Numbers:
The Sino-Korean number system was introduced into Korea by the Chinese as Koreans wrote in Chinese characters before the invention of Hangeul. At the time these Sino-Korean words and numbers were thought of as more 'high brow' and intelligent and were therefore adopted heavily into the language. This is why Sino-Korean numbers are used more commonly in everyday Korean today than Pure Korean numbers*.
*that is to say, there are an infinite number of Sino-Korean numbers and they are used in very common places.
Sino-Korean 0-10:
0 = 영/공 (yeong/gong)
1 = 일 (il)
2 = 이 (i - "ee")
3 = 삼 (sam)
4 = 사 (sa)
5 = 오 (o - "oh")
6 = 육 (yuk - "look with a y")*
7 = 칠 (chil)
8 = 팔 (pal)
9 = 구 (gu - "goo")
10 = 십 (sip - "ship" soft p)
When pronouncing 육 at the end of a number that has a value of 10 (any number ending in a 10+6) "십육" is pronounced "심뉵" we will see some examples of this later.
Sino-Korean 10-90:
Unlike the pure-Korean system, when it comes to multiples of 10, the Sino-Korean system follows a very simple logical pattern. Simply preface the word for 10 (십) with the number of 10s present...
10 = 십 (sip - "ship" soft p)
20 = 이십 (isip - "ee ship")
30 = 삼십 (samsip)
40 = 사십 (sasip)
50 = 오십 (osip)
60 = 육십 (yuksip)
70 = 칠십 (chilsip)
80 = 팔십 (palsip)
90 = 구십 (gusip)
Sino-Korean 100+:
In Sino-Korean we also have numbers that go above 99 - these numbers are used universally throughout Korea as there is no native counterpart.
100 = 백 (baek)
1,000 = 천 (chon)
10,000 = 만 (man)
100,000 = 십만 (sipman)
1,000,000 = 백만 (baekman)
10,000,000 =천만 (chonman)
100,000,000 = 억 (eok)
Putting numbers together:
As we see with the multiples of 10, Sino-Korean follows a very logical number naming system. Every number is simply a combination of the numbers that make it up. Similar to English where 103 - "one hundred and three." Let's put some numbers together and see how it works.
25 = 2 * 10 + 5 = 이십 + 오 = 이십오
66 = 6 * 10 + 6 = 육십 + 육 = 육십육 (yukshimnyuk)
109 = 100 + 9 = 백 + 구 = 백구
573 = 5 * 100 + 7 * 10 + 3 = 오백 + 칠십 + 삼 = 오백칠십삼
2490 = 2 * 1,000 + 4 * 100 + 9 * 10 = 이천 + 사백 + 구십 = 이천사백구십
78344 = 7 * 10,000 + 8 * 1,000 + 3 * 100 + 4 * 10 + 4 = 칠만 + 팔천 + 삼백 + 사십 + 사 = 칠만팔천삼백사십사
When to use each number system:
Understanding the situations in which you use Pure Korean Vs. Sino-Korean numbers is probably the most confusing and daunting part of learning numbers in Korean. To put things simply, you generally use Sino-Korean numbers when expressing a number as a piece of information and Pure Korean numbers when quantifying things.
e.g. The meeting is on floor 3 = Sino-Korean Vs. I would like 4 oranges please = Pure Korean.
There is also the beneficial fact that Pure Korean has no numbers larger than 99, so if your number is larger than this, you can use Sino-Korean numbers with confidence!
Let's delve a little deeper into when to use each number system.
When to use Sino-Korean numbers | When to use Pure Korean numbers |
Phone numbers | Age |
Room/floor numbers | Counting objects |
When doing maths | Counting People |
Dates/years/centuries | Telling time ( Hours) |
When discussing the number itself | |
Money | |
Page numbers | |
Telling Time (Minutes) | |
So there you have it. The Korean number systems and when to use them! Why not continue your Korean learning journey with us by checking out some of our other blog posts and our study corner?
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