In today’s blog, we’re going to teach you how to count in Korean. In your Korean language-learning, Korean numbers are an important step forward in becoming fluent.
Once you’re able to count numbers in Korean, your life in Korea, whether it’s for traveling or working, your stay will be a lot easier and more enjoyable. Let KoreanClass101.com teach you Korean numbers with English pronunciations, and how to use them!
Table of Contents
- Why are There Two Counting Systems in Korean?
- How to Say 0-9 in Sino and Native Korean
- How to Say 10-100 in Sino and Native Korean
- How to Say Numbers Up to 1,000 in Sino and Native Korean
- How to Say Other Big Numbers in Sino and Native Korean
- How to Give Your Phone Number
- Shopping – How to Say Prices
- Shopping – How to Use Numbers When Shopping
- Time
- Calendar
- Let’s Practice
- How KoreanClass101.com Can Help You with Korean
1. Why are There Two Counting Systems in Korean?
There are two counting systems in Korean–Sino Korean, and native Korean. You may be wondering why Koreans feel the need to use both systems–why not just use one?
The answer is simple. Until 한글 (hangul) = “Native Korean Language” was invented during the 조선왕조 (joseonwangjo) = “Joseon Dynasty,” native Koreans had no alphabet of their own and had to borrow 한자 (hanja) = “Chinese characters.” This is why you still see words and yes, numbers, based on Chinese characters, which are called Sino Korean words and numbers. And with the creation of the new language system came the creation of a new set of counters, which is why you see two number systems in the Korean language.
Don’t fret, however – the numbers are used in different situations. Once you get the hang of when to use which numeric system, things will get easier. And only Sino-Korean numbers are used from 100 and up, so keeping that in mind will also make it easier for you to figure out the numeric system.
You can learn more about Korean numbers in our blog article but here are some quick examples.
1- Some Examples of When to Use Sino Korean Numbers
- Phone numbers: 공일공 공일공일 일이삼사 (gongilgong gongilgongil ilisamsa) = 010 0101 1234
- Bank account numbers 사일이-XXXX-XXXX (saili-XXXX-XXXX) = “412-XXXX-XXXX”
- Minutes/Seconds: 삼십 분 삽십 초 (samsip beun samsip cho) = “thirty minutes thirty seconds”
- Dates: 일월 일일 (ilweol ilil) = “January 1st”
- Money: 오천 원 (ocheon won) = “5,000 won”
- Addresses: 이십일번가 (isibilbeonga) = “21st street”
- Formal age 세 (se): 이십 세 (isip se) = “twenty years old”
- Math equations: 삼 더하기 삼은 육 (sam deohagi sameun yuk) = “3+3=6”
2- Some Examples of When to Use Native Korean Numbers
- Informal age 살 (sal): 스무 살 (seumu sal) = “twenty years old”
- Hours: 다섯 시 (daseot si) = “five o’clock”
- Number of people: 네 명 (ne myeong) = “four people”
- Number of objects: 네 개 (ne gae) = “four (items)”
2. How to Say 0-9 in Sino and Native Korean
When it comes to counting numbers in Korea, you’ll notice that there are different ways to count the same number. That’s because we have two different counting systems which are called “Sino Korean” and “Native Korean.” While native Korean numbers are used more often in general, Sino Korean numbers are used when counting money, doing math, or talking about phone numbers.
When learning numbers in Korean, vocabulary mastery is very important. Check out “Korean Numbers” on KoreanClass101.com to practice the numbers and pronunciation together.
| Number | Sino Korean | Native Korean | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 영 (yeong), 공 (gong) | * | “zero” |
| 1 | 일 (il) | 하나 (hana) | “one” |
| 2 | 이 (i) | 둘 (dul) | “two” |
| 3 | 삼 (sam) | 셋 (set) | “three” |
| 4 | 사 (sa) | 넷 (net) | “four” |
| 5 | 오 (o) | 다섯 (daseot) | “five” |
| 6 | 육 (yuk) | 여섯 (yeoseot) | “six” |
| 7 | 칠 (chil) | 일곱 (ilgop) | “seven” |
| 8 | 팔 (pal) | 여덟 (yeodeol) | “eight” |
| 9 | 구 (gu) | 아홉 (ahop) | “nine” |
*There’s no word to say “zero” in the Native Korean counting system. Instead, you can use 공 (gong) from Sino-Korean. Koreans also say 제로 (jero), from the English word “zero,” for counting zero.
3. How to Say 10-100 in Sino and Native Korean
This time, let’s count from 10 to 100.
| Number | Sino Korean | Native Korean | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 십 (sip) | 열 (yeol) | “ten” |
| 11 | 십일 (sipil) | 열하나 (yelhana) | “eleven” |
| 12 | 십이 (sipi) | 열둘 (yeoldul) | “twelve” |
| 13 | 십삼 (sipsam) | 열셋 (yeolset) | “thirteen” |
| 14 | 십사 (sipsa) | 열넷 (yeolnet) | “fourteen” |
| 15 | 십오 (sipo) | 열다섯 (yeoldaseot) | “fifteen” |
| 16 | 십육 (sipyuk) | 열여섯 (yeolyeoseot) | “sixteen” |
| 17 | 십칠 (sipchil) | 열일곱 (yeolilgop) | “seventeen” |
| 18 | 십팔 (sippal) | 열여덟 (yeolyeodeol) | “eighteen” |
| 19 | 십구 (sipgu) | 열아홉 (yeolahop) | “nineteen” |
| 20 | 이십 (isip) | 스물 (seumul) | “twenty” |
| 30 | 삼십 (samsip) | 서른 (seoreun) | “thirty” |
| 40 | 사십 (sasip) | 마흔 (maheun) | “fourty” |
| 50 | 오십 (osip) | 쉰 (swin) | “fifty” |
| 60 | 육십 (yuksip) | 예순 (yesun) | “sixty” |
| 70 | 칠십 (chilsip) | 일흔 (ilheun) | “seventy” |
| 80 | 팔십 (palsip) | 여든 (yeodeun) | “eighty” |
| 90 | 구십 (gusip) | 아흔 (aheun) | “ninety” |
| 100 | 백 (baek) | 온* (on) | “one-hundred” |
*온 (on) is rarely used in spoken/written language. Koreans use 백 (baek) instead.
There’s a lot to go through when it comes to numbers in learning the Korean language. If you want to practice counting more with Korean numbers, check out our free lesson.
4. How to Say Numbers Up to 1,000 in Sino and Native Korean
Ready to count more? Let’s try to count up to 1,000 in Korean!
| Number | Sino Korean | Native Korean | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 이백 (ibaek) | “two-hundred” | |
| 300 | 삼백 (sambaek) | “three-hundred” | |
| 400 | 사백 (sabaek) | “four-hundred” | |
| 500 | 오백 (obaek) | “five-hundred” | |
| 600 | 육백 (yukbaek) | “six-hundred” | |
| 700 | 칠백 (chilbaek) | “seven-hundred” | |
| 800 | 팔백 (palbaek) | “eight-hundred” | |
| 900 | 구백 (gubaek) | “nine-hundred” | |
| 1,000 | 천 (cheon) | 즈믄* (jeumeun) | “one-thousand” |
*즈믄 (jeumeun), the native Korean word for “1,000”, is rarely used in spoken/written language. Therefore, Koreans use 천 (cheon) instead.
5. How to Say Other Big Numbers in Sino and Native Korean
Let’s continue to push ourselves and count big numbers in Korean.
| Number | Sino Korean | Native Korean | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 | 이천 (cheon) | “two-thousand” | |
| 3,000 | 삼천 (samcheon) | “three-thousand” | |
| 4,000 | 사천 (sacheon) | “four-thousand” | |
| 5,000 | 오천 (ocheon) | “five-thousand” | |
| 6,000 | 육천 (yukcheon) | “six-thousand” | |
| 7,000 | 칠천 (chilcheon) | “seven-thousand” | |
| 8,000 | 팔천 (palcheon) | “eight-thousand” | |
| 9,000 | 구천 (gucheon) | “nine-thousand” | |
| 10,000 | 만 (man) | 드먼* (deumeon), 골 (gol) | “ten-thousand” |
| 20,000 | 이만 (iman) | “twenty-thousand” | |
| 30,000 | 삼만 (samman) | “thirty-thousand” | |
| 40,000 | 사만 (saman) | “forty-thousand” | |
| 50,000 | 오만 (oman) | “fifty-thousand” | |
| 60,000 | 육만 (yukman) | “sixty-thousand” | |
| 70,000 | 칠만 (chilman) | “seventy-thousand” | |
| 80,000 | 팔만 (palman) | “eighty-thousand” | |
| 90,000 | 구만 (guman) | “ninety-thousand” | |
| 100,000 | 십만 (simman) | “one-hundred-thousand” | |
| 1,000,000 | 백만 (bangman) | “one-million” | |
| 10,000,000 | 천만 (cheonman) | “ten-million” | |
| 100,000,000 | 억 (eok) | “one-hundred-million” | |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | 조 (jo) | 울* (ul) | “one-trillion” |
*드먼 (deumeon), 골 (gol), 잘 (jal), and 울 (ul) are rarely used in spoken/written language. Use the numbers from Sino Korean.
6. How to Give Your Phone Number
The Korean mobile number looks like this: xxx-xxxx-xxxx (eg. 010-1234-5678). The number consists of mobile prefixes, followed by personal numbers. There used to be many different mobile prefixes, such as 011, 016, 018, 019, and so on.
Whether you live or travel in South Korea, you’ll need a SIM card and your mobile to get around. It’s okay to just write down your mobile number and show it to a person, but it’ll come in handy if you can say your mobile number in Korean. Let’s practice how to do this.
Let’s say that your number is 010-1234-5678. Firstly, Koreans use Sino Korean to tell a mobile number, so never use Native Korean numbers when giving someone your mobile number. When there are four numbers (in this case, 1234 and 5678), try to break it down into two parts: 12 and 34, and 56 and 78 (just pause one second in between). This way, the listener is going to be able to write down your mobile number a lot easier.
Practice 1: How do you say 010-1234-5678 in Korean?
- 공일공* – 일이삼사- 오육칠팔 (gongilgong* – irisamsa- oyukchilpal)
*It’s not wrong to say, 영일영, but it is uncommon to say this in Korea. So try to stick to 공일공.
Practice 2: How do you say 019- 5544-0099 in Korean?
- 공일구-오오사사-공공구구 (gongnilgu-oosasa-gonggonggugu)
If you want to say “My number is ~” in Korean, it’s 전화번호는 ~입니다(jeonhwabeonhoneun ~imnida).
E.g. 전화번호는 공일구, 오오사사, 공공구구 입니다. (Jeonhwabeonhoneun gongnilgu, oosasa, gonggonggugu imnida.)
On our website, we have a beginner lesson for “Exchanging Phone Numbers.” Feel free to check out this page as well as other free lessons for beginners.
7. Shopping – How to Say Prices
Korean money is called “원” (won) and is used only in South Korea. There are four kinds of coins being used in Korea, which are ₩10, ₩50, ₩100, and ₩500 (₩5 and ₩1 are rarely used). Also, there are four Korean banknotes which are ₩1,000, ₩5,000, ₩10,000, ₩50,000.
When saying prices, we use Sino Korean, therefore it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to learn. When mentioning the prices, all you need to do is say the numbers in Sino Korean, followed by 원 (won).
1- Korean Coins
| Number | Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 일원 | ilwon | “1 won” |
| 5 | 오원 | owon | “5 won” |
| 10 | 십원 | sibwon | “10 won” |
| 50 | 오십원 | osibwon | “50 won” |
| 100 | 백원 | baegwon | “100 won” |
| 500 | 오백원 | obaegwon | “500 won” |
| 150 | 백오십원 | baegosibwon | “150 won” |
| 550 | 오백오십원 | obaegosibwon | “550 won” |
2- Korean Banknotes
| Number | Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 천원 | cheonwon | “1,000 won” |
| 5,000 | 오천원 | ocheonwon | “5,000 won” |
| 7,000 | 칠천원 | chilcheonwon | “7,000 won” |
| 10,000 | 만원 | manwon | “10,000 won” |
| 15,000 | 만오천원 | manocheonwon | “15,000 won” |
| 50,000 | 오만원 | omanwon | “50,000 won” |
| 55,000 | 오만오천원 | omanocheonwon | “55,000 won” |
| 100,000 | 십만원 | simmanwon | “100,000 won” |
3- Mix of Coins and Banknotes
Let’s practice a few more! We use Sino Korean to count banknotes.
| Number | Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,600 | 천육백원 | cheonyukcheonwon | “1,600 won” |
| 2,300 | 이천삼백원 | icheonsambaegwon | “2,300 won” |
| 4,950 | 사천구백오십원 | sacheongubaegosibwon | “4,950 won” |
| 8,990 | 팔천구백구십원 | palcheongubaekgusibwon | “8,990 won” |
8. Shopping – How to Use Numbers When Shopping
Now that you’re familiar with prices in Korean, let’s learn a number of useful phrases. In Korean, the majority of goods are fixed price; however, in places like Dongdaemun, you can certainly negotiate the price. Feel free to use any of these phrases when negotiating the price with the shopkeeper:
- ~원만 깍아주세요.
- ~wonman kkagajuseyo.
- “Please give me a ~won discount.”
- ~원만 깍아주시면 안될까요?
- ~wonman kkagajusimyeon andoelkkayo?
- “Is it possible to reduce the price by ~won?”
- 너무 비싸요.
- Neomu bissayo.
- “It’s too expensive.”
- ~원으로 해요.
- ~woneuro haeyo.
- “Let’s just go for ~won.”
Examples:
- You: 아저씨, 이거 얼마예요?
You: Ajeossi, igeo eolmayeyo?
You: “Ajeossi, how much is this?” - Shopkeeper: 5만2천원이요.
Shopkeeper: Omanicheonwoniyo.
Shopkeeper: “It’s 52,000 won.” - You: 너무 비싸다. 5000원만 깍아주시면 안될까요?
You: Neomu bissada. Ocheonwonman kkagajusimyeon andoelkkayo?
You: “That’s too expensive. Can you please reduce the price by 5,000 won?” - Shopkeeper: 5천원이나? … 5만2천원이면 많이 싼 편이에요. 그럼 5만원으로 드릴께요.
Shopkeeper: Ocheonwonina? … omanicheonwonimyeon mani ssan pyeonieyo. Geureom omanwoneuro deurilkkeyo.
Shopkeeper: “By 5,000 won?…52,000 won is a very reasonable price. I’ll give it to you for 50,000 won.”
9. Time
Let’s learn how to say the time in Korean. But first, let’s learn how to count hours and minutes!
1- How to Count Hours
| Number | Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | 한 시 | han si | “One o’clock” |
| 2:00 | 두 시 | du si | “Two o’clock” |
| 3:00 | 세 시 | se si | “Three o’clock” |
| 4:00 | 네 시 | ne si | “Four o’clock” |
| 5:00 | 다섯 시 | daseot si | “Five o’clock” |
| 6:00 | 여섯 시 | yuseot si | “Six o’clock” |
| 7:00 | 일곱 시 | ilgop si | “Seven o’clock” |
| 8:00 | 여덟 시 | yeodeol si | “Eight o’clock” |
| 9:00 | 아홉 시 | ahop si | “Nine o’clock” |
| 10:00 | 열 시 | yeol si | “Ten o’clock” |
| 11:00 | 열한 시 | yeolhan si | “Eleven o’clock” |
| 12:00 | 열두 시 | yeoldu si | “Twelve o’clock” |
2- How to Count Minutes
| Time | Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 십 분 | sip bun | “Ten minutes” |
| 20 | 이십 분 | isip bun | “Twenty minutes” |
| 30 | 삼십 분 | samsip bun | “Thirty minutes” |
| 40 | 사십 분 | sasip bun | “Forty minutes” |
| 50 | 오십 분 | osip bun | “Fifty minutes” |
Did you notice something? That’s right. When it comes to the time, we use Sino Korean, followed by 분 (bun), direct translation being “minute(s).” For example, if the clock reads 11:35 a.m., we can say 열한시 삼십오분 (yeolhansi samsibobun).
Example:
A: 지금 몇시예요?
A: Jigeum myeotsiyeyo?
A: “What time is it now?”
If you want to review this, feel free to check out our free lesson “Telling Time” for Korean beginners on our website.
10. Calendar
1- Month
| Number | Korean | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 일월 | irwol | “January” |
| 2 | 이월 | iwol | “February” |
| 3 | 삼월 | samwol | “March” |
| 4 | 사월 | sawol | “April” |
| 5 | 오월 | owol | “May” |
| 6 | 유월* | yuwol | “June” |
| 7 | 칠월 | chirwol | “July” |
| 8 | 팔월 | parwol | “August” |
| 9 | 구월 | guwol | “September” |
| 10 | 시월* | sibwol | “October” |
| 11 | 십일월 | sibirwol | “November” |
| 12 | 십이월 | sibiwol | “December” |
*Did you notice that June is written as 유월(yuwol), not 육월(yukwol), and October is 시월(siwol), not 십월(sibwol)? The reason is that these two words are difficult to pronounce, so to simplify, we say 유월 and 시월.
2- How to Count Days
Counting days is easy. Say the number in Sino Korean and add 일 (il) which means “~th day” in English. For example, if you want to say 15th, in Korean it’s 십오일(siboil) (십오+일(sibo+il)). For 27th, it’s 이십칠일(isipchiril) (이십+칠일(isip+chiril)).
11. Let’s Practice
To help you master the topics we covered above, here are some Korean numbers exercises (you’ll find the answers at the end of this article).
1- What is 529 in Korean?
-
A. 오백이십구 (obaegisipgu)
B. 오백이십육 (obaegisibyuk)
C. 오백십구 (obaeksipgu)
D. 오백육십팔 (obaengnyuksip-pal)
2- What is 2,590 in Korean?
-
A. 이천오백팔 (icheonobaekpal)
B. 이천오십구 (icheonosipgu)
C. 이천구십오 (icheongusibo)
D. 이천오백구십 (icheonobaekgusip)
3- What is 1,283,875 in Korean?
-
A. 백이십팔만사천팔백칠십오 (baegisip-palmansacheonpalbaekchilsibo)
B. 백이십팔만삼천팔백칠십오 (baegisip-palmansamcheonpalbaekchilsibo)
C. 백이십팔만사천육백오십이 (baegisip-palmansacheonyukbaegosibi)
D. 칠백삼천육백오십이만 (chilbaeksamcheonyukbaegosibiman)
4- What is 010-9900-1284 in Korean?
-
A. 공일공-구구공공-일이팔사 (gongilgong-gugugonggong-iripalsa)
B. 공일공-구구공공-일일팔사 (gongilgong-gugugonggong-irilpalsa)
C. 공일공-구구공공-일이팔사 (gongilgong-gugugonggong-iripalsa)
D. 공이공-팔팔구구-이사육사 (gongigong-palpalgugu-isayuksa)
5- What is 10:30 a.m. in Korean?
-
A. 오후 열 시 이십오 분 (ohu yeol si isibo bun)
B. 오전 열 시 이십구 분 (ojeon yeol si isipgu bun)
C. 오후 열 시 삼십 분 (ohu yeol si samsip bun)
D. 오전 열 시 삼십 분 (ojeon yeol si samsip bun)
6- What is 35,000KRW in Korean?
-
A. 삼십오만원 (samsibomanwon)
B. 삽백오십만원 (sapbaegosimmanwon)
C. 삼천오백원 (samcheonobaegwon)
D. 삼만오천원 (sammanocheonwon)
7- What is January 31st in Korean?
-
A. 일월 이십일일 (irwol isibiril)
B. 일월 삼십일일 (irwol samsibiril)
C. 일월 십일일 (irwol sibiril)
D. 일월 삽십일일 (irwol sapsibiril)
8- What is 25th of December in Korean?
-
A. 십이월 이십오일 (irwol sibiril)
B. 십일월 이십오일 (sibirwol isiboil)
C. 구월 이십오일 (guwol isiboil)
D. 시월 이십오일 (siwol isiboil)
9- What is the 1st of October in Korean?
-
A. 십월 일일 (sibwol iril)
B. 시월 일일 (siwol iril)
C. 십월 이일 (sibwol iil)
D. 시월 이일 (siwol iil)
12. How KoreanClass101.com Can Help You with Korean
We introduced how to count numbers in Korean, gave you great resources on how to pronounce Korean numbers, and provided free additional lessons on each section. We hope that you find this article very useful and come back to it anytime you need to study. KoreanClass101.com has many free Korean lessons for you and you can study at your own pace without any pressure. Also, there are many Korean native teachers willing to help you with Korean studies—you can download our MyTeacher app for a one-on-one learning experience!
Answers:
1- A
2- D
3- B
4- A
5- D
6- D
7- B
8- A
9- B
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