1 · Numbers, counters and time
Native Korean numbers: 하나, 둘, 셋
the counting numbers of everyday things
The older Korean set, used for counting things and people, for hours and for age — and four of them change shape before a counter.
The native numbers run from 하나 to 아흔아홉 (99): 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯, 여섯, 일곱, 여덟, 아홉, 열. Unlike the Sino-Korean set, every ten has a word of its own, rather as English has "twenty" and "thirty": 스물 (20), 서른, 마흔, 쉰, 예순, 일흔, 여든, 아흔. The rest are put together: 열하나is 11스물다섯is 25 There is no native word in daily use for 100; there the Sino-Korean 백 takes over.
Four of the numbers, and 20, take a shorter form when a counter or a noun follows: 하나 becomes 한, 둘 becomes 두, 셋 becomes 세, 넷 becomes 네 and 스물 becomes 스무. So it is 한 개(one thing)두 명(two people)세 시(three o'clock)스무 살(twenty years old) In a longer number only the last part changes: 열한 시, 스물두 살.
The native numbers count everyday things with most counters — 개, 명, 마리, 잔, 권 — and they give the hour on the clock and a person's age. Without a counter, the full form stands: counting aloud is 하나, 둘, 셋, and in a shop you can point and say 하나 주세요, "one, please". With large quantities people often switch to Sino-Korean numbers even before a native counter.
The mistakes English speakers make are predictable: the full form before a counter (하나 개 instead of 한 개), a Sino-Korean number for the hour, and the number and counter written as one word. A number and its counter are two words, with a space between them: 두 명.
The form
| 1 to 5 | 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯 |
| 6 to 10 | 여섯, 일곱, 여덟, 아홉, 열 |
| 20 to 50 | 스물, 서른, 마흔, 쉰 |
| 60 to 90 | 예순, 일흔, 여든, 아흔 |
| before a counter | 한 개, 두 명, 세 시, 네 잔, 스무 살 |
| 11, 22, 99 | 열하나, 스물둘, 아흔아홉 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
On its own or when counting aloud, the full form is used.
사과 하나 주세요.One apple, please.
Before a counter, one to four and twenty are shortened: 한, 두, 세, 네, 스무.
커피 두 잔 주세요.Two coffees, please.
In a number of two parts, only the last part is shortened.
제 동생은 스물한 살이에요.My younger sibling is twenty-one.
Above ninety-nine, Sino-Korean numbers take over, even with a native counter.
강당에 의자가 백 개 있어요.There are a hundred chairs in the hall.
The number and the counter are two words.
고양이가 세 마리 있어요.There are three cats.
A closer look
Tens with names of their own
The Sino-Korean tens are plain multiplication — 이십, 삼십, 사십, "two-ten, three-ten, four-ten". The native tens are separate words that have to be learned one by one: 스물, 서른, 마흔, 쉰, 예순, 일흔, 여든, 아흔. The higher ones echo their units — 예순 and 여섯, 일흔 and 일곱, 여든 and 여덟, 아흔 and 아홉 — while 스물, 마흔 and 쉰 simply have to be learned.
Older Korean had native words for a hundred and a thousand as well, but they have long dropped out of counting. That is why the native set stops at 99, and why a learner rarely needs the higher native tens outside ages: people count forty things as 마흔 개 or 사십 개, and from about fifty upwards the Sino-Korean form is the more usual one.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the number is twenty on its own before a counter
스물 becomes 스무: 스무 살, 스무 개 — but 스물한 살, 스물다섯 개.
제 언니는 스무 살이에요.My older sister is twenty.
Like one to four, twenty loses its final sound directly before a counter. In a longer number the last part is the one that changes, and there 스물 is no longer last.
How to spot it
- 하나
- 둘
- 셋
- 한
- 두
- 세
- 네
- 스무
Example sentences
저는 형이 한 명 있어요.I have one older brother.
우리 반에는 학생이 열다섯 명 있어요.There are fifteen students in our class.
아침에 물을 두 잔 마셨어요.I drank two glasses of water this morning.
제 딸은 일곱 살이에요.My daughter is seven.
하나, 둘, 셋! 웃으세요.One, two, three — smile!
할아버지는 올해 여든이세요.My grandfather is eighty this year.
8 more example sentences
냉장고에 달걀이 여섯 개 있어요.There are six eggs in the fridge.
저는 하루에 커피를 세 잔 마셔요.I drink three cups of coffee a day.
이 책을 두 번 읽었어요.I have read this book twice.
우리 집에는 방이 네 개 있어요.Our flat has four rooms.
표 여덟 장 주세요.Eight tickets, please.
어머니는 쉰 살이 넘으셨어요.My mother is over fifty.
친구가 열두 명 왔어요.Twelve friends came.
공원에 개가 아홉 마리 있어요.There are nine dogs in the park.
Worth knowing (1)
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Four, and the word for yes
The shortened four, 네, is spelled exactly like 네, "yes". There is never any real doubt, because the number always has a counter after it, while "yes" stands at the start of an answer.
네, 네 개 주세요.Yes, four, please.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Before a counter the number has to be shortened. 하나 is what you say when the number stands alone (사과 하나 주세요); as soon as a counter follows, it becomes 한. The same goes for 두, 세 and 네.
Hana alone, han before a counter: one to four and twenty take a short form when something follows.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.