Korean vocabulary · numbers
Native and Sino-Korean numbers
Korean keeps two everyday number systems. Native Korean numbers count many objects and hours; Sino-Korean numbers handle dates, money, minutes, measurements, and many larger or formal quantities.
Use native Korean with many counters and hours
하나, 둘, 셋, 넷 are the native forms one through four. Before a counter they often shorten to 한, 두, 세, 네: 한 개 is one item and 두 명 is two people. Clock hours also use this system.
Use Sino-Korean for dates, money, and minutes
일, 이, 삼, 사 are the Sino-Korean forms one through four. They appear in dates, prices, phone numbers, measurements, and clock minutes. A time can therefore use both systems: native Korean for the hour and Sino-Korean for the minutes.
Treat the choice as part of the noun or situation being counted. Asking what kind of number this is works better than translating an isolated digit.
Reference
The two number series
Compare each form with the situation named in its answer and explanation.
하나 counts things and hours. Korean keeps two number systems, and this is the native one: 하나, 둘, 셋. Before a counter it shortens to 한 — 한 개, one item.
둘 is the native two, and shortens to 두 before a counter: 두 명, two people.
셋 is the native three, and shortens to 세: 세 잔, three glasses.
넷 is the native four, and shortens to 네: 네 권, four books.
다섯 is the native five. From five upward the shape does not change before a counter: 다섯 명.
여섯 is the native six: 여섯 시, six o'clock.
일곱 is the native seven: 일곱 개, seven items.
여덟 is the native eight. The final ㄼ is written but only ㄹ is heard: it sounds like 여덜.
아홉 is the native nine: 아홉 시, nine o'clock.
열 is the native ten. The native numbers keep going to 아흔아홉, ninety-nine, and stop there only because there is no native hundred. Age and the hour use them the whole way, so forty years old is 마흔 살. For large counts of ordinary things, speakers reach for the Sino numbers instead.
일 is the Sino-Korean one, used for dates, money, minutes and phone numbers. It is the same character as Japanese 一.
이 is the Sino-Korean two, from 二. Two o'clock is 두 시 with the native number, but two minutes is 이 분 with this one.
삼 is the Sino-Korean three, from 三: 삼월 is March.
사 is the Sino-Korean four, from 四. Like Japanese し it shares a sound with 死, and buildings often skip the fourth floor.
오 is the Sino-Korean five, from 五: 오월 is May.
육 is the Sino-Korean six, from 六. In the name of the sixth month it changes to 유: June is 유월, not 육월.
칠 is the Sino-Korean seven, from 七: 칠월 is July.
팔 is the Sino-Korean eight, from 八: 팔월 is August.
구 is the Sino-Korean nine, from 九: 구월 is September.
십 is the Sino-Korean ten, from 十. Above twenty this is the system that keeps going: 이십, 삼십, and so on.
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Practice native and sino-korean numbers
Choose an answer, read the explanation, and finish the short set without leaving this page.