# Korean Numbers and Counting



## aralaral

Korean langauge has two regularly used sets of numerals, a native one and hanja-based one.

 Native cardinals
 Number - Hangul - Pronunciation - Attributive forms (Hangul) - Attributive forms (Pronunciation)
 0 - there are two hanja-based ways to express zero but there is no korean native cardinals. (except slang, 빵 bbang)
 1 - 하나 - hana - 한 - han
 2 - 둘 - dul (dool) - 두 - du (doo)
 3 - 셋 - set - 세 - se
 4 - 넷 - net - 네 - ne
 5 - 다섯 - da sut - 다섯 - da sut
 6 - 여섯 - yeo sut - 여섯 - yeo sut
 7 - 일곱 - il gop - 일곱 - il gop
 8 - 여덟 - yeo deol - 여덟 - yeo deol
 9 - 아홉 - aa hop - 아홉 - aa hop
 10 - 열 - yeol - 열 - yeol
 11 - 열하나 - yeol hana - 열하나 - yeol hana
 12~19 same as above(10 + 2~9)
 20 - 스물 - seu mul - 스무 - seu mu
 21 - 스물하나 - seumul hana - 스물하나 seumul hana
 22~29 same as above(20 + 2~9)
 30 - 서른 - seo reun - 서른 - seo reun (there is no special attributive forms after 20)
 31~39 same as above
 40 - 마흔 - ma heun 
 50 - 쉰 - shin
 60 - 예순 - ye sun
 70 - 일흔 - il heun
 80 - 여든 - yeo deun
 90 - 아흔 - ah heun
 100 - there is native korean cardinals after 99 but almost nobody use it in any case. FYI, 100 is 온(on) and 1000 is 즈믄(jeumeun).


 Hanja-based cardinal
 Number - Hangul - Pronunciation 
 0 - 영(零), 공(空) - young , gong  
 1 - 일(一) - il
 2 - 이(二) - e
 3 - 삼(三) - sam
 4 - 사(四) - sa
 5 - 오(五) - oh
 6 - 육(六) - yuk (in some case, ryuk)
 7 - 칠(七) - chil
 8 - 팔(八) - pal
 9 - 구(九) - gu
 10 - 십(十) - sip
 11 - 십일(十一) - sip il
 12~19 same as above(10 + 2~9)
 20 - 이십(二十) - e sip
 21 - 이십일(二十一) - e sip il
 22~29 same as above(20 + 2~9)
 30 - 삼십(三十) - sam sip
 31~99 same as above
 100 - 백(百) - baek
 101~199 same as above
 200 - 이백(二百) - e baek
 201~999 same as above
 1000 - 천(千) - cheon
 1001~9999 same as above
 10000 - 만 - man
 100000 - 십만 - sip man
 1000000 - 백만 - baek man
 10000000 - 천만 - cheon man
 100000000 - 억 - eok
 1000000000000(10^12) - 조 - jo
 10000000000000000(10^16) - 경 - gyung
 100000000000000000000(10^20) - 해 - hae
 10^24 - 자 - ja
 10^28 - 양 - yang
 10^32 - 구 - gu
 10^36 - 간 - gan
 10^40 - 정 - jeong
 10^44 - 재 - jae
 10^48 - 극 - geuk
 10^52 - 항하사 - hang ha sa
 10^56 - 아승기 - a seung gi
 10^60 - 나유타 - na yu ta
 10^64 - 불가사의 - bul ga sa ui (meaning "strangeness" or "marvelousness")
 10^68 - 무량대수 - mu ryang dae su (meaning "uncountable big number)

 As you can see, There is a difference in reading large numbers between English and Korean.
 For example, English people see big number like this.

 239,572 - 239 thousands 572
 30,153,105,896,109 - 30 trillions 153 billions 105 millions 896 thousands 109

 But Korean people see big number like this.
 23,9572 - 23 man 9572
 30,1531,0589,6109 - 30 jo 1531 eok 589 man 6109

 And there is some hidden rule regarding the usage of two systems, so you don't really have a choice between them.

 Usage example (TIME)
 Hangul(meaning) - Pronunciation - System - Example
 년(year) - nyeon - Hanja-based one - 일년(1year), 삼십칠년(37years)
 월(month) - wol or wall - Hanja-based system - 일월(january), 십이월(december), 일개월 (duration, 1 month), 오개월(5 months), 삼십개월 (30 months)
 주, 주일(week) - joo, joo il - Hanja-based system - 삼주일 (3 weeks), 삼주(3 weeks), 세번째 주(3rd week)
 일(day) - il - Hanja-based system - 삼일(3rd or 3 days), 이십칠일 (27th or 27days), 삼백이십일 (320 days)
 시(hour) - si - Native system(attributive forms) - 세시(3'o clock), 세시간(3 hours), 열한시(11'o clock), 열한시간(11 hours)
 분(minute) - bun - Hanja-based system - 삼분(3 minutes), 십칠분(17 minutes)
 초(second) - cho - Hanja-based system - 칠초(7 seconds), 삼십칠초(37 seconds)

 Below is a list that you need to read it with a native system(attributive forms).
 hangul(usage) - pronunciation - example
 명(number of human) - myong - 한명, 세명
 구(number of human corpse) - gu - 한구, 여섯구
 마리(number of animal) - mari - 한마리, 아홉마리
 장(number of paper) - jang - 세장, 일곱장
 대(number of machine like vehicle or big appliance) - dae - 두대, 여덟대
 벌(number of cloth) - beol - 세벌, 여섯벌
 잔(number of cup) - jan - 한잔, 다섯잔
 병(number of bottle) - byong - 세병, 네병
 그루(number of tree)- groo - 세그루, 일곱그루
 살(age) - sal - 세살, 여섯살 (You can express your or other ppl's age without 살, but in this case DO NOT USE ATTRIBUTIVE FORMS. e.g. 스물입니다[OK], 예순셋입니다[OK]. 스무입니다[NG], 예순세입니다[NG])
 권(number of book) - gwon - 다섯권, 일곱권
 번(number of time) - bun - 한번, 세번 (for example, i only did it once, 한 번 했어)
 켤레(number of shoe) - kyeol le - 다섯켤레, 일곱켤레
 자루(number of sack or pencil) - ja roo - 한자루, 여섯자루
 상자(number of box) - sang ja - 한상자, 일곱상자
 판(number of pizza or any big flat thing) - pan - 한판, 네판
 접시(number of plate - dish) - jup si - 한접시 일곱접시
 쌍(number of couple) - ssang - 세쌍, 두쌍
 조각(number of piece) - jo gak - 세조각, 네조각
 개(generally used, exception - living things) - gae - 세 개

 Maybe you have noticed that every example written above is single digit.
 That's because there are some exceptions when number grow larger.

 If you try to read a lower than 20(N<20), You cannot use hanja-based system for the most of the time.
 But if you try to read 20 and above or less than 50 (20<=N<50), you can use both native and hanja-based system.
 But if it's 50 or above(N>=50), almost nobody use native system except age(살, 세, etc). 

 So it's like this.
 9 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 아홉[OK] 구[IT'S WEIRED 99.999999% OF THE TIME]
 19 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 열아홉[OK] 십구[MOST LIKELY IT'S WEIRD]
 25 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 스물다섯[OK] 이십오[OK, but 스물다섯 is more common way of reading in most case]
 30 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 서른[OK] 삼십[OK]
 40 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 마흔[OK, but 사십 is more common], 사십[OK]
 49 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 마흔아홉[OK, but 사십구 is more common], 사십구[OK]
 50 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 쉰[MOST LIKELY IT'S WEIRD], 오십[OK]
 51~infinite 명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - hangul based one[MOST LIKELY IT'S WEIRD], hanja based one[OK]

 The only exception i can think now is age. You can use native form if the age is between 1~99.


 And belows are things you should read in hanja-based form.
(basically anything comes from foreign world after 19-20th century)

년/월/주(주일)/일/초
교시(gyo si / period[class])
원(won / currency KRW)
달러(ddal ler / dollar)
번지(bungee / house number)
인(in / number of people)
인분(in bun / servings)
층(cheong / floor)
호(ho / room number)
회(hoi / episode)
미터(mee teo / meter)
마일(ma il / mile)
노트(no teu / knot)
도(do / degree[celsius, fahrenheit, kalvin])
바이트 (ba ee teu / byte)
마력 (ma ryeok / horsepower)

ps. In written form, you can always use arabic letter so stick to it.

pps. 0 have two ways of reading. 공(gong) and 영(young). usage is vary.

License plate (vehicle) - 공(usually) - e.g. 2305 이삼공오 (but in some case, you can read it with generic hanja-based system. e.g. 2000 이천[OK], 2002 이천이[OK], 2020 이천이십[OK but slightly weird], 2027 이천이십칠 [OK but quite weird], 2127 이천백이십칠[NG])
Phone number - 공(usually) - e.g. 9099 구공구구[OK], 구영구구[WEIRD] (2005-8000 이천오에 팔천[OK], 이공공오팔공공공[OK] 이공공오에 팔공공공[OK], 이영영오에 팔천[OK but slightly weird])
명/마리/권/장/자루/개/etc - 영(usually) - e.g. 0명 영명[OK], 공명[EXTREMELY WEIRD] / 0마리 영마리[OK] 공마리[EXTREMELY WEIRD]
소수점 앞의 0 (zero in front of decimal point) - 영(always) - e.g. 0.7 영점칠[OK] 공점칠[EXTREMELY WEIRD]
소수점 바로 뒤에 붙은 0 (zero right after the decimal point) - 영(usually) - e.g. 0.07 영점영칠[OK] 영점공칠[WEIRD] 공점공칠[EXTREMELY WEIRD]
소수에 포함된 0 (zero in decimal number) - 공(usually) - e.g. 0.70 영점칠공[OK] 영점칠영[WEIRD] / 0.707 영점칠공칠[OK] 영점칠영칠[WEIRD]
007 (the movie) - 공(always) - 공공칠[OK]
model codename - 공(usually) - e.g. qualcomm chipset MSM8960 엠에스엠팔구육공[OK] 엠에스엠팔구육영[WEIRD] 

ppps. another usual way of reading

2012(year)+년 - 이천십이[MOST COMMON]년 이공일이[WEIRD]년 십이[WEIRD]년
07(year)년 08월 - 공칠년 팔월[MOST COMMON] 이천칠년 팔월[COMMON] 공칠년 공팔월[RARELY USED IN SOME CASE]
1997(year)+년 - 구십칠[MOST COMMON]년 천구백구십칠[COMMON]년 일구구칠[WEIRD]년
1945(year)+년- 천구백사십오[MOST COMMON]년 사십오[NOT QUITE COMMON BUT OK]년 일구사오[WEIRD EXCEPT THE GAME 1945]

30,000원 - 삼만원[ALWAYS]
35,000원 - 삼만오천원[MOST COMMON], 삼십오천원[EXTREMELY RARE BUT NOT 100% WRONG], 삼백오십백원[100% WRONG]

250km/h(speed) - 이백오십 키로(keero)[MOST COMMON] 시속이백오십킬로(미터)[USED OFTEN] 이백오십킬로미터퍼아워[RARELY USED] 
250km (distance) - 이백오십 키로(keero)[MOST COMMON] 이백오십킬로(미터)[USED OFTEN] 이오공킬로(미터) [WEIRD]

350마력(horsepower) - 삼백오십마력[OK] 삼오공마력[WEIRD]


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## fauxinnocence

Wow! This is very complex but very helpful as well. 감사합니다!


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## Superhero1

Brilliant posting. (except that we still use 쉰 예순 일흔 마흔 아흔 명/마리/개 quite a lot)


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## ClaudioSHIN

In addition, we koreans use these numbers that are not fixed *only *_*in conversation*_. 

About 1or2 things : 한두개 (han doo ge) + 정도(jeong do)
About 2or3 things : 두세개 (doo se ge) + 정도
About 2or3or4 things : 두서너개 (doo seo neo ge) 정도
3or4 : 서너개 (seo neo ge) 정도
4or5 : 네다섯개 (ne da seot ge) 정도
5or6 : 다서여섯개 (da seo yeo seot ge) 정도
6or7 : 여서일곱개 (yeo seo il gop ge) or 여섯일곱개(yeo seo dil gop ge) 정도
7or8 : 일고여덟개 (il go yeo deol ge) or 일곱여덟개(il gom myeo deol
ge) 정도
8or9 : 여덟아홉개 (yeo deo la hop ge) 정도

11or12 : 열 한두개
12or13 : 열 두세개
Etc..


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## aralaral

4~5 should be 네댓 (너댓 is by far the most familiar colloquial use of the term. but 네댓 is standard.)
5~6 should be 대여섯 not 다서여섯
6~7 should be 예닐곱 not 여서일곱 nor 여섯일곱
7~8 sholud be 일고여덟 not 일곱여덟 (and 일여덟 is shorter version of 일고여덟)
8~9 should be 여덟아홉 (엳아홉 is shorter version of 여덟아홉)
10 or more should be 여남은
there is no such thing like 11~12, 12~13, ...
(plus. '7~8' and '8~9' and '10+' are not commonly used because most korean don't know which is the correct expression)


and there is a slight difference in meaning between '한두/두세/서넛' and '네댓 or more'.

'한두/두세/서넛' means I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER BUT IT'S ONE OF THEM.
'네댓/대여섯/예닐곱/or more' means I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER BUT I THINK IT'S ONE OF THEM BUT MAYBE THERE IS MORE.

so "한두개발 남았어" means there is 1 or 2 rounds left. (not zero or 3 or more)
but "대여섯발 남았어" means i think i got 5 or 6 rounds left but it might be wrong. (could be 7 or more and 4 or less)

and you don't necessarily have to add up '정도' after them because it works fine without the word, '정도'. 
if you add up '정도' after them, it implies the fact that "i'm guessing now". to be more precise, "number that i gave you is an approximate value(not precisely calculated). so it is not exactly accurate"


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