Two number systems
| Sino-Korean | Native Korean | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 일 | il | 하나 | hana |
| 2 | 이 | i | 둘 | dul |
| 3 | 삼 | sam | 셋 | set |
| 4 | 사 | sa | 넷 | net |
| 5 | 오 | o | 다섯 | daseot |
| 6 | 육 | yuk | 여섯 | yeoseot |
| 7 | 칠 | chil | 일곱 | ilgop |
| 8 | 팔 | pal | 여덟 | yeodeol |
| 9 | 구 | gu | 아홉 | ahop |
| 10 | 십 | sip | 열 | yeol |
| 20 | 이십 | isip | 스물 | seumul |
| 30 | 삼십 | samsip | 서른 | seoreun |
| 100 | 백 | baek | — | |
| 1000 | 천 | cheon | — | |
| 10,000 | 만 | man | — |
Sino-Korean numbers (from Chinese) are used for money, dates, phone numbers, minutes, floors and anything above 99. Native Korean numbers are used for counting things and people, for age, and for the hour when telling the time.
The big trick: 만 (10,000)
Korean groups big numbers in fours, not threes. 10,000 is 만 (man), so ₩50,000 is 오만 원 (“five ten-thousands”) and ₩1,000,000 is 백만 원 (“one hundred ten-thousands”). One hundred million is 억 (eok). Prices in shops and rents are almost always said this way — practise with the calculator above.
Telling the time
Hours use native numbers and minutes use Sino-Korean numbers: 3:30 is 세 시 삼십 분 (se si samsip bun), or 세 시 반 (“three and a half”). Add 오전 (a.m.) or 오후 (p.m.) in front.
Counters
When counting things, Koreans add a counter word after the number: 사과 두 개 (two apples), 맥주 세 병 (three bottles of beer), 다섯 명 (five people). Before a counter, 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷 and 스물 shorten to 한, 두, 세, 네 and 스무.