Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 2 - Korean for Beginners #1 (Lessons 31 to 60) ᚛ Lesson 35 - Korean numbers
Korean numbers
In Korean, there are two systems of numbers:
- The pure Korean numbers from 1 to 99, generally used to count objects, hours, to give your age, etc.
- The numbers from Chinese (Sino-Korean numbers) from 0 to infinity, used to count money, minutes, phone numbers, etc.
We shall first study the pure Korean numbers.
|
1 |
하나 |
|
2 |
둘 |
|
3 |
셋 |
|
4 |
넷 |
|
5 |
다섯 |
|
6 |
여섯 |
|
7 |
일곱 |
|
8 |
여덟 |
|
9 |
아홉 |
|
10 |
열 |
Note: pay attention to the spelling of 여덟 which contains a final ㅂ, which is not pronounced.
|
20 |
스물 |
|
30 |
서른 |
|
40 |
마흔 |
|
50 |
쉰 |
|
60 |
예순 |
|
70 |
일흔 |
|
80 |
여든 |
|
90 |
아흔 |
Forming the Korean numbers from 1 to 99 is very simple since you simply need to join the word for the tens to the word for the units.
For example, 15 is composed of 10 and 5. So we will say 열다섯, composed of 열, 10, and 다섯, 5.
Here are some examples to better understand the mechanism.
|
11 (10 + 1) |
열하나 |
|
28 (20 + 8) |
스물여덟 |
|
49 (40 + 9) |
마흔아홉 |
|
67 (60 + 7) |
예순일곱 |
|
72 (70 + 2) |
일흔둘 |
|
84 (80 + 4) |
여든넷 |
|
97 (90 + 7) |
아흔일곱 |
We now know how to say all the pure Korean numbers. Indeed, 100 does not exist in this system. If in a case of using Korean numbers, there is a need to go beyond 99, then Sino-Korean numbers are used.
The cases on the use of pure Korean numbers will be seen later in the course on numerical classifiers in Korean.
Exercises
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Traveling to South Korea can be an unforgettable experience. But when you don’t speak Korean, everything gets more complicated: ordering in a restaurant or café becomes stressful, you can’t understand signs or directions, asking for help in case of trouble is nearly impossible, and most importantly, you miss out on the very essence of a successful trip to Korea: connecting with the locals.
Since English - Korean machine translators can’t always be trusted (the two languages work in completely different ways), it’s essential to prepare yourself in advance to fully enjoy your trip to South Korea!
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