Last chapter we focused on Sino-Korean numbers (we’ll cover what this means), and this chapter we’ll introduce Pure Korean numbers, as well as how and when to use them. We’ll also learn what the distinction between Sino-Korean numbers and Pure Korean numbers is, and why it’s important to know both of them.
Conversation
A: 몇 명이 옵니까?
B: 세 명이 옵니다. 저와 김 씨와 제 친구도 옵니다.
A: 그 친구는 제주도에서 여기까지 옵니까?
B: 네, 맞습니다. 그리고 그분의 고양이도 데리고 옵니다.
A: 고양이라고요? 몇 마리를 데리고 옵니까?
B: 한 마리지만, 그 한 마리가 개보다 더 큽니다.
A: 아이고! 정말 고양이가 맞습니까?
Pure Korean and Sino-Korean Numbers
In the last chapter, we learned how to count in Korean using Sino-Korean numbers. "Sino" is a word that means "China," and Sino-Korean numbers are numbers that originated from the Chinese language. Some things, such as money (원) are counted using Sino-Korean numbers, as we learned in the last chapter, but other things are counted using Pure Korean numbers.
Pure Korean numbers are numbers which did not originate from China, but developed within Korea. You will need to become familiar with both Sino and Pure Korean numbers in order to properly speak Korean.
But don’t worry! In some ways, Pure Korean numbers are simpler than Sino-Korean numbers. Pure Korean numbers have different uses than Sino-Korean numbers. We’ll go over these in a bit.
If you’re simply counting numbers on their own, such as when teaching someone how to count to ten in Korean, and not counting anything, it’s much more common and preferred to use Sino-Korean numbers.
This chapter will focus on Pure Korean numbers and how to use them. We’ll also learn how to count things besides only 원.
Let’s go over the Pure Korean numbers.
1 하나
2 둘
3 셋
4 넷
5 다섯
6 여섯
7 일곱
8 여덟
9 아홉
10 열
20 스물
30 서른
40 마흔
Remember from the rules of reading 한글 that 여덟 is pronounced as 여덜.
Fortunately, counting Pure Korean numbers is done in the same way as Sino-Korean numbers. However, Pure Korean has special numbers for 20, 30, and 40.
Advanced Notes:
Also notice the unique spacing used with Pure Korean numbers and also with counters. It’s not required that you know exactly how to space words in Korean, as many Koreans are unaware of the rules as well; improper spacing will not severely impact your Korean, but proper spacing does show a stronger understanding of the written language.
11 = 10 & 1 열 하나
19 = 10 & 9 열 아홉
21 = 20 & 1 스물 하나
39 = 30 & 9 서른 아홉
41 = 40 & 1 마흔 하나
This is in contrast to Sino-Korean numbers, such as the following example:
21 = 2 & 10 & 1 이십일
Once we reach 50, things go back to normal.
50 = 5 & 10 오십
65 = 6 & 10 & 5 육십오
100 백
See what happened? Once we pass 49, we can simply switch to Sino-Korean again. This is because many of the larger Pure Korean numbers are now no longer used anymore (such as 100 and above).
In fact, if you want to, feel free to switch back to Sino-Korean once you’ve hit 40, and it’ll still be acceptable.
Advanced Notes:
There are actually Pure Korean numbers that go up extremely high, though these are no longer in use and most people do not know them. However, there are also numbers for 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 which are still in use today; Koreans might not use these numbers often, but it would be useful to know them, especially if you have plans to visit Korea in the future. Here are those numbers:
50 → 쉰
60 → 예순
70 → 일흔
80 → 여든
90 → 아흔
And here are some examples of numbers within this range.
51→ 쉰 하나
64 → 예순 넷
72 → 일흔 둘
85 → 여든 다섯
99 → 아흔 아홉
100 → 백
Regardless of how high you wish to count in Pure Korean numbers, you will still switch back to Sino-Korean once you hit 100, as Pure Korean numbers for 100 and above are no longer used in Korea.
Counting and Counters
Now that we’ve learned how to count with both Sino-Korean and Pure Korean numbers, let’s see what we can do with them.
In the last chapter we learned how to use Sino-Korean numbers to count South Korean Won.
1,000 Won 천원
And of course, we can use Sino-Korean numbers to say numbers on their own.
112 백십이
But what if you want to count other things, like people?
You will need to learn what is called counters in order to do this. A counter is a word that is only used when counting something. In order to say "1 person," you will need to know the person counter, and in order to say "1 animal" you will need to know the animal counter. English actually also has a similar concept.
"a swarm of bees" / "a pack of wolves" / "a herd of buffalo" / "a flock of geese"
But imagine having to learn a different counter, such as "swarm" or "pack," for every different type of animal. In Korean, things are much less complicated.
What you are counting will determine whether you will need to use Sino-Korean or Pure Korean. For 원, use Sino-Korean as we learned in the last chapter.
Let’s go over some things that are counted using Pure Korean numbers.
Animals are counted using 마리.
소 아홉 마리 "nine cows"
물고기 일곱 마리 "seven fish"
Notice how we name the animal first, followed by the Korean number, and then the counter. This is how all counting works in Korean – first specify what you are counting (here 소 or 물고기), followed by the number, and then the counter.
개 여섯 마리 "six dogs"
고양이 한 마리 "one cat"
For this example, 하나 becomes 한. This is because the first four numbers (1, 2, 3, and 4) in Pure Korean are special, and change form when used before a counter.
1 하나→한
2 둘→두
3 셋→세
4 넷→네
In addition, the number 20 also changes when used directly before a counter.
20 스물 → 스무
개 한 마리 "one dog"
쥐 두 마리 "two mice"
뱀 세 마리 "three snakes"
사자 네 마리 "four lions"
Let’s look at a few examples.
저는 고양이 한 마리가 있습니다.
"I have one cat."
여기에 뱀 여섯 마리가 있습니다.
"Here are six snakes."
Remember that although we’re using counters, you will still need to attach whatever marker you would normally use – above, we’re attaching the Subject Marker.
닭 백 마리를 먹고 싶습니다.
"I want to eat 100 chickens."
And here we attached the Object Marker. Remember that for any number 50 or above (even 40 or above if you’d like), feel free to switch to Sino-Korean numbers (here 백마리).
People are counted using 명.
사람 세 명 "3 people"
사람 여섯 명 "6 people"
사람 만 명 "10,000 people"
Or, you can simply use a Pure Korean number with the counter 명 all by itself, and it will still have the same meaning.
세 명 "3 people"
오십 명 "50 people"
저는 (사람) 다섯 명을 초대합니다.
"I’m inviting 5 people."
Items (including things for which there is no specific counter) are counted using 개.
의자 일곱 개 "7 chairs"
펜 열 두 개 "12 pens"
상자 세 개 "3 boxes"
저는 컴퓨터 한 개가 있습니다.
"I have one computer."
의자 두 개를 원합니다.
"I want two chairs."
Age is counted using 살.
세 살 "3 years old"
스무 살 "20 years old"
저는 스물 일곱 살입니다.
"I am 27 years old."
김 선생님은 서른 두 살입니다.
"Mr. Kim is 32 years old."
Advanced Notes:
살 is a bit of an exception; it should only be used with Pure Korean numbers. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to learn all numbers to 100 in order to say a person’s age; instead, once you are no longer able to use Pure Korean numbers (above 40), it’s more common to use the counter 세 instead of 살.
While 살 is used with Pure Korean numbers, 세 is used with Sino-Korean numbers.
30 years old → 서른 살
50 years old → 오십 세
73 years old → 칠십삼 세
82 years old → 팔십이 세
몇 can be used before a counter to mean "how many," and is used for asking about quantities.
몇 명입니까?
"How many people?"
몇 명이 있습니까?
"How many people are there?"
닭 몇 마리를 먹고 싶습니까?
"How many chickens do you want to eat?"
김 씨는 몇 살입니까?
"As for Mr. Kim, how old is he?"
몇 살입니까?
"How old are you?"
Asking someone his or her age with 몇 살입니까? is only acceptable to people who are younger than yourself. In Chapter 15 we will cover a more polite, standard way of asking a person’s age.
Advanced Notes:
몇 can also mean "some" or "a few." Whether it is being used to mean "how many," "some," or "a few," will be clear from the context. It is used in the same way, before a counter.
몇 명이 옵니까?
"How many people are coming?"
몇 명이 옵니다.
"A few people are coming."
Measuring things is done using Sino-Korean numbers. Like most countries besides the United States, Korea uses the metric system.
미터 "meter"
→ 이 미터 "2 meters"
센티미터 "centimeter"
→ 십 센티미터 "10 centimeters"
밀리미터 "millimeter"
→ 육 밀리미터 "6 millimeters"
킬로(그램) "kilo(gram)"
→ 이백 킬로 "200 kilos"
그램 "gram"
→ 백오십 그램 "150 grams"
리터 "liter"
→ 팔 리터 "8 liters"
도 "degrees"
→ 사십 도 "40 degrees"
Note that Korea uses Celsius for measuring degrees.
Although Korea uses the metric system, if you’re in the United States, you can use your local measurement system in Korean as well.
갤런 "gallon"
→ 삼 갤런 "3 gallons"
마일 "mile"
→ 백 마일 "100 miles"
톤 "ton"
→ 오천 톤 "5,000 tons"
Want to Have
몇 개를 가지고 싶습니까?
"How many do you want to have?"
The above sentence uses the verb 가지다 instead of 원하다. In fact, using the verb 원하다 to express that you want something (which we’ve used up until this point) is actually a bit direct – "I want." A more natural way to say this is by using the verb 가지다, which means "to have (on your person)" or "to hold." 가지고 싶다 therefore means "to want to have." Also note that 싶다 is the original verb where 싶습니다 comes from.
저는 새로운 핸드폰을 가지고 싶습니다.
"I want to have a new cell phone."
However, do not use the verb 가지다 by itself to say that you have something on your person yet, as it must be conjugated another way that this book does not cover. Continue to use the verb 있다 to express that you have something.
Advanced Notes:
You may also come across the verb 갖다. Both 갖다 and 가지다 have the same meaning, and are interchangeable. 갖다 is an abbreviation of 가지다.
Flat items, such as paper items and shirts, are counted using 장.
종이 한 장
"1 sheet of paper"
종이 백 장
"100 sheets of paper"
셔츠 열 두 장
"12 shirts"
Books are counted using 권.
책 한 권
"1 book"
책 서른 권
"30 books"
As I mentioned for the counter 명, if it’s already clear what you are referring to, feel free to leave off the first noun (what you are counting), and simply say the Pure Korean number with its counter.
거기에 사람 몇 명이 갑니까?
"How many people are going there?"
세 명이 갑니다.
"3 people are going."
It would be fine to say 사람 세 명이 갑니다, though it’s unnecessary since it’s already clear that you’re talking about people simply by using the 명 counter.
Advanced Notes:
Let’s go over some more counters. This is not a complete list of every counter, but includes most of the common ones you will find in Korean.
Remember that saying what you are counting before the number and counter is optional.
벌 clothing counter
→ (양복) 한 벌 "1 suit"
마디 word counter
→ (말) 한 마디 "1 word"
병 bottle counter
→ (맥주) 열 두 병 "12 bottles of beer"
→ (물) 세 병 "3 bottles of water"
자루 long, thin item counter
→ (연필) 세 자루 "3 pencils"
→ (칼) 한 자루 "1 knife"
켤레 pairs (of shoes or socks) counter
→ (양말) 두 켤레 "2 pairs of socks"
→ (신발) 한 켤레 "1 pair of shoes"
판 pizza counter
→ (피자) 스물 다섯 판 "25 pizzas"
접시 plate counter
→ (볶음밥) 일곱 접시 "7 plates of fried rice"
컵 cup counter
→ (물) 한 컵 "1 cup of water"
그루 tree counter
→ (나무) 한 그루 "1 tree"
대 appliance or car counter
→ (자동차) 두 대 "2 cars"
→ (컴퓨터) 세 대 "3 computers"
조각 piece counter
→ (빵) 한 조각 "1 piece of bread"
→ (피자) 세 조각 "3 pieces of pizza"
번 times counter
→ 한 번 "once," "one time"
→ 두 번 "twice," "two times"
저는 이 음식을 백 번 더 먹고 싶습니다.
"I want to eat this food 100 more times."
Now that we’ve got everything about numbers cleared up, let’s go over the conversation.
A: 몇 명이 옵니까?
"How many people are coming?"
Although it would be grammatically fine to say 사람 몇 명이 옵니까? here, it isn’t necessary because the counter 명 is only used in reference to people. Unless it were vague that you were referring to people (such as in the middle of talking about something completely different), it’s fine to leave off 사람.
B: 세 명이 옵니다. 저와 김 씨와 제 친구도 옵니다.
"3 people are coming. Me and Mr. Kim and my friend are coming too."
A: 그 친구는 제주도에서 여기까지 옵니까?
"Is that friend coming from Jeju Island to here?"
A에서 B까지
This is how to say "from A to B" when talking about locations. 에서 here means "from," and 까지 means "until" or "(up) to."
저는 저의 집에서 김 씨의 집까지 걸어갑니다.
"I’m walking from my house to Mr. Kim’s house."
김 씨는 거기에서 여기까지 옵니다.
"Mr. Kim is coming from there to here."
학교에서 병원까지 갑니다.
"I’m going from the school to the hospital."
Advanced Notes:
In other situations, 에서 can also mean "at" or "in," but we’ll go over these situations in Chapter 15. For now, just remember that 에서 means "from a location." Note that this is not how you would say "from person A to person B," but that this is only used for locations. We’ll go over how to say "from person A to person B" in Chapter 17.
Culture Notes:
To many in Korea, 제주도 is known as the Hawaii of South Korea, and rightly so. Located between South Korea and Japan, 제주도 has warmer weather year-round; in winter it rarely drops below freezing. 제주도 is home to many popular nature-related attractions, such as waterfalls, underground lava tubes, and Mt. Halla (한라산).
B: 네, 맞습니다. 그리고 그분의 고양이도 데리고 옵니다.
"Yes, that’s right. And he is bringing his cat too."
맞다 means "to be correct," but can also translate as "to be right."
Advanced Notes:
맞다, when meaning "to be correct," conjugates to an adjective as 맞는 ("correct").
그분 – "he," "she," "that person"
그분 literally means "that person" (분 is a special, polite word that means "person"). You can use it to refer to anyone with whom you are not acquainted, or for anyone who you do not know the name of. Remember that it means "that person," so you would not use this if the person is standing in the same room as you, just as you would not call someone "that person" in English if he or she is present.
You can use 그분 for both males and females, making it a convenient way to say "he" or "she" in Korean.
Nevertheless, it’s best to refer to people by their names when possible.
그분이 좋은 사람입니다.
"He/she is a good person."
그분이 누구입니까?
"Who is he/she?"
그분은 저의 친구 입니다.
"As for him/her, he/she is my friend."
그분을 만나고 싶습니다.
"I want to meet him/her."
데리다 and 가지다
These two verbs both mean "to take," but are used a bit differently. 데리다 is used for people or animals (never for things), while 가지다 is used exclusively for things (never for people).
Combined with the verbs 가다 and 오다 (using 고), these verbs mean "to take" and "to bring."
파티에 김 씨를 데리고 갑니다.
"I’m taking Mr. Kim to the party."
그분은 파티에 김 씨를 데리고 옵니다.
"He’s bringing Mr. Kim to the party."
파티에 김치를 가지고 갑니다.
"I’m taking kimchi to the party."
그분은 파티에 김치를 가지고 옵니다.
"He’s bringing kimchi to the party."
Advanced Notes:
Alternate versions of 데리고 가다 and 데리고 오다 are 데려가다 and 데려오다. Alternate versions of 가지고 가다 and 가지고 오다 are 가져가다 and 가져오다. These can be used in the same way as the versions taught above, and have the same meaning.
A: 고양이라고요? 몇 마리를 데리고 옵니까?
"Did you say cat? How many is he bringing?"
(이)라고요?
Use this after a word to confirm whether or not someone said something. An equivalent expression in English would be "Did you say…?"
Use 이라고요 if the word ends in a consonant, or use 라고요 if the word ends in a vowel.
저라고요?
"Did you say me?"
선생님이라고요?
"Did you say the teacher?"
치즈라고요?
"Did you say cheese?"
This form can also be used in statements to repeat something that someone said.
김 선생님이라고요.
"He said Mr. Kim."
사과 두 개라고요.
"I said 2 apples."
B: 한 마리지만, 그 한 마리가 개보다 더 큽니다.
"It’s one cat, but that one cat is bigger than a dog."
Noun + 보다 (더)
Saying that something is more (adjective) than something else is simple.
Take a noun and attach 보다 to the end. You can also optionally add 더 after as an adverb, which means "more."
이것이 그것보다 어렵습니다.
"This is more difficult than that."
사이다가 우유보다 더 맛있습니다.
"Soda is more delicious than milk."
소고기가 돼지고기보다 비쌉니다.
"Beef is more expensive than pork."
You can also use 더 in other situations.
더 먹고 싶습니다.
"I want to eat more."
더 주세요.
"Please give me more."
그분은 저보다 키가 더 큽니다.
"He is taller than me."
In the example above, 키(가) 크다 means "to be tall (height)," but literally means that a person’s 키 ("height," "stature") is 크다 ("big"). Because 더 is an adverb it must modify a verb, so in 키(가) 크다 the verb is the descriptive verb 크다; therefore 더 should appear before 크다 and not before 키.
더 can also be used to add the meaning of "er" to any descriptive verb.
더 큰 케이크를 원합니다.
"I want a bigger cake."
더 좋은 생각
"a better idea"
더 빠른 자동차
"a faster car"
더 예쁜 여자
"a prettier girl"
더 똑똑한 사람
"a smarter person"
A: 아이고! 정말 고양이가 맞습니까?
"Oh my! Is it really a cat?"
Noun + (이/가) 맞다
Here’s how to ask if something is correct, or to claim that it is. Use the verb 맞다 after a noun with a Subject Marker.
제가 미국 사람이 맞습니다.
"It’s correct that I’m an American."
그것이 카메라가 맞습니까?
"Is that really a camera?"
그분이 정말 선생님이 맞습니까?
"Is he really a teacher?"
Advanced Notes:
In this chapter we learned how to use counters, and how to use markers appropriately with them. Take the following sentence for example:
사과 몇 개를 먹고 싶습니까?
"How many apples do you want to eat?"
Notice how we used the Object Marker after 개, and not after 사과. In fact, all of our examples in this chapter use markers after counters in this way. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The above sentence could just as well be this:
사과를 몇 개 먹고 싶습니까?
"How many apples do you want to eat?"
To keep things simple, this chapters’ examples only show using markers after counters – but feel free to use markers directly after what it is that you’re counting. There is no significant difference, and both ways are correct.
Practice
Write the following numbers in Pure Korean:
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
f. 6
g. 7
h. 8
i. 9
j. 10
k. 20
l. 22
m. 27
n. 30
Translate to Korean:
1. "I want to see 10 monkeys."
2. "Please give me 3 notebooks."
3. "There are 2 people in my house."
4. "He is 30 years old."
5. "How old is he?"
6. "I’m walking from home to the store."
7. "Is that really a cake?"
8. "I will bring my friend to school."
9. "Did you say Korean food?"
10. "This is better than that."
Translate to English:
11. 소 두 마리를 먹고 싶습니다.
12. 사람 한 명이 옵니다.
13. 저는 열 여덟 살입니다.
14. 서울에서 부산까지 운전합니다.
15. 고양이는 몇 마리가 있습니까?
16. 그것이 정말 물고기가 맞습니다.
17. 제 집이 김 선생님의 집보다 큽니다.
18. 종이 한 장만 주세요.
19. 그분은 선물도 가지고 갑니다.
20. 선물이라고요?
21. 저는 이 고양이가 저 고양이보다 더 귀엽기 때문에 이 고양이를 더 좋아합니다.
New Phrases
아이고! - "Oh my!"
New Vocabulary
하나 - 1
한 - 1 (adjective)
둘 - 2
두 - 2 (adjective)
셋 - 3
세 - 3 (adjective)
넷 - 4
네 - 4 (adjective)
다섯 - 5
여섯 - 6
일곱 - 7
여덟 - 8
아홉 - 9
열 - 10
스물 - 20
스무 - 20 (adjective)
서른 - 30
마흔 - 40
마리 - animal counter
명 - person counter
개 - item counter
살 - age counter
장 - flat item counter
권 - book counter
몇 - "how many" (adjective)
소 - "cow"
공책 - "(study) notebook"
상자 - "box"
맥주 - "beer"
소주 - "(Korean) alcohol"
나무 - "tree," "wood"
꽃 - "flower"
장미 - "rose"
하늘 - "sky"
땅 - "earth," "dirt"
바람 - "wind"
불 - "fire"
세계 - "world"
지구 - "the Earth"
우주 - "universe"
해 - "the sun"
잔디 - "grass," "lawn"
숲 - "forest"
종이 - "paper"
물고기 - "(alive) fish"
고기 - "meat"
쇠고기 - "beef"
돼지고기 - "pork"
돌 - "stone"
가지다 - "to hold," "to have (on your person)"
가게 - "store"
운전(을) 하다 - "to drive"
운동(을) 하다 - "to exercise"
똑똑하다 - "to be smart"
쥐 - "mouse," "rat"
칼 - "knife," "blade"
검 - "sword"
컵 - "cup"
사자 - "lion"
닭 - "chicken"
게 - "crab"
사과 - "apple"
당근 - "carrot"
똥 - "poop"
초대(를) 하다 - "to invite"
양복 - "a suit"
신발 - "shoes"
양말 - "socks"
맞다 - "to be correct"
틀리다 - "to be incorrect"
에서 - "from," "at," "in" (particle)
만나다 - "to meet"
제주도 - "Jeju Island"
그분 - "him," "her," "that person"
가지고 오다 - "to bring (something here)"
가지고 가다 - "to take (something somewhere else)"
데리고 오다 - "to take (someone here)"
데리고 가다 - "to take (someone somewhere else)"
파티 - "party"
보다 (더) - "more than"
키(가) 크다 - "to be tall (height)"
키(가) 작다 - "to be short (height)"
키 - "height," "stature"
불편하다 - "to be uncomfortable"
편하다 - "to be comfortable"
필요하다 - "to be necessary"
갤런 - "gallon"
마일 - "mile"
톤 - "ton"
미터 - "meter"
센티미터 - "centimeter"
밀리미터 - "millimeter"
킬로(그램) - "kilo(gram)"
그램 - "gram"
리터 - "liter"
밀리리터 - "millileter"
도 - "degrees"