One, Two, Three…
하나, 둘, 셋. . . [hana, tul, set]

Counting: Numbers and Counting Units

Remember learning the multiplication tables in elementary school? We all thought it was pretty tough at first, but our teachers made us practice, practice, and practice some more, and eventually we made it! Well, most of us, anyway. ^^ But don’t worry if you still have trouble remembering what 9 times 7 is. What I want to talk about in this chapter is much easier—we’re going to learn to count!

We’ve been focused on words so much throughout the book that we’ve nearly overlooked numbers. But numbers are essential parts of a language, right? After all, if you don’t know your numbers, how are you going to ask for the proper change back when you buy a soda, or what will you do when a new friend wants to give you their cell number? Phew—good thing we’re learning this now!

But hold on…I have a little bit of bad news first. You know how Korean is simpler than English in some ways but more complex in others? Well, guess which one applies here. That’s right, we have some complexity.

In Korean, there are actually two number systems. Two!? That’s right, two. But why!? The answer is simple: one system is pure Korean, created by Koreans and used since the beginning of the language. The second one comes from Chinese. Remember that both Korean language and society have been strongly influenced by China, so it’s really no surprise this other number system was adopted, too.

Unfortunately, the two number systems are not interchangeable. One is used for some things, the other for others. So not only do you have to memorize two different words for each number, but you also have to learn the proper circumstances for using each system! Tough, I know. But hey, I’m here to help, so don’t despair! Mastery of these number systems will come quicker than you think, just as your multiplication tables did.

Sino-Korean

As it turns out, the Chinese-influenced (or Sino-Korean) numbers are a little easier and more systematic. So let’s tackle those first. Ready? 3, 2, 1…begin!

0: 영 [yeong] or 공 [kong] 1: 일 [il] 2: 이 [i] 3: 삼 [sam] 4: 사 [sa] 5: 오 [o] 6: 육 [yuk] 7: 칠 [chil] 8: 팔 [pal] 9: 구 [ku] 10: 십 [ship]

If you’ve studied other East Asian languages, like Japanese, you might notice these are quite similar to the counting systems in those languages. Why’s that? Well, Korea isn’t the only culture China has affected!

But, hmm…did you notice something strange in this list? Yeah, why are there two different ways to say 0? Actually, in almost all cases 영 is the correct form to use. But for some reason, when people are giving out their telephone number, they prefer to say 공 instead. Here, let me give you an example using my cell number. Just… uh…don’t try to call me. ^;^

How would you say this number? That’s right: 공일공, 일이삼사, 오육칠팔. Notice that for telephone numbers you say each number individually. I know in English you like to get fancy and say “twelve” or “fifty-six, seventy-eight,” but in Korea we don’t do that. Just keep it simple! The same goes for numbers that are repeated, like this: 007. How do you say that? Yes, it’s 공공칠 [konggongchil]. There’s no “double-oh” here, got it?!

Okay, so far so good. Are you ready for more? How about 11 through 20? This is where that simplicity I promised comes in. Notice that 11 through 19 are exactly the same as 1 through 9, only they have 십, the word for 10, in front of them. Even though this is the opposite of English—we say “seven-teen,” not “ten-seven”—it’s still quite logical and makes learning Sino-Korean numbers a breeze. Actually, I like this better than the English system, but of course, I’m biased. ^^

11: 십일 [shibil] 12: 십이 [shibi] 13: 십삼 [shipsam] 14: 십사 [shipsa] 15: 십오 [shibo] 16: 십육 [shimyuk] 17: 십칠 [shipchil] 18: 십팔 [shippal] 19: 십구 [shipgu] 20: 이십 [iship]

Look at 20. It’s just 2 (이)) + 10 (십)! How easy can you get? And, moving on, the simplicity continues:

21: 이십일 [ishibil] 22: 이십이 [ishibi] 23: 이십삼 [ishipsam] 24: 이십사 [ishipsa] 25: 이십오 [ishibo] 26: 이십육 [ishimyuk] 27: 이십칠 [ishipchil] 28: 이십팔 [ishippal] 29: 이십구 [isipgu]

I don’t even need to explain what’s going on here, do I? So let’s keep going:

30: 삼십 [samship]  40: 사십 [saship] 50: 오십 [oship] 60: 육십 [yukship] 70: 칠십 [chilship] 80: 팔십 [palship] 90: 구십 [kuship]

No, don’t stop there!

100: 백 [paek] 1,000: 건 [cheon] 10,000: 만 [man] 100,000: 십만 [shimman] 1,000,000: 백만 [paengman] 10,000,000: 건만 [cheonman] 100,000,000: (일) 억 [(il)eok]

Wow! “Why would I ever need to count so high?” you may be asking. But remember, it takes about 1,000 units of the Korean currency, the won, to equal 1 U.S. dollar. So, when money’s involved, things can add up fast.

Now, you may have noticed above that Sino-Korean has a totally separate name for the number 10,000. It’s not just 10 (십) + 1,000 (천), but rather 만. In English counting, you place a comma after every three digits, right? But Sino-Korean numbers were originally broken up into units of four digits instead of just three. This can create some confusion in modern times, as the three-digit units have come to be commonly used. There are some in Korea who advocate switching back to four-digit increments, but this isn’t likely to happen. However, for the purpose of our understanding, let’s see what that would look like:

100: 백
1000: 천
1,0000: 만
10,0000: 십만
100,0000: 백만
1000,0000: 천만
1,0000,0000: (일) 억

The number names make a bit more sense when you look at them this way, don’t they?

I want to mention one more thing about Sino-Korean numbers. In English, we always pronounce 100 as “one hundred,” never simply “hundred.” But with Sino-Korean numbers, it’s more common to omit the “one” when it comes in front of 100 (천), 1,000 (천), or 10,000 (만).

So 132 is not 일백삼십이, but 백삼십이. 1,567 is not 일천오백육십칠, but 천오백육십칠. And 13,982 is not 일만삼천구백팔십이, but rather 만삼천구백팔십이. For 100,000,000 (억), though, you need the 일.

Pure Korean

Great! Halfway done. It’s time to take on the pure Korean numbers, which aren’t quite as easy as the Sino-Korean, but still relatively simple. There’s no pure-Korean word for 0, so we’ll start with 1 through 10:

1: 하나 [hana] 2: 둘 [tul] 3: 셋 [set] 4: 넷 [net] 5: 다섯 [taseot] 6: 여섯 [yeoseot] 7: 일곱 [ilgop] 8: 여덟 [yeodeol] 9: 아홉 [ahop] 10: 열 [yeol]

Nope, these shouldn’t remind you of any other language. They’re pure Korean!

Lucky for you, 11 through 19 are formed using the same pattern as the Sino-Korean numbers (e.g., 10 + 1). So we have:

11: 열하나 [yeolhana] 12: 열둘 [yeoldul] 13: 열셋 [yeolset] 14: 열넷 [yeolnet] 15: 열다섯 [yeoldaseot] 16: 열여섯 [yeolyeoseot] 17: 열일곱 [yeolilgop] 18: 열여덟 [yeolyeodeol] 19: 열아홉 [yeolahop]

And now, what about 20? Will it be 둘열 Oh, I wish it were that easy, but that’s wrong! Koreans have another unique name for 20: 스물. Likewise, 30 is not 셋열, but 서른. Check it out:

20: 스물 [seumul] 21: 스물하나 [seumulhana] 22: 스물둘 [seumuldul] … 30: 서른 [seoreun] 40: 마흔 [maheun] 50: 쉰 [shwin] 60: 예순 [yesun] 70: 일흔 [ilheun] 80: 여든 [yeodeun] 90: 아흔 [aheun]

That’s it! Just as there’s no pure-Korean word for 0, there aren’t any for anything higher than 99. Instead, the Sino-Korean terms are always used for these.

Want to hear something funny? Koreans have these two counting systems, but the truth is many of them find it awkward to learn so many different number names, especially those in the younger generation. What you’ll find is that the majority of people only use pure-Korean numbers up to 19 and then switch over to Sino-Korean because they’re easier, even in cases when the pure-Korean is called for! So, even if you only feel like learning the first 19 pure-Korean numbers, chances are you’ll be just fine.

Counting units

Okay, we can’t end our discussion of numbers and counting without an explanation of counting units. And what are these? Well, in English, when you want to tell someone how much money you have in your pocket, you don’t just say “I have 32.” You have to specify what you’re talking about: “I have 32 dollars.” This is a counting unit, and Korean is full of special words that function as counting units for different things. And, as you could probably guess, some are used only with Sino-Korean numbers and others only with pure-Korean.

Sino-Korean counting units mainly deal with time, and here are some important ones:

년 [nyeon]: years

월 [weol]: months of the year

일 [il]: days of the month

분 [pun]: minutes

초 [cho]: seconds

Don’t worry about these now, because you’ll get very familiar with them in chapters 25 and 26.

Pure-Korean counting units, on the other hand, are numerous and varied. What’s more, when you use a counting unit with pure-Korean numbers 1 through 4, the number names contract a little bit. Confusing? Here’s what I mean:

Naturally, this applies for 11 through 14 as well:

There’s no need to learn all the counting units right this instant, but let me just show you some of the most common so you can get an idea of what I’m talking about.

When you count people, you put 사람 [saram] or 명 [myeong] after the number. This would give you:

3 [세] 사람, 4 [ 네] 명, …

Of course, to be respectful you should use the honorific form of “person” instead, which is 분 [pun]. This creates:

3 [세] 분, 4 [ 네] 분, …

For counting generic items, the unit 개 [kae] is used. With 개, however, you need to specify what it is you’re counting. So:

사탕 10 [ 열] 개 (“ten candies”)

의자 11 [ 열한] 개 (“eleven chairs”)

That’s it! Have a look at the Further Vocabulary section for more information on pure-Korean counting units.

When I count to 3, you’ll be finished with this chapter. 하나, 둘, 셋…

Korean Style: The three-six-nine game

Everyone likes a good, fun group game, right? This one’s particularly popular in orientation sessions and team-building seminars, as well as at most local bars on a weekend night. If you spend more than a couple weeks in Korea, I’m almost positive you’ll play this at least once. So you’d better practice now! And, as it turns out, this game is perfect for learning your numbers. It’s called the 3-6-9 [삼육구] 게임 (three-six-nine game).

Okay, first get yourself a group of people—size doesn’t matter, but the more the merrier—and circle round. The basic principle of the game is actually quite simple. Going in a circle and taking turns, each person says a Sino-Korean number in order starting from 1. Only, when you get to a number that contains a 3, 6, or 9, you have to clap your hands instead of speaking the number. If you clap your hands when you’re not supposed to, or you say the number when you’re supposed to clap, you get a penalty. Let’s look at how the game starts off:

Pretty easy, right? But what happens when you get to 30!? Ah! All the numbers have 3s in them!

33, 36, and 39 are the worst, because you have to clap twice! Yikes!

The second crisis comes when you hit the 60s.

Well, what do you think? Does it still seem a little too easy to be fun? Just remember—a lot of times you’ll be playing this after knocking back a pint or two of Cass or OB. And also, if you make a mistake, the rest of your group gets to decide your punishment! One thing’s for sure: after a few rounds of the 3-6-9 game, you’ll know your numbers!