I can say any number from 0 to 99, read out and write down a phone number, ask “what's your number?”, and say “my number” and “Anna's number”.
Numbers from 0 to 99: 일, 이, 삼…
Numbers from 0 to 99: 일, 이, 삼…
What for: numbers like “number 5” and phone numbers, and later prices, dates, and minutes. Korean has two number systems; this one, Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼…, from Chinese), is used for these; the other, native Korean, comes later.
Learn 0–10 by heart (see the table). Zero is 영, but in a phone number it's 공.
The rest is built: ten and one, 십일 (11); two before ten, 이십 (20); 23 is 이십삼. Ten is just 십, with no 일 in front, even though 20 is 이십.
16 is written 십육 but sounds [심뉵]: just recognize it by ear.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “일십” → 십.
• NOT “일십일” → 십일.
• NOT “사십영” → 사십.
• NOT “오” (English “oh”) for 0 in a phone number → 공: 오 is 5.
Numbers from 0 to 10
Learn these twelve words by heart (zero has two words); 영 and 일–십 build every number up to 99.
| Figure | Word |
|---|---|
| 0 (in counting) | 영 |
| 0 (in a phone number) | 공 |
| 1 | 일 |
| 2 | 이 |
| 3 | 삼 |
| 4 | 사 |
| 5 | 오 |
| 6 | 육 |
| 7 | 칠 |
| 8 | 팔 |
| 9 | 구 |
| 10 | 십 |
Numbers from 11 to 99
The tens say “how many tens”; the ones come after the ten.
| Number | How it's built | Word |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | just ten, no “one” | 십 |
| 11 | 10 + 1 | 십일 |
| 20 | 2 × 10 | 이십 |
| 23 | 20 + 3 | 이십삼 |
| 99 | 9 × 10 + 9 | 구십구 |
Lesson notes
Numbers from 0 to 99: 일, 이, 삼…
What for: numbers like “number 5” and phone numbers, and later prices, dates, and minutes. Korean has two number systems; this one, Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼…, from Chinese), is used for these; the other, native Korean, comes later.
Learn 0–10 by heart (see the table). Zero is 영, but in a phone number it's 공.
The rest is built: ten and one, 십일 (11); two before ten, 이십 (20); 23 is 이십삼. Ten is just 십, with no 일 in front, even though 20 is 이십.
16 is written 십육 but sounds [심뉵]: just recognize it by ear.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “일십” → 십.
• NOT “일십일” → 십일.
• NOT “사십영” → 사십.
• NOT “오” (English “oh”) for 0 in a phone number → 공: 오 is 5.
Phone numbers and 의
A number is read out figure by figure: 010 is 공일공. In speech the hyphen sounds like a short “에”: just recognize it.
“What number?” is 몇 번이에요? “What's your phone number?” is the set phrase 전화번호가 뭐예요?
의 works like English 's: 마이클 씨의 전화번호 is “Michael's phone number”, owner first, as in English. After a word, 의 is pronounced [에].
저 + 의 = 저의, almost always shortened in speech to 제 (“my”): 제 전화번호, 제 친구.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “제의 번호” → 제 번호.
• NOT “저 전화번호” → 제 전화번호.
• NOT “당신의 번호” → 안나 씨의 번호.