I can say and ask someone's age — 몇 살이에요? — 스물다섯 살이에요 — count to ninety-nine in native Korean numbers, and say how many brothers and sisters I have.
Native Korean numbers and the counter 살
Native Korean numbers and the counter 살
What for: to say your age and count people and things. English has one set of numbers; Korean has two. You know 일, 이, 삼 from phone numbers: those are the Sino-Korean numbers. Today, the second system, native Korean numbers: 하나, 둘, 셋 … 열. The tens are words of their own: 스물, 서른 … 아흔; 11–99 = ten + unit: 열하나, 스물다섯. Native Korean numbers stop at 99. See the tables.
A counter is a word after the number that says what you count. Age is counted with the counter 살: who + number + 살. “How old?” — 몇 살이에요? English “I'm 27” is 스물일곱 살이에요: number + 살 + 이에요.
Before a counter, five numbers get shorter: 하나 → 한, 둘 → 두, 셋 → 세, 넷 → 네, 스물 → 스무: 한 살, 스무 살. The same at the end of a compound number: 열한 살, 서른한 살, 마흔두 살, 스물세 살. Without a counter the number is full: 동생이 둘 있어요. The number and 살 are two words: 스무 살; a compound number is one word: 열한 살.
Which system with what: native Korean for age, items, hours; Sino-Korean for numbers that name things (a phone number), prices, dates, minutes. 네 “four” sounds like 네 “yes”: before a counter it's the number.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 하나 살 → 한 살
• NOT 스물 살 → 스무 살
• NOT 이십 살 → 스무 살 (age takes native Korean numbers)
• NOT 살 두 → 두 살
From one to ten
Only the first four change — and 스물.
| Figure | Number | Before a counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 하나 | 한 |
| 2 | 둘 | 두 |
| 3 | 셋 | 세 |
| 4 | 넷 | 네 |
| 5 | 다섯 | 다섯 |
| 6 | 여섯 | 여섯 |
| 7 | 일곱 | 일곱 |
| 8 | 여덟 | 여덟 |
| 9 | 아홉 | 아홉 |
| 10 | 열 | 열 |
Tens: two number systems
You know the Sino-Korean numbers from phone numbers.
| Figure | Native Korean numbers | Sino-Korean numbers |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 열 | 십 |
| 20 | 스물 (스무) | 이십 |
| 30 | 서른 | 삼십 |
| 40 | 마흔 | 사십 |
| 50 | 쉰 | 오십 |
| 60 | 예순 | 육십 |
| 70 | 일흔 | 칠십 |
| 80 | 여든 | 팔십 |
| 90 | 아흔 | 구십 |
Lesson notes
Native Korean numbers and the counter 살
What for: to say your age and count people and things. English has one set of numbers; Korean has two. You know 일, 이, 삼 from phone numbers: those are the Sino-Korean numbers. Today, the second system, native Korean numbers: 하나, 둘, 셋 … 열. The tens are words of their own: 스물, 서른 … 아흔; 11–99 = ten + unit: 열하나, 스물다섯. Native Korean numbers stop at 99. See the tables.
A counter is a word after the number that says what you count. Age is counted with the counter 살: who + number + 살. “How old?” — 몇 살이에요? English “I'm 27” is 스물일곱 살이에요: number + 살 + 이에요.
Before a counter, five numbers get shorter: 하나 → 한, 둘 → 두, 셋 → 세, 넷 → 네, 스물 → 스무: 한 살, 스무 살. The same at the end of a compound number: 열한 살, 서른한 살, 마흔두 살, 스물세 살. Without a counter the number is full: 동생이 둘 있어요. The number and 살 are two words: 스무 살; a compound number is one word: 열한 살.
Which system with what: native Korean for age, items, hours; Sino-Korean for numbers that name things (a phone number), prices, dates, minutes. 네 “four” sounds like 네 “yes”: before a counter it's the number.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 하나 살 → 한 살
• NOT 스물 살 → 스무 살
• NOT 이십 살 → 스무 살 (age takes native Korean numbers)
• NOT 살 두 → 두 살