Hi, I’m Ayla! 👋

Welcome back to Simply Korea 101!

Today, we’re going to learn an important part of everyday Korean: numbers!

You will see and hear Korean numbers everywhere in Korea.

You’ll need them when talking about your age, telling the time, talking about dates, counting things, and more.

Don’t worry if Korean numbers seem confusing at first.

Korean has two number systems, but we’ll learn them step by step.

🔢 Korean Has Two Number Systems

Korean uses two different number systems.

① Native Korean Numbers

고유어 수

→ Korean native numbers

② Sino-Korean Numbers

한자어 수

→ Sino-Korean numbers

They are used in different situations.

You don’t need to memorize every rule today.

For now, let’s understand the basic difference.

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① Native Korean Numbers

Native Korean numbers are commonly used for age, hours, and counting people or things.

1–10

Let’s use them in real Korean.

한 명

han myeong

→ one person

두 명

du myeong

→ two people

세 개

se gae

→ three things

세 시

se si

→ 3 o’clock

스무 살

seumu sal

→ 20 years old

Notice that some Native Korean numbers change slightly before counting words.

하나 → 한

hana → han

둘 → 두

dul → du

셋 → 세

set → se

넷 → 네

net → ne

For example:

한 명

han myeong

→ one person

두 개

du gae

→ two things

세 명

se myeong

→ three people

네 개

ne gae

→ four things

You don’t need to memorize this perfectly today.

You’ll become more familiar with these forms as you practice.

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② Sino-Korean Numbers

Sino-Korean numbers are commonly used for dates, money, minutes, seconds, phone numbers, addresses, and larger numbers.

1–10

Examples

삼월

sam-wol

→ March

삼 일

sam-il

→ the 3rd day

삼십 분

sam-sip bun

→ 30 minutes

오 초

o cho

→ 5 seconds

삼천 원

sam-cheon won

→ 3,000 won

We will learn Korean money in more detail in Chapter 11.

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🔢 How to Read Numbers Above 10

Once you know 1–10, Korean numbers become much easier.

Native Korean Numbers

For Native Korean numbers, 11–19 are made by combining 열 and the next number.

11 — 열하나

yeol-hana

→ eleven

12 — 열둘

yeol-dul

→ twelve

13 — 열셋

yeol-set

→ thirteen

14 — 열넷

yeol-net

→ fourteen

15 — 열다섯

yeol-daseot

→ fifteen

For tens:

20 — 스물

seumul

→ twenty

30 — 서른

seoreun

→ thirty

40 — 마흔

maheun

→ forty

50 — 쉰

swin

→ fifty

You don’t need to memorize all of these today.

We’ll practice them little by little.

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🔢 Sino-Korean Numbers Above 10

Sino-Korean numbers are more predictable.

You can combine the numbers with 십, 백, 천, 만.

Important Numbers

10 — 십

sip

→ ten

100 — 백

baek

→ one hundred

1,000 — 천

cheon

→ one thousand

10,000 — 만

man

→ ten thousand

Examples

11 — 십일

sip-il

→ eleven

21 — 이십일

i-sip-il

→ twenty-one

30 — 삼십

sam-sip

→ thirty

45 — 사십오

sa-sip-o

→ forty-five

99 — 구십구

gu-sip-gu

→ ninety-nine

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⭐ One Number, Two Ways

This is one of the most important things to understand about Korean numbers.

The number 3 can be:

셋

set

→ three

or

삼

sam

→ three

Which one do you use?

It depends on what you are talking about.

3 o’clock

세 시

se si

→ 3 o’clock

3 people

세 명

se myeong

→ three people

March

삼월

sam-wol

→ March

3 minutes

삼 분

sam-bun

→ 3 minutes

The good news is that you’ll naturally get used to this as you practice.

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🗣️ Mini Conversation

Talking About Age

A: 몇 살이에요?

myeot sal-i-e-yo?

→ How old are you?

B: 스물아홉 살이에요.

seu-mul-a-hop sal-i-e-yo.

→ I’m 29 years old.

A: 아, 그래요?

a, geu-rae-yo?

→ Oh, really?

B: 네!

ne!

→ Yes!

몇 살이에요? is a basic expression used to ask someone’s age politely.

It means “How old are you?”

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🔊 Read Aloud & Repeat

Try reading these aloud.

하나 — hana — one

둘 — dul — two

셋 — set — three

넷 — net — four

다섯 — daseot — five

Now try:

하나, 둘, 셋!

hana, dul, set!

→ One, two, three!

And:

일, 이, 삼!

il, i, sam!

→ One, two, three!

Now say:

열하나, 열둘, 열셋!

yeol-hana, yeol-dul, yeol-set!

→ Eleven, twelve, thirteen!

Click, listen, read aloud, and repeat.

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🎯 Today’s Korean Challenge

Try reading these numbers in Korean.

1. 7

→ __________

2. 10

→ __________

3. 21

→ __________

4. 35

→ __________

5. 99

→ __________

Answers

1. 일곱 — ilgop

→ seven

2. 열 — yeol

→ ten

3. 이십일 — i-sip-il

→ twenty-one

4. 삼십오 — sam-sip-o

→ thirty-five

5. 구십구 — gu-sip-gu

→ ninety-nine

How many did you get right?

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Korean Culture Tip

Numbers are a very important part of everyday life in Korea.

You’ll use Korean numbers when talking about:

Age

→ 나이

Time

→ 시간

Dates

→ 날짜

Prices

→ 가격

Phone numbers

→ 전화번호

Addresses

→ 주소

Floor numbers

→ 층수

That’s why learning numbers early will make your Korean much easier.

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✨ Quick Review

Today, we learned that Korean has two number systems.

Native Korean Numbers

하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯…

hana, dul, set, net, daseot…

→ Mainly used for age, hours, and counting.

Sino-Korean Numbers

일, 이, 삼, 사, 오…

il, i, sam, sa, o…

→ Mainly used for dates, money, minutes, seconds, phone numbers, and larger numbers.

You don’t have to memorize everything today.

Just remember that Korean has two number systems and keep practicing.

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💛 See You in the Next Chapter!

You don’t have to learn everything at once.

Just learn one word, one phrase, and one step at a time.

Keep practicing, and you’ll be surprised how much Korean you can understand.

See you in the next chapter!

— Ayla

Let’s discover Korea, one word, one dish, and one story at a time.