Korean Number Systems: Sino-Korean Numbers and Native Korean Numbers
Mar 03, 2025
- Author: Good Job Korean team
- Editor: Good Job Korean team
👍 Contents (Click to navigate instantly)
✅ Sino-Korean Number System
✅ How and When to Use Sino-Korean Numbers
✅ Native Korean Number System
✅ How and When to Use Native Korean Numbers
Did you know that there are two different systems for numbers in Korean? Many new learners find it confusing but don’t worry, we will try to make it as simple as possible in this blog post! Let’s take it slow, and get to know the two systems and how to use them.
Firstly, we have the Sino-Korean number system, and secondly, the native Korean number system.
Sino-Korean Number System
The Sino-Korean numbers are in Korean but originated in Chinese. Before King Sejong created 한글 or Hangul, the Korean alphabet, Koreans used Chinese characters to write.
Let us now see how to pronounce the numbers in Sino-Korean:
*When you count the numbers in a row, you should pronounce 5 and 6 as ‘오륙’ and not ‘오육‘ as it is smoother to pronounce. Try it!
For Sino-Korean numbers beyond 10, you can combine the numbers above. For example, to say 11 in Sino-Korean, you say 10 first and add 1 after, making 십일. The same applies to the rest of the ‘teens,’ say 10 first and add the next digit.
11 => 10 + 1 —> 십 + 일 => 십일
12 => 십이
13 => 십삼
14 => 십사
15 => 십오
16 => 십육
17 => 십칠
18 => 십팔
19 => 십구
Next, to say 20 in Sino-Korean, we would put 2 first and add 10 after — 이십. Apply the same rule to the rest of the tens:
20 => 2 + 10 —> 이 + 십 => 이십
30 => 삼십
40 => 사십
50 => 오십
60 => 육십
70 => 칠십
80 => 팔십
90 => 구십
Using the two rules above, you can count numbers between 1 and 99.
Examples:
33 => 3 + 10 + 3 —> 삼 + 십 + 사 => 삼십삼
45 => 4 + 10 + 5 —> 사 + 십 + 오 => 사십오
72 => 7 + 10 + 2 —> 칠 + 십 + 이 => 칠십이
Did you get it? Try practicing with different numbers!
Next, let’s go slightly deeper into numbers more than 99.
Similar to the small numbers, you may combine the numbers accordingly. Let’s try some big numbers:
365 => 300 + 60 + 5 —> 삼백 + 육십 + 오 => 삼백육십오
2025 => 2000 + 20 + 5 —> 이전 + 이십 + 오 => 이전이십오
99999 => 90000 + 9000 + 900 + 90 + 9 —> 구만 + 구천 + 구백 + 구십 + 구 => 구만구천구백구십구
*Note: It is unnatural to say 일백 (100), 일천 (1,000) and 일만 (10,000). You can drop 일 and say 백 to mean 100, 천 to mean 1,000, and 만 to mean 10,000.
Examples:
111 => 100 + 10 + 1 —> 백 + 십 + 일 => 백십일
1111 => 1000 + 100 + 10 +1 —> 천 + 백 + 십 + 일 => 전백십일
11111 => 10000 + 1000 + 100 + 10 + 1 —> 만 + 천 + 백 + 십 + 일 => 만천백십일
How and When to Use Sino-Korean Numbers
Koreans use Sino-Korean numbers to indicate the date and month of the year, phone numbers, address numbers, minutes and seconds, and distance, and to count the amount of money. Koreans also use Sino-Korean numbers to count anything above 100.
Example sentences:
A: 핸드폰 번호가 뭐예요?
A: What is your phone number?
B: 공일공 이삼사오 육칠팔구예요.
B: It is 010-2345 6789.
*핸드폰: cellphone
*번호: number
*뭐: what
A: 이 드레스는 얼마예요?
A: How much is this dress?
B: 만오천 원이에요.
B: It is 15,000 won.
*이: this
*드레스: dress
*얼마: how much
*원: won (official currency of South Korea)
A: 생일이 언제예요?
A: When is your birthday?
B: 제 생일은 십월 삼일이에요.
B: My birthday is on October 3.
*생일: birthday
*언제: when
Native Korean Number System
Before we proceed, shall we go through the numbers in this system?
Similar to the Sino-Korean number system, you need to combine 10 and the single digit to make numbers between 11 and 19, as shown below:
11 => 10 + 1 —> 열 + 하나 => 열하나
12 => 열둘
13 => 열셋
14 => 열넷
15 => 열다섯
16 => 열여섯
17 => 열일곱
18 => 열여덟
19 => 열아홉
Now, here comes the challenging part. For the tens in the Korean native number system, you cannot combine the numbers like the Sino-Korean numbers. You will have to memorize each of them.
With this, you can count from 1-99 by combining the tens and ones accordingly.
Let’s see some examples below:
27 => 20 + 7 —> 스물 + 일곱 => 스물일곱
55 => 50 + 5 —> 쉰 + 다섯 => 쉰다섯
78 => 70 + 8 —> 일흔 + 여덟 => 일흔여덟
Do note that as there is no native number beyond 99, Koreans use Sino-Korean numbers to count large numbers from 100 upwards.
How and When to Use Native Korean Numbers
Koreans use native Korean numbers to indicate hours (time) and age, and when followed by counters. There are many Korean count words that we will cover in another post. For now, let’s use some simple counters for our example sentences.
Example sentences:
A: 동생은 몇 살이에요?
A: How old is your younger sibling?
B: 일곱 살이에요.
B: He is 7 years old.
*동생: younger sibling
*몇: what (used with numbers)
*살: counter for age
A; 몇 명이에요?
A: How many people (are there)?
B: 세 명이에요.
B: (We) are three (3) people.
*몇: what (used with number)
*명: counter for people
A: 컵이 몇 개 있어요?
A: How many cups are there?
B: 컵이 여섯 개 있어요.
B: There are 6 cups.
*컵: cup
*몇: what (used with a number)
*개: counter for items
Special Rule
When you use native Korean numbers with counters, you need to note 5 numbers. The spelling and pronunciation of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 20 change when followed by counters.
Let’s see how they change when followed by the counter 살:
1: 하나 + 살 —> 한 살
2: 둘 + 살 —> 두 살
3: 셋 + 살 —> 세 살
4: 넷 살 —> 네 살
20: 스물 —> 스무 살
As you can notice from the above, save for the number 1 (하나), where you drop the second syllable entirely, you drop the final consonant for 2, 3, 4, and 20 when paired with a counter.
In conclusion, Koreans use two number systems for different usages. We use Sino-Korean numbers to count money and indicate the date and month of the year, phone number, and address number, among others. On the other hand, we use native numbers to count age, people, and items. You may get confused at first, but I am sure you will get the hang of it after some practice!
- Author: Good Job Korean team
- Editor: Good Job Korean team
