Numbers and Time

Korean Grammar 1

Course 1 · Chapter 9 · Numbers, Counters and Time

🔢 Numbers, Counters and Time — 숫자, 단위, 시간

Korean has two complete sets of numbers. One is native Korean (하나, 둘, 셋…) and the other was borrowed from Chinese long ago (일, 이, 삼…, called Sino-Korean). Each is used for different jobs, and you must choose the right one. When you count things, you also add a small word called a counter, a bit like "three cups of tea" or "two head of cattle" in English, but used for everything. This chapter covers both systems, the main counters, and how to tell the time, say the date and talk about money.

The rule in one box Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼…): dates, months, minutes, money, phone numbers, floors, addresses and any number above 99.
Native Korean (하나, 둘, 셋…): counting things and people with a counter, age (살), and the hour in clock time (시).
Order: noun + number + counter. 사과 세 개 (three apples).

Sino-Korean numbers

0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
영 / 공	일	이	삼	사	오	육	칠	팔	구	십
yeong / gong	il	i	sam	sa	o	yuk	chil	pal	gu	sip

Bigger numbers are built by putting numbers side by side, largest first. There is no special word for the teens or twenties.

Number	Built as	Korean
11	10 + 1	십일 sibil
12	10 + 2	십이 sibi
20	2 × 10	이십 isip
25	2 × 10 + 5	이십오 isibo
99	9 × 10 + 9	구십구 gusipgu
100		백 baek
1,000		천 cheon
10,000		만 man

Watch out: Korean counts in ten-thousands Korean has a single word for 10,000, 만, and builds large numbers from it, not from thousands: 50,000 is 오만 ("five ten-thousands"), 15,000 is 만 오천 ("ten-thousand five-thousand"). Also, 10, 100 and 1,000 are said without the 일: 십, 백, 천, not 일십, 일백, 일천.

Native Korean numbers

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

The tens go on with their own words: 스물 seumul 20, 서른 seoreun 30, 마흔 maheun 40, 쉰 swin 50, 예순 yesun 60, 일흔 ileun 70, 여든 yeodeun 80, 아흔 aheun 90. Numbers in between put the ones after the tens: 11 is 열하나, 12 is 열둘, 21 is 스물하나. There is no native word for 100 or above, so from 100 the Sino-Korean numbers are used.

Watch out: five numbers change shape before a counter When a native number is followed by a counter, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 20 take short forms: 하나 → 한, 둘 → 두, 셋 → 세, 넷 → 네, 스물 → 스무. So "one person" is 한 명, not 하나 명. The other numbers (다섯, 여섯…) stay as they are.

Counters

A counter follows the number and says what sort of thing is being counted. 개 works for most objects when you don't know the exact counter.

Counter	Counts	Example
명 myeong	people	친구 세 명 chingu se myeong three friends
개 gae	things in general	사과 다섯 개 sagwa daseot gae five apples
마리 mari	animals	고양이 두 마리 goyang-i du mari two cats
권 gwon	books	책 세 권 chaek se gwon three books
잔 jan	cups, glasses of a drink	커피 한 잔 keopi han jan a cup of coffee
병 byeong	bottles	물 두 병 mul du byeong two bottles of water
살 sal	years of age	스무 살 seumu sal twenty years old

The question "how many?" is 몇 myeot + counter: 몇 명이에요? (How many people?), 몇 개 있어요? (How many are there?), 몇 살이에요? (How old are you?). Particles go after the whole group: 사과 세 개를 먹어요 (I eat three apples).

Telling the time

Clock time mixes the two systems: the hour (시 si) uses a native number and the minutes (분 bun) use a Sino-Korean number. 반 ban means "half" (:30). 오전 ojeon is a.m. and 오후 ohu is p.m.

Time	Korean
1:00	한 시 han si
3:00	세 시 se si
3:10	세 시 십 분 se si sip bun
3:30	세 시 반 se si ban
3 p.m.	오후 세 시 ohu se si
12:00	열두 시 yeoldu si

몇 시예요? myeot si-yeyo? is "What time is it?" and "at three o'clock" is 세 시에 with the particle 에 from Korean Grammar 1, chapter 4: 세 시에 만나요. (We meet at three.)

Days, months and dates

Months and dates are Sino-Korean numbers plus 월 wol (month) or 일 il (day). The order is month, then day.

Month	Korean	Month	Korean
January	일월	July	칠월
February	이월	August	팔월
March	삼월	September	구월
April	사월	October	시월 siwol
May	오월	November	십일월
June	유월 yuwol	December	십이월

Watch out: June and October are irregular The expected 육월 and 십월 are not used. June is 유월 and October is 시월.

"What date is it?" is 몇 월 며칠이에요? myeot wol myeochir-ieyo? A date is month + day: 시월 이십팔 일 is 28 October.

Days of the week

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
월요일	화요일	수요일	목요일	금요일	토요일	일요일
woryoil	hwayoil	suyoil	mogyoil	geumyoil	toyoil	iryoil

Each is a one-syllable word (月 moon, 火 fire, 水 water, 木 tree, 金 metal, 土 earth, 日 sun) plus 요일 (day of the week). "On Monday" is 월요일에.

Money

The Korean currency is the won, 원 won, counted with Sino-Korean numbers: 삼천 원 samcheon won (3,000 won), 만 오천 원 man ocheon won (15,000 won). Ask the price with 얼마예요? (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 8), and answer 삼천 원이에요.

🗣️ In Use — 실제 예문

Listen for which number system each speaker uses.

① Time and date

A: 지금 몇 시예요? jigeum myeot si-yeyo? What time is it now?

B: 세 시 반이에요. 오늘은 시월 이십팔 일이에요. se si ban-ieyo. oneur-eun siwol isippal il-ieyo. It's half past three. Today is 28 October.

② Buying apples

A: 사과 세 개 얼마예요? sagwa se gae eolma-yeyo? How much are three apples?

B: 삼천 원이에요. samcheon won-ieyo. 3,000 won.

📋 Quick Reference — 요약표

Use	System	Example
things and people with a counter	native	사과 세 개, 친구 두 명
age	native + 살	스무 살
hour	native + 시	세 시
minute	Sino + 분	십 분
month, day	Sino + 월 / 일	시월 이십팔 일
money	Sino + 원	삼천 원
short forms before a counter	native	한, 두, 세, 네, 스무

✏️ Try It Yourself — 연습

Work out the answer first, then click to check.

1. Say 15, 36 and 100 in Sino-Korean.

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십오, 삼십육, 백.

2. Say 50,000 and 15,000 (Sino-Korean).

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오만 and 만 오천.

3. Say "one person", "two people" and "three people".

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한 명, 두 명, 세 명.

4. Say "two cups of coffee" and "three books".

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커피 두 잔 and 책 세 권.

5. Say "I am twenty years old" (native numbers with 살).

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스무 살이에요. (스물 becomes 스무 before a counter.)

6. Say "It is four o'clock" and "It is 4:30".

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네 시예요. and 네 시 반이에요.

7. Say "at 2:20" (as in "We meet at 2:20").

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두 시 이십 분에: 두 시 이십 분에 만나요.

8. Say the dates 6 June and 10 October.

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유월 육 일 and 시월 십 일 (June and October are irregular).

9. Say "on Friday" and "on Sunday".

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금요일에 and 일요일에.

10. Ask how much something costs, and answer "4,000 won".

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얼마예요? and 사천 원이에요.

Coming up in Chapter 10: Putting It Together. You will build and read whole sentences using everything in the course, meet the levels of politeness in outline, and finish with a recap and the combined course PDF.