Korean numerals
Encyclopedia
The Korean language
has two regularly used sets of numerals, a native Korean
system and Sino-Korean system.
s (10000) rather than thousands (1000). The Sino-Korean system is nearly entirely based on the Chinese numerals
.
The distinction between the two numeral systems is very important. Everything that can be counted will use one of the two systems, but seldom both. Sino-Korean words are sometimes used to mark ordinal
usage: yeol beon (열 번) means "ten times" while sip beon (십(十) 번(番)) means "number ten."
When denoting the age of a person, one will usually use sal (살) for the native Korean numerals, and se (세) for Sino-Korean. For example, seu-mul da-seot sal (스물다섯 살) and i-sib-o se (이십오 세) both mean 'twenty-five-year-old'. See also East Asian age reckoning
.
The Sino-Korean numerals are used to denote the minute of time. For example, sam-sib-o bun (삼십오 분) means "__:35" or "thirty-five minutes."
The native Korean numerals are used for the hours in the 12-hour system and for the hours 0:00 to 12:00 in the 24-hour system. The hours 13:00 to 24:00 in the 24-hour system are denoted using both the native Korean numerals and the Sino-Korean numerals. For example, se si (세 시) means '03:00' or '3:00 a.m./p.m.' and sip-chil si (십칠 시) or yeol-ilgop si (열일곱 시) means '17:00'.
For counting above 100, Sino-Korean words are used, sometimes in combination: 101 can be baek-hana or baeg-il.
Some of the native numbers take a different form in front of measure word
s:
The descriptive forms for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 20 are formed by "dropping the last letter" from the original native cardinal, so to speak. Examples:
Something similar also occurs in some Sino-Korean cardinals:
The cardinals for three and four have alternatives forms in front of some measure words:
Several numerals have long vowels, namely 둘 (two), 셋 (three) and 넷 (four), but these become short when combined with other numerals / nouns (such as in twelve, thirteen, fourteen and so on).
The usual liaison and consonant-tensing rules apply, so for example, 예순 여섯(sixty-six) is pronounced like [예순녀섣] (yesunnyeoseot) and 칠십 chilsip (seventy) is pronounced like [칠씹] chilssip.
for each Sino-Korean numbers are replaced by alternative ones to prevent ambiguity or retouching.
For verbally communicating number sequences such as phone numbers, especially over the phone, native Korean numbers for 1 and 2 are sometimes substituted for the Sino-Korean numbers. For example, o-o-o hana-dul-hana-dul (오오오 하나둘하나둘) instead of o-o-o il-i-il-i (오오오 일이일이) for '555-1212,' because of the potential confusion between the two similar-sounding Sino-Korean numbers.
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
has two regularly used sets of numerals, a native Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
system and Sino-Korean system.
Construction
For both native and Sino- Korean numerals, the teens (11 through 19) are represented by a combination of tens and the ones places. For instance, 15 would be sib-o (십오), but not usually il-sib-o in the Sino-Korean system, and yeol-daseot (열다섯) in native Korean. Twenty through ninety are likewise represented in this place-holding manner in the Sino-Korean system, while Native Korean has its own unique set of words, as can be seen in the chart below. The grouping of large numbers in Korean follow the Chinese tradition of myriadMyriad
Myriad , "numberlesscountless, infinite", is a classical Greek word for the number 10,000. In modern English, the word refers to an unspecified large quantity.-History and usage:...
s (10000) rather than thousands (1000). The Sino-Korean system is nearly entirely based on the Chinese numerals
Chinese numerals
Chinese numerals are characters for writing numbers in Chinese. Today speakers of Chinese use three numeral systems:the ubiquitous Arabic numerals and two indigenous systems....
.
The distinction between the two numeral systems is very important. Everything that can be counted will use one of the two systems, but seldom both. Sino-Korean words are sometimes used to mark ordinal
Ordinal number (linguistics)
In linguistics, ordinal numbers are the words representing the rank of a number with respect to some order, in particular order or position . Its use may refer to size, importance, chronology, etc...
usage: yeol beon (열 번) means "ten times" while sip beon (십(十) 번(番)) means "number ten."
When denoting the age of a person, one will usually use sal (살) for the native Korean numerals, and se (세) for Sino-Korean. For example, seu-mul da-seot sal (스물다섯 살) and i-sib-o se (이십오 세) both mean 'twenty-five-year-old'. See also East Asian age reckoning
East Asian age reckoning
East Asian age reckoning is a concept and practice that originated in China and is widely used by other cultures in East Asia, which share this traditional way of counting a person's age. Newborns start at one year old, and each passing of a Lunar New Year, rather than the birthday, adds one year...
.
The Sino-Korean numerals are used to denote the minute of time. For example, sam-sib-o bun (삼십오 분) means "__:35" or "thirty-five minutes."
The native Korean numerals are used for the hours in the 12-hour system and for the hours 0:00 to 12:00 in the 24-hour system. The hours 13:00 to 24:00 in the 24-hour system are denoted using both the native Korean numerals and the Sino-Korean numerals. For example, se si (세 시) means '03:00' or '3:00 a.m./p.m.' and sip-chil si (십칠 시) or yeol-ilgop si (열일곱 시) means '17:00'.
For counting above 100, Sino-Korean words are used, sometimes in combination: 101 can be baek-hana or baeg-il.
Some of the native numbers take a different form in front of measure word
Measure word
In linguistics, measure words are words that are used in combination with a numeral to indicate an amount of some noun. They denote a unit or measurement and are used with nouns that are not countable. For instance, in English, is a mass noun and thus one cannot say *"three muds", but one can say...
s:
| Number | Native Korean cardinals | Attributive forms of native Korean cardinals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hangul Hangul Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean... |
McCune-Reischauer McCune-Reischauer McCune–Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced McCune–Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000... |
Revised Revised Romanization of Korean The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea proclaimed by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replacing the older McCune–Reischauer system... |
Hangul Hangul Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean... |
McCune-Reischauer McCune-Reischauer McCune–Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced McCune–Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000... |
Revised Revised Romanization of Korean The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea proclaimed by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replacing the older McCune–Reischauer system... |
|
| 1 | 하나 | hana | hana | 한 | han | han |
| 2 | 둘 | dul | dul | 두 | du | du |
| 3 | 셋 | set | set | 세 | se | se |
| 4 | 넷 | net | net | 네 | ne | ne |
| 20 20 (number) 20 is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score.-In mathematics:*20 is the basis for vigesimal number systems.... |
스물 | seumul | seumul | 스무 | seumu | seumu |
The descriptive forms for 1, 2, 3, 4, and 20 are formed by "dropping the last letter" from the original native cardinal, so to speak. Examples:
- 한 번 han beon ("once")
- 두 개 du gae ("two things")
- 세 시 se si ("three o'clock"), in contrast, in North Korea the Sino-Korean numeral 삼 "sam" would normally be used; making it 삼시 "sam si"
- 네 명 ne myeong ("four people")
- 스무 마리 seumu mari ("twenty animals")
Something similar also occurs in some Sino-Korean cardinals:
- 오뉴월 onyuwol ("May and June")
- 유월 yuwol ("June")
- 시월 siwol ("October")
The cardinals for three and four have alternatives forms in front of some measure words:
- 석 달 seok dal ("three months")
- 넉 잔 neok jan ("four cups")
Numerals
| Number | Sino-Korean cardinals | Native Korean Korean language Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing... cardinals |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanja Hanja Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation... |
Hangul Hangul Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean... |
Latin Revised Romanization of Korean The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea proclaimed by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replacing the older McCune–Reischauer system... |
Hangul Hangul Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean... |
Latin Revised Romanization of Korean The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea proclaimed by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replacing the older McCune–Reischauer system... |
|
| 0 0 (number) 0 is both a numberand the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals.It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems... |
零/〇 | 영 (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : 령), 공 |
yeong (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : ryeong), gong |
- | - |
| 1 | 一 | 일 | il | 하나 | hana |
| 2 | 二 | 이 | i | 둘 | dul |
| 3 | 三 | 삼 | sam | 셋 | set |
| 4 | 四 | 사 | sa | 넷 | net |
| 5 | 五 | 오 | o | 다섯 | daseot |
| 6 | 六 | 육 (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : 륙) |
yuk (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : ryuk) |
여섯 | yeoseot |
| 7 | 七 | 칠 | chil | 일곱 | ilgop |
| 8 | 八 | 팔 | pal | 여덟 | yeodeol |
| 9 | 九 | 구 | gu | 아홉 | ahop |
| 10 10 (number) 10 is an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11.-In mathematics:Ten is a composite number, its proper divisors being , and... |
十 | 십 | ship | 열 | yeol |
| 11 11 (number) 11 is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12.Eleven is the first number which cannot be counted with a human's eight fingers and two thumbs additively. In English, it is the smallest positive integer requiring three syllables and the largest prime number with a single-morpheme name... |
十一 | 십일 | shipil | 열 하나 | yeolhana |
| 12 12 (number) 12 is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13.The word "twelve" is the largest number with a single-morpheme name in English. Etymology suggests that "twelve" arises from the Germanic compound twalif "two-leftover", so a literal translation would yield "two remaining [after having ten... |
十二 | 십이 | shipi | 열 둘 | yeoldul |
| 13 13 (number) 13 is the natural number after 12 and before 14. It is the smallest number with eight letters in its name spelled out in English. It is also the first of the teens – the numbers 13 through 19 – the ages of teenagers.... |
十三 | 십삼 | shipsam | 열 셋 | yeolset |
| 14 14 (number) 14 is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15.In speech, the numbers 14 and 40 are often confused. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 14 vs 40... |
十四 | 십사 | shipsa | 열 넷 | yeolnet |
| 15 15 (number) 15 is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. In English, it is the smallest natural number with seven letters in its spelled name.... |
十五 | 십오 | shipo | 열 다섯 | yeoldaseot |
| 16 16 (number) 16 is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .... |
十六 | 십육 (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : 십륙) |
shipnyuk (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : simnyuk) |
열 여섯 | yeolyeoseot |
| 17 17 (number) 17 is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is prime.In spoken English, the numbers 17 and 70 are sometimes confused because they sound similar. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 17 vs 70... |
十七 | 십칠 | shipchil | 열 일곱 | yeolilgop |
| 18 18 (number) 18 is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19.In speech, the numbers 18 and 80 are sometimes confused. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 18 vs 80 . However, in dates such as 1864, or when contrasting numbers in the teens, such as 17, 18, 19, the stress... |
十八 | 십팔 | ship-pal | 열 여덟 | yeolyeodeol |
| 19 19 (number) 19 is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.In English speech, the numbers 19 and 90 are often confused. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 19 vs 90... |
十九 | 십구 | shipgu | 열 아홉 | yeolahop |
| 20 20 (number) 20 is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score.-In mathematics:*20 is the basis for vigesimal number systems.... |
二十 | 이십 | eeship | 스물 | seumul |
| 30 30 (number) 30 is the natural number following 29 and preceding 31.-In mathematics:30 is the sum of the first four squares, which makes it a square pyramidal number.It is a primorial and is the smallest Giuga number.... |
三十 | 삼십 | samship | 서른 | seoreun |
| 40 40 (number) 40 is the natural number following 39 and preceding 41.Despite being related to the word "four" , 40 is spelled "forty", and not "fourty"... |
四十 | 사십 | saship | 마흔 | maheun |
| 50 50 (number) This article discusses the number fifty. For the year 50 CE, see 50. For other uses of 50, see 50 50 is the natural number following 49 and preceding 51.-In mathematics:... |
五十 | 오십 | oship | 쉰 | swin |
| 60 60 (number) 60 is the natural number following 59 and preceding 61. Being three times twenty, 60 is called "three score" in some older literature.-In mathematics:... |
六十 | 육십 (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : 륙십) |
yukship (N North Korea The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea... : ryuksip) |
예순 | yesun |
| 70 70 (number) 70 is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71.-In mathematics:Its factorization makes it a sphenic number. 70 is a Pell number and a generalized heptagonal number, one of only two numbers to be both. Also, it is the seventh pentagonal number and the fourth 13-gonal number, as well as the... |
七十 | 칠십 | chilship | 일흔 | ilheun |
| 80 80 (number) 80 is the natural number following 79 and preceding 81.- In mathematics :The sum of Euler's totient function φ over the first sixteen integers is 80.... |
八十 | 팔십 | palship | 여든 | yeodeun |
| 90 90 (number) 90 is the natural number preceded by 89 and followed by 91.- In mathematics :*Because 90 is the sum of its unitary divisors , it is a unitary perfect number, and because it is equal to the sum of a subset of its divisors, it is a semiperfect number. 90 is a pronic number. But it is also a... |
九十 | 구십 | guship | 아흔 | aheun |
| 100 100 (number) 100 is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.-In mathematics:One hundred is the square of 10... |
百 | 백 | baek | 온 | on |
| 1,000 | 千 | 천 | cheon | 즈믄 | jeumeun |
| 104 10000 (number) 10000 is the natural number following 9999 and preceding 10001.-Name:Many languages have a specific word for this number: In English it is myriad, in Ancient Greek , in Aramaic , in Hebrew רבבה , in Chinese , in Japanese [man], in Korean [man], and in Thai หมื่น [meun]... |
萬 | 만 | man | 드먼 / 골 | deumeon / gol |
| 108 100000000 (number) One hundred million is the natural number following 99999999 and preceding 100000001.In scientific notation, it is written as 108.... |
億 | 억 | eok | 잘 | jal |
| 1012 | 兆 | 조 | jo | 울 | ul |
| 1016 | 京 | 경 | gyeong | - | - |
| 1020 | 垓 | 해 | hae | - | - |
| 1024 | 秭 | 자 | ja | - | - |
| 1028 | 穰 | 양 | yang | - | - |
| 1032 | 溝 | 구 | gu | - | - |
| 1036 | 澗 | 간 | gan | - | - |
| 1040 | 正 | 정 | jeong | - | - |
| 1044 | 載 | 재 | jae | - | - |
| 1048 | 極 | 극 | geuk | - | - |
| 1052 or 1056 | 恒河沙 | 항하사 | hanghasa | - | - |
| 1056 or 1064 | 阿僧祇 | 아승기 | aseunggi | - | - |
| 1060 or 1072 | 那由他 | 나유타 | nayuta | - | - |
| 1064 or 1080 | 不可思議 | 불가사의 | bulgasaui | - | - |
| 1068 or 1088 | 無量大數 | 무량대수 | muryangdaesu | - | - |
Pronunciation
The initial consonants of measure words and numbers following the native cardinals 여덟 ("eight", only when the ㅂ is not pronounced) and 열 ("ten") become tensed consonants when possible. Thus for example:- 열 셋 yeolset (thirteen) is pronounced like [열쎗] yeolsset
- 여덟 권 yeodeolgwon (eight (books)) is pronounced like [여덜꿘] yeodeolkkwon
Several numerals have long vowels, namely 둘 (two), 셋 (three) and 넷 (four), but these become short when combined with other numerals / nouns (such as in twelve, thirteen, fourteen and so on).
The usual liaison and consonant-tensing rules apply, so for example, 예순 여섯(sixty-six) is pronounced like [예순녀섣] (yesunnyeoseot) and 칠십 chilsip (seventy) is pronounced like [칠씹] chilssip.
Constant Suffixes used in Sino-Korean ordinal numerals
번(番),호(號),차(次), and 회(回)are always used with Sino-Korean or Arabic ordinal numerals. For example, 이호선(二號線) is Line Number Two in metropolitan subway system. 37번국도(37番國道) is Highway Number 37. They cannot be used interchangeably. 906호(號) is 'Apt #906' in mailing address. 906 without 호 is not used in spoken Korean to imply apartment number or office suite #. Special prefix 제(第) is usually used in combination with suffixes to designate a specific event in sequential things such as the Olympics.Substitution for disambiguation
In commerce or financial sector, some hanjaHanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
for each Sino-Korean numbers are replaced by alternative ones to prevent ambiguity or retouching.
| one | 일 | 一 | 壹 |
| two | 이 | 二 | 貳 |
| three | 삼 | 三 | 參 |
| seven | 칠 | 七 | 柒 |
| ten | 십 | 十 | 拾 |
| hundred | 백 | 百 | 佰 |
| thousand | 천 | 千 | 仟 |
For verbally communicating number sequences such as phone numbers, especially over the phone, native Korean numbers for 1 and 2 are sometimes substituted for the Sino-Korean numbers. For example, o-o-o hana-dul-hana-dul (오오오 하나둘하나둘) instead of o-o-o il-i-il-i (오오오 일이일이) for '555-1212,' because of the potential confusion between the two similar-sounding Sino-Korean numbers.