한국어 숫자 · two systems, one language
Numbers in Korean
Korean counts with two sets of numbers. Sino-Korean came from Chinese and runs to any size. Native Korean is the older Korean set and runs from one to ninety-nine. Here are both, from 1 to 10, as they sit side by side.
- 1일il
- 2이i
- 3삼sam
- 4사sa
- 5오o
- 6육yuk
- 7칠chil
- 8팔pal
- 9구gu
- 10십sip
- 1하나hana
- 2둘dul
- 3셋set
- 4넷net
- 5다섯daseot
- 6여섯yeoseot
- 7일곱ilgop
- 8여덟yeodeol
- 9아홉ahop
- 10열yeol
Romanization under each word is the official Revised Romanization of Korean. Why 16 is written simnyuk.
Which system does what
The choice is not free. Each job takes one system, and a Korean listener notices the other one at once. The rule of thumb: native Korean for counting things and the hour; Sino-Korean for everything measured, dated, priced or numbered.
| What you are saying | System | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Counting things with a counter word | Native | 사과 세 개 three apples |
| Counting people | Native | 두 명 two people |
| Age in everyday speech | Native | 스물다섯 살 25 years old |
| The hour on a clock | Native | 네 시 four o'clock |
| Minutes and seconds | Sino-Korean | 삼십 분 30 minutes |
| Years, months and days of the month | Sino-Korean | 이천이십육 년 the year 2026 |
| Money | Sino-Korean | 오천 원 5,000 won |
| Phone numbers, read digit by digit | Sino-Korean | 공일공 010 |
| Floors, rooms, page and bus numbers | Sino-Korean | 삼 층 third floor |
| Anything above 99 | Sino-Korean | 백오십 150 |
Note the shortened native forms in the first rows: before a counter word, 1 to 4 become 한, 두, 세, 네 and 20 becomes 스무. The counters page lists the common counter words and which system each takes.
Sino-Korean: built from parts
Nine digits and four units, 십 sip (10), 백 baek (100), 천 cheon (1,000) and 만 man (10,000). Numbers are built by multiplying and adding: 삼십사 samsipsa is three tens and four.
Korean groups large numbers by ten thousand, not by thousand, so 100,000 is 십만 simman, ten 만.
The Sino-Korean system in fullNative Korean: a word for every ten
Ten words for 1 to 10, then a separate word for each ten: 스물 seumul, 서른 seoreun, 마흔 maheun, 쉰 swin, up to 아흔 aheun. A unit follows the ten: 서른넷 seoreunnet.
The system ends at 아흔아홉 aheunahop. For 100 Korean uses the Sino-Korean 백 baek.
The native system in fullWhere to go next
- Counting to 10 in Korean: both counts, how they sound, and the 하나, 둘, 셋 you hear before a photo.
- Korean numbers 1 to 100: the full table in both systems with romanization.
- Big numbers: 만, 십만, 백만, and a reader that writes any figure up to a million in Hangul.
- Age in Korean: 살 and 세, and the 2023 change to how ages are counted.
- Time and dates, money and phone numbers.
Teaching a class? The printable page has the 1 to 100 chart in both systems as a one-page PDF and a worksheet generator for either system.
Questions teachers and learners ask
Do I need to learn both Korean number systems?
Yes, because everyday Korean uses both, often in one sentence. The time is the classic case: 세 시 삼십 분 is 3:30, with the hour in native Korean and the minutes in Sino-Korean. Most courses teach Sino-Korean 1 to 10 first, since it builds every larger number, and native 1 to 10 soon after for counting things and telling the hour.
Why does native Korean stop at 99?
Native Korean once had its own words for 100 and 1,000, 온 and 즈믄, but they dropped out of use, and modern Korean switches to Sino-Korean for every number from 100. In everyday speech people often move to Sino-Korean for large counts well before 100, but the native words up to 99 are standard and still in use, for ages especially.
Is 10 in Korean 십 or 일십?
It is 십. In Sino-Korean, 10, 100 and 1,000 take no 일 (one) in front: 십, 백, 천. The same holds for 10,000, which is usually just 만, though 일만 is also heard in formal amounts. The 일 only appears where it is a real digit, as in 십일 (11) or 십일만 (110,000).
How do you say zero in Korean?
Zero is 영 (yeong) as a number, for example in maths or a temperature. When people read out a phone number, a room number or a bank account digit by digit, they say 공 (gong) instead, so 010 is 공일공. Native Korean has no word for zero.
Why is the number 4 sometimes avoided in Korea?
The Sino-Korean 4, 사, sounds the same as the Sino-Korean word for death (死), so some buildings, hospitals in particular, label the fourth floor F instead of 4. It is a matter of custom rather than grammar; 사 is used normally in every number.
An independent learning site, not affiliated with the National Institute of Korean Language or any Korean government body. Rules and forms are quoted from the published sources named on each page; if your textbook or teacher prefers another accepted form, theirs is the one to follow in class.