Learn numbers in Korean
Knowing numbers in Korean is probably one of the most useful things you can learn to say, write and understand in Korean. Learning to count in Korean may appeal to you just as a simple curiosity or be something you really need. Perhaps you have planned a trip to a country where Korean is the most widely spoken language, and you want to be able to shop and even bargain with a good knowledge of numbers in Korean.
It's also useful for guiding you through street numbers. You'll be able to better understand the directions to places and everything expressed in numbers, such as the times when public transportation leaves. Can you think of more reasons to learn numbers in Korean?
The Korean language is considered a language isolate. Two standard forms or dialects exist: the South Korean standard (Hangugeo, 한국어 in Hangul), and the North Korean standard (Chosŏnmal, 조선말 in Chosŏn’gŭl). Spoken in both Koreas, it is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County of Jilin province, China. Korean is spoken by about 77.2 million people. It can be written in Hangul or Chosŏn’gŭl alphabet, the name given to the same alphabet on each side of the Koreans frontier, and also in Hanja (in the South Korea) or Hancha (in the North Korea), the Korean name for the Han Chinese characters.
List of numbers in Korean
Here is a list of numbers in Korean. We have made for you a list with all the numbers in Korean from 1 to 20. We have also included the tens up to the number 100, so that you know how to count up to 100 in Korean. We also close the list by showing you what the number 1000 looks like in Korean.
- 1) 一 일 (il)
- 2) 二 이 (i)
- 3) 三 삼 (sam)
- 4) 四 사 (sa)
- 5) 五 오 (o)
- 6) 六 육 (yuk)
- 7) 七 칠 (chil)
- 8) 八 팔 (pal)
- 9) 九 구 (gu)
- 10) 十 십 (sip)
- 11) 十一 십일 (sipil)
- 12) 十二 십이 (sipi)
- 13) 十三 십삼 (sipsam)
- 14) 十四 십사 (sipsa)
- 15) 十五 십오 (sipo)
- 16) 十六 십육 (sipyuk)
- 17) 十七 십칠 (sipchil)
- 18) 十八 십팔 (sippal)
- 19) 十九 십구 (sipgu)
- 20) 二十 이십 (isip)
- 30) 三十 삼십 (samsip)
- 40) 四十 사십 (sasip)
- 50) 五十 오십 (osip)
- 60) 六十 육십 (yuksip)
- 70) 七十 칠십 (chilsip)
- 80) 八十 팔십 (palsip)
- 90) 九十 구십 (gusip)
- 100) 百 백 (baek)
- 1,000) 千 천 (cheon)
Numbers in Korean: Korean numbering rules
Each culture has specific peculiarities that are expressed in its language and its way of counting. The Korean is no exception. If you want to learn numbers in Korean you will have to learn a series of rules that we will explain below. If you apply these rules you will soon find that you will be able to count in Korean with ease.
The way numbers are formed in Korean is easy to understand if you follow the rules explained here. Surprise everyone by counting in Korean. Also, learning how to number in Korean yourself from these simple rules is very beneficial for your brain, as it forces it to work and stay in shape. Working with numbers and a foreign language like Korean at the same time is one of the best ways to train our little gray cells, so let's see what rules you need to apply to number in Korean
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Digits from one to nine are: 하나 (hana) [1], 둘 (dul) [2], 셋 (set) [3], 넷 (net) [4], 다섯 (daseot) [5], 여섯 (yeoseot) [6], 일곱 (ilgop) [7], 여덟 (yeodeol) [8], and 아홉 (ahop) [9].
Tens are: 열 (yeol) [10], 스물 (seumul) [20], 서른 (seoreun) [30], 마흔 (maheun) [40], 쉰 (swin) [50], 예순 (yesun) [60], 일흔 (ilheun) [70], 여든 (yeodeun) [80], and 아흔 (aheun) [90].
Compound numbers are formed starting with the ten directly followed by the unit (e.g.: 열여섯 (yeollyeoseot) [16], 쉰여덟 (swinyeodeol) [58]).
The Sino-Korean digits from one to nine are: 일 (一, il) [1], 이 (二, i) [2], 삼 (三, sam) [3], 사 (四, sa) [4], 오 (五, o) [5], 육 or 륙 (六, yuk or ryuk) [6], 칠 (七, chil) [7], 팔 (八, pal) [8], and 구 (九, gu) [9].
The tens are formed starting with the multiplier digit directly followed by the unit, except for ten: 십 (十, sip) [10], 이십 (二十, isip) [20], 삼십 (三十, samsip) [30], 사십 (四十, sasip) [40], 오십 (五十, osip) [50], 육십 or 륙십 (六十, yuksip or ryuksip) [60], 칠십 (七十, chilsip) [70], 팔십 (八十, palsip) [80], and 구십 (九十, gusip) [90].
Compound numbers are formed starting with the ten directly followed by the unit (e.g.: 십육 (sipyuk) [16], 오십팔 (osippal) [58]).
The hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit directly followed by the word for hundred (백, baek), except for one hundred: 백 (百, baek) [100], 이백 (二百, ibaek) [200], 삼백 (三百, sambaek) [300], 사백 (四百, sabeak) [400], 오백 (五百, obeak) [500], 육백 (六百, yukbaek) [600], 칠백 (七百, chilbaek) [700], 팔백 (八百, palbaek) [800], and 구백 (九百, gubaek) [900].
The thousands are formed starting with the multiplier digit directly followed by the word for thousand (천, cheon), except for one thousand: 천 (千, cheon) [1,000], 이천 (二千, icheon) [2,000], 삼천 (三千, samcheon) [3,000], 사천 (四千, sacheon) [4,000], 오천 (五千, ocheon) [5,000], 육천 (六千, yukcheon) [6,000], 칠천 (七千, chilcheon) [7,000], 팔천 (八千, palcheon) [8,000], and 구천 (九千, gucheon) [9,000].
Higher scale numbers follow the same pattern, using the myriad system where big numbers have a new name each 10,000 multiplier (digits are thus grouped by four): 만 (萬, man) [10,000, 104], 억 (億, eok) [100 millions, 108], 조 (兆, jo) [trillion, 1012], 경 (京, gyeong) [ten quadrillions, 1016], 해 (垓, hae) [hundred quintillion, 1020]…
Numbers in different languages