Korean numbers: when to use native and Sino-Korean

Which Korean number system should you use?

Korean has two sets of number words. Native numbers begin 하나, hana, 둘, dul, 셋, set; Sino-Korean numbers begin 일, il, 이, i, 삼, sam. “Sino-Korean” describes their Chinese origin. They are Korean words, pronounced in Korean.

You do not need two seperate counting routines for every situation. Start by asking what the number measures. Two apples, two minutes and two thousand won lead to different choices.

Korean numbers from 1 to 10

Use this table as a reference while trying the examples. The native column shows the form used when counting on its own; a few forms change before a counter.

Number	Native Korean	Sino-Korean
1	하나, hana	일, il
2	둘, dul	이, i
3	셋, set	삼, sam
4	넷, net	사, sa
5	다섯, daseot	오, o
6	여섯, yeoseot	육, yuk
7	일곱, ilgop	칠, chil
8	여덟, yeodeol	팔, pal
9	아홉, ahop	구, gu
10	열, yeol	십, sip

The next numbers build on these: native eleven is 열하나, yeolhana, while Sino-Korean eleven is 십일, sipbil. Learning the two names for ten helps you keep the systems apart.

Two apples: use the native counter form

A counter is a word that names a unit, a little like “cups” in “two cups of coffee.” Korean uses counters with ordinary countable objects too. 개, gae is a common general counter; apples can be counted with it.

The useful pattern here is thing + number + counter: 사과 두 개, sagwa du gae, two apples. The number is 두, du, not the standalone 둘, dul.

Listen to the ending in 둘, dul, then to the shortened form in 두 개, du gae. The final consonant of the number disappears. This is a change in the word itself, not just faster speech.

Five native forms are useful to learn together:

Counting on its own	Before a common counter	Example
하나, hana	한, han	한 개, han gae, one item
둘, dul	두, du	두 개, du gae, two items
셋, set	세, se	세 개, se gae, three items
넷, net	네, ne	네 개, ne gae, four items
스물, seumul	스무, seumu	스무 개, seumu gae, twenty items

Twenty-one is 스물한 개, seumulhan gae: keep 스물, seumul and shorten the final one. Once these combinations are familar, you can reuse the pattern with other counters, such as 명, myeong for people and 마리, mari for animals.

Telling the time: change systems halfway through

For an ordinary 12-hour clock, the hour takes a native number before 시, si. The minutes take a Sino-Korean number before 분, bun.

So 3:15 is 세 시 십오 분, se si sibo bun. The hour uses the shortened form of native three; fifteen is Sino-Korean ten plus five. The two systems belong in the same expression.

The meeting starts at 3:15. If it started at 3:30, the hour would stay 세 시, se si and the minutes would become 삼십 분, samsip bun, thirty minutes. In Sino-Korean, three before ten makes thirty; ten before five makes fifteen.

A price: use Sino-Korean numbers

Won amounts use Sino-Korean numbers. Here, 만, man is ten thousand, 이천, icheon is two thousand, and 원, won is won. Put the amounts together: 만 이천 원, man icheon won, 12,000 won.

Keep the quantity and the price separate. The number of books can use a native number with a book counter; their price uses Sino-Korean numbers. The object being a book does not decide how you read the money.

A guide to the everyday choices

What are you saying?	Useful starting choice	Example
A small number of objects	Native + the appropriate counter	두 개, du gae, two items
Someone’s age with 살, sal	Native	스무 살, seumu sal, twenty years old
An hour from 1 to 12	Native + 시, si	세 시, se si, three o’clock
Minutes	Sino-Korean + 분, bun	십오 분, sibo bun, fifteen minutes
Money	Sino-Korean + 원, won	이천 원, icheon won, 2,000 won
Calendar dates and phone digits	Sino-Korean	삼일, samnil, the third day of a month

These are starting patterns for contemporary South Korean usage, not a rule without exceptions. Hours 13–24 normally use Sino-Korean readings. Larger quantities can also take Sino-Korean numbers, and formal age expressions with 세, se differ from those with 살, sal. The National Institute of Korean Language explains these limits, on pages 222–223.

If you hear a different form occasionaly, check the unit and the setting before treating it as an error. For now, make the three everyday scenes automatic: apples, an appointment and a price.

Choose the situation before the number

Try the questions without looking back at the table. You can answer in English; use the cards above when you want to practise the Korean forms and hear the full sentences.

Quick practice

Choose the system for the situation

The quantity is already given. Decide which system and form you need, then complete the Korean cards above.

01You bought two apples. What form belongs before the general object counter?

Native, shortened before a counterNative, standalone counting formSino-Korean

02Your meeting starts at 3:15. Which form gives the three in the hour?

Sino-KoreanNative, standalone counting formNative, shortened before the hour unit

03A book costs 12,000 won. Which system expresses the price?

Native KoreanSino-Korean

Start over

See the explained solutions without taking the exercise

1. Native, shortened before a counterSmall quantities of apples normally use native numbers. The word for two shortens before the counter, as in the first card.
2. Native, shortened before the hour unitThe hour uses native three in its shortened form. The fifteen minutes use Sino-Korean numbers, so this clock time contains both systems.
3. Sino-KoreanWon amounts use Sino-Korean numbers. Build twelve thousand from ten thousand plus two thousand.

Practise Korean numbers

Practise Korean numbers in everyday sentences

Continue with quantities, prices and counters. Choose the number system from the situation, then practise the form that fits.