Korean has two number systems: Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼) for dates and money, native (하나, 둘, 셋) for objects and age. Here's 1 to 100.
Sino-Korean numbers: 1 to 20
Inherited from Chinese, this system is used for dates, money, phone numbers, minutes, floors and anything that looks like an "administrative number". It scales without limit (millions, billions), unlike the native system which stops at 99.
| Hangul | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 공 | gong | 0 (or 영 (yeong) in some contexts) |
| 일 | il | 1 |
| 이 | i | 2 |
| 삼 | sam | 3 |
| 사 | sa | 4 |
| 오 | o | 5 |
| 육 | yuk | 6 |
| 칠 | chil | 7 |
| 팔 | pal | 8 |
| 구 | gu | 9 |
| 십 | sip | 10 |
| 십일 | sibil | 11 (10 + 1) |
| 십이 | sibi | 12 |
| 십삼 | sipsam | 13 |
| 십사 | sipsa | 14 |
| 십오 | sibo | 15 |
| 십육 | simnyuk | 16 (modified pronunciation) |
| 십칠 | sipchil | 17 |
| 십팔 | sippal | 18 |
| 십구 | sipgu | 19 |
| 이십 | isip | 20 (2 × 10) |
Sino-Korean: tens up to 100
For 30, 40… you compose: digit + 십. For numbers between tens you keep going: 23 = 이십삼 ("2-10-3"), 47 = 사십칠. 100 has its own word: 백.
| Hangul | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 삼십 | samsip | 30 |
| 사십 | sasip | 40 |
| 오십 | osip | 50 |
| 육십 | yuksip | 60 |
| 칠십 | chilsip | 70 |
| 팔십 | palsip | 80 |
| 구십 | gusip | 90 |
| 백 | baek | 100 |
| 이십삼 | isipsam | 23 (composition example) |
| 사십칠 | sasipchil | 47 |
| 구십구 | gusipgu | 99 |
| 천 | cheon | 1,000 |
| 만 | man | 10,000 (Korean groups by 10,000 not 1,000) |
Native Korean: 1 to 20
Older, this system is used to count objects, people, hours and age in casual speech. There is no native zero. Watch out: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 20 take a short form before a counter (한, 두, 세, 네, 스무).
| Hangul | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 하나 | hana | 1 (→ 한 before a counter) |
| 둘 | dul | 2 (→ 두 before a counter) |
| 셋 | set | 3 (→ 세 before a counter) |
| 넷 | net | 4 (→ 네 before a counter) |
| 다섯 | daseot | 5 |
| 여섯 | yeoseot | 6 |
| 일곱 | ilgop | 7 |
| 여덟 | yeodeol | 8 |
| 아홉 | ahop | 9 |
| 열 | yeol | 10 |
| 열하나 | yeolhana | 11 |
| 열둘 | yeoldul | 12 |
| 열셋 | yeolset | 13 |
| 열넷 | yeolnet | 14 |
| 열다섯 | yeoldaseot | 15 |
| 열여섯 | yeolryeoseot | 16 |
| 열일곱 | yeollilgop | 17 |
| 열여덟 | yeolryeodeol | 18 |
| 열아홉 | yeolahop | 19 |
| 스물 | seumul | 20 (→ 스무 before a counter) |
Native: tens up to 99
The native system stops at 99 (아흔아홉). Beyond that you switch to the Sino-Korean 백 (100). To form a number like 47: 마흔일곱.
| Hangul | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 서른 | seoreun | 30 |
| 마흔 | maheun | 40 |
| 쉰 | swin | 50 |
| 예순 | yesun | 60 |
| 일흔 | ilheun | 70 |
| 여든 | yeodeun | 80 |
| 아흔 | aheun | 90 |
| 아흔아홉 | aheunahop | 99 (native upper limit) |
| 스물다섯 | seumuldaseot | 25 (example: counting age) |
| 마흔일곱 | maheunilgop | 47 |
When to use SINO vs NATIVE?
THE Korean numbers headache. Simple rule: Sino for things that look like a code (date, price, phone, floor, minute), native for things you COUNT (objects, people, hours, age in casual speech). Most common cases below.
| Hangul | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 오월 팔일 | owol parir | May 8th (date → SINO) |
| 이천 원 | icheon won | 2,000 won (money → SINO) |
| 공일공-… | gong-il-gong-… | 010-… (phone → SINO digit by digit) |
| 삼 분 | sam bun | 3 minutes (minutes → SINO) |
| 삼층 | samcheung | 3rd floor (floor → SINO) |
| 사람 세 명 | saram se myeong | 3 people (counter 명 → NATIVE) |
| 사과 한 개 | sagwa han gae | one apple (counter 개 → NATIVE) |
| 두 시 | du si | 2 o'clock (hours → NATIVE) |
| 두 시 삼십 분 | du si samsip bun | 2:30 (hour NATIVE + minute SINO) |
| 스물다섯 살 | seumuldaseot sal | 25 years old (casual age → NATIVE) |
Essential counters
Like Chinese or Japanese, Korean uses counters: you don't say "3 people" but "person 3-classifier-person". Here are the most common ones. They all combine with native numbers (han, du, se, ne…).
| Hangul | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 명 | myeong | people (polite) |
| 사람 | saram | people (casual) |
| 분 | bun | people (honorific) |
| 개 | gae | objects (generic) |
| 마리 | mari | animals |
| 권 | gwon | books, notebooks |
| 잔 | jan | glasses, cups |
| 병 | byeong | bottles |
| 장 | jang | sheets, tickets |
| 벌 | beol | clothing (set) |
| 대 | dae | vehicles, machines |
| 살 | sal | years of age (→ 스무 살 = 20 years old) |
| 시 | si | o'clock |
| 시간 | sigan | hours (duration) |
Frequently asked questions
Why does Korean have two number systems?
Historical reasons: the native system (하나, 둘, 셋) is ancient, inherited from pre-Chinese-influence Korean. The Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼) was borrowed from Chinese during the millennium of the Goguryeo and Goryeo dynasties. Rather than replace one with the other, Korean kept both and gave them distinct uses. Same complementary structure as in Japanese, not redundant.
How do I know when to use SINO or NATIVE?
Simple rule: SINO for anything that looks like an administrative code (date, price, phone, floor, minute, year). NATIVE for anything you physically COUNT (objects, people, animals, hours, casual age). For time it's mixed: 2:30 = 두 시 (native) + 삼십 분 (sino).
How do you say your age in Korean?
In speech and casually: use the NATIVE system + 살 (sal). "I'm 25" = 스물다섯 살이에요. In administrative writing and formal contexts, switch to Sino-Korean + 세 (se): 이십오 세. Note: since 2023, Korea officially uses international age, but Korean age is still common in speech.
How do you say a phone number in Korean?
Each digit is pronounced individually using SINO-Korean. For 010-1234-5678: 공일공 일이삼사 오육칠팔 (gong-il-gong il-i-sam-sa o-yuk-chil-pal). 0 is 공 (gong), not 영. Dashes aren't pronounced but a brief pause marks them.