Korean is the official language of two neighboring states: South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It is unusual and original, for many Russian-speaking people it may seem a little strange because of its unusual grammar and alphabet (yes, Korean does not consist of hieroglyphs, as you might think). How do the numbers sound in Korean? There are two number systems, which we now talk about.
How to count in Korean?
Korean numbers can be divided into two completely different categories: numerals of Chinese origin and native Korean numerals. Both categories are used in their specific cases, so it is not enough to know only one of them. Although, of course, those involved in taekwondo and do not plan to study the Korean language in more depth, it is useful to know only the numbers of Korean origin.
Native Korean number system
First, it’s worth disassembling the Korean system. There are cases in which only numbers of Korean origin are used, and cases where numbers are used that come to Korean from Chinese, but we will talk about them a little later. Now, let's count in Korean up to ten:
- 1 하나 (khana) - one;
- 2 둘 (tul) - two;
- 3 셋 (set) - three;
- 4 넷 (net) - four;
- 5 다섯 (ta-sot) - five;
- 6 여섯 (yo-sot) - six;
- 7 일곱 (il-kup) - seven;
- 8 여덟 (eo-share) - eight;
- 9 아홉 (ahup) - nine;
- 10 열 (yule) - ten.
To form numerals after ten and before twenty, you need to take the number 10 (열) and any number up to ten:
- 열 하나 (yorana) - eleven;
- 열 다섯 (yoltasot) - fifteen.
And for dozens in Korean, there are own words:
- 스물 (symul) - twenty;
- 서른 (sorin) - thirty;
- 마흔 (makhyn) - forty;
- 쉰 (chchvin) - fifty.
It should be remembered that in original Korean numeration, numbers are used only up to 60. Numbers after 60 still exist, but are used so rarely that even Koreans themselves sometimes cannot remember the Korean name, for example, the number 70.
The numbers 1,2,3,4 and the numeral 20 change slightly when counting and using various action counters next to them: the last letter is tilted away from them. Take a close look at how this happens:
- 하나 (khan) changes to 한 (khan);
- 둘 (tul) changes to 두 (tu);
- 셋 (set) changes to 세 (se);
- 넷 (net) changes to 네 (ne);
- 스물 (symul) to 스무 (symu).
When is the Korean system used?
Korean numbers of Korean origin are used in a number of cases, and it is important to remember them.
- When counting actions (how many times), objects, people.
- In a conversation about the time when we call the clock (only the clock).
- Sometimes used for month names.
Korean numbers with Chinese origin
The Chinese number system, unlike the Korean, has numbers greater than 60 and is used a little more often than the original Korean. Now count to ten using these Korean numbers:
- 1 일 (il) - one;
- 2 이 (and) - two;
- 3 삼 (self) - three;
- 4 사 (sa) - four;
- 5 오 (yo) - five;
- 6 육 (yuk) - six;
- 7 칠 (chil) - seven;
- 8 팔 (phal) - eight;
- 9 구 (gu) - nine;
- 10 십 (pin) - ten.
Chinese numerals can indicate any number you need: you only need to put certain numbers side by side. Pay attention to how this works:
- 이 (and) - two; 십 (pin) - ten (or, in other words, a dozen). So 십이 is twelve, and 이십 is twenty (or two dozen).
There are also special Korean numbers (we’ll indicate them with translation), which should be noted:
- 백 (pek) - one hundred;
- 천 (tson) - a thousand;
- 만 (man) - ten thousand;
- 백만 (packman) - one million;
- 억 (ok) - one hundred million.
When is the Chinese number system used?
Korean numbers of Chinese origin are used in many cases, and, unlike native Korean numbers, there are numbers after 60 in this account. So when are Chinese numbers used? Let's figure it out.
- When counting money and measuring it.
- In mathematical operations.
- When specifying phone numbers.
- In a conversation about time (seconds and minutes, but not hours - there are Korean numbers for this).
- In the name of the months.
- When counting the months (sometimes in Korean).
Zero in Korean
For zero in Korean, there are two words: 영 and 공. The first word, 영, is used in mathematics when talking about points, or in temperature: zero degrees. The second, 공, is used only in telephone numbers.
Ordinals
When calculating in Korean, native Korean numerals are used. All that is required for the formation of the plural in Korean is to substitute the usual numeral ending - 째:
- 둘째 (tulche) - the second;
- 다섯째 (tasotche) - the fifth;
- 마흔 째 (makhinche) - the fortieth.
There is an exception here: the first will sound like 첫째 (hotter).
How to count items in Korean?
In Russian, nouns are countable and uncountable. In Korean, the words are often uncountable, which greatly complicates the count, especially for Russian-speaking people. That is why there are special counting words that are used to count any specific items, people or times (how many times this or that action has been committed).
- 명 (myon) - a counter for people;
- 마리 (mari) - counter for animals and birds;
- 대 (te) - for cars and airplanes;
- 기 (ki) - for various devices;
- 병 (peony) - for bottles;
- 잔 (tsan) - for glasses;
- 갑 (cap) - for packages or packs;
- 벌 (pol) - for any clothes;
- 송이 (sonny) - counter for flowers;
- 켤레 (khelle) - counter for paired items.
There is also a universal word 개 (ke), which translates as "thing". This word can be used almost always.
Plural in Korean
In Korean, in fact, the plural is rarely used. However, there is a special suffix 들 (rear), which emphasizes precisely the multiplicity of something. In order to form its plural form from any noun, you just need to substitute the suffix to the word itself:
- 사람 (saram) - man;
- 사람들 (saramdyl) - people.
However, when the exact number of any objects or people is indicated, the plural suffix is usually not put: just a word is used without any plural suffix.