n Korean, there are two systems for numbers: Sino-Korean Numbers and Native Korean Numbers. Many learners are familiar with 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷 (one, two, three, four), which are Native Korean numbers. However, Sino-Korean Numbers, based on Chinese characters, are used in different contexts such as counting money, telling time, and dates. In this post, we’ll explore the key differences and usage of Sino-Korean Numbers to help you understand when to use them correctly.
1. Definition
Definition of Sino-Korean Numbers
Sino-Korean numbers are numbers derived from Chinese characters that are used in Korean for specific counting and measurement purposes. These numbers are used in contexts that require larger quantities, dates, and formal measurements. Sino-Korean numbers are often used for expressing things like telephone numbers, bus route numbers, prices, dates, times, and many other situations where numbers are required for more formal or standardized contexts.
Unlike Native Korean numbers, which are used primarily for counting small quantities, specific items, or age, Sino-Korean numbers are used for formal, structured tasks. These include counting minutes, seconds, years, months, and large quantities. Native Korean numbers are often used for everyday counting, such as counting people, animals, or objects, as well as for expressing age.
2. Form (Structure)
Sino-Korean numbers follow a logical structure that makes them relatively easy to learn and use. The system is based on multiples of ten, with unique words for the numbers 1-10, and then combinations of these to form larger numbers.
Here’s a breakdown of the basic structure:
- Numbers 1-10 have unique words
- Numbers 11-99 are formed by combining the words for tens and ones
- Larger numbers use specific words for 100, 1,000, 10,000, and so on
Let’s look at this structure in a table format:
| Number | Sino-Korean Number | Native Korean Number |
| 0 | 공/영 | – |
| 1 | 일 | 하나 |
| 2 | 이 | 둘 |
| 3 | 섬 | 셋 |
| 4 | 사 | 넷 |
| 5 | 오 | 다섯 |
| 6 | 육 | 여섯 |
| 7 | 칠 | 일곱 |
| 8 | 팔 | 여덟 |
| 9 | 구 | 아홉 |
| 10 | 십 | 열 |
| 100 | 백 | – |
| 1,000 | 천 | – |
| 10,000 | 만 | – |
| 100,000 | 십만 | – |
3. Meaning & Usage
- Phone Numbers:
- When reading phone numbers, Sino-Korean numbers are used for each digit. The hyphen ( – ) is written as ( – ), and it is read as (에) when spoken, or a brief pause can be used instead.
- Unlike English, where repeated numbers like “22” are read as “double two” or “333” as “triple three,” Korean does not have a shortened version for such sequences. Each digit is read individually.
- In Korea, when reading mobile phone numbers, the leading zero is pronounced as “공”, not “영”. For example, the number 010-1234-5678 is read as “공일공에 일이삼사에 오육칠팔” or with pauses as “공일공(pause) 일이삼사(pause) 오육칠팔”.
- Example: 2135-2223 is written as 이일삼오-이이이삼, but it is read as 이일삼오(에) 이이이삼.
- Example sentences:
- 제 전화번호는 이일삼오(에) 이이이삼입니다. (My phone number is 2135-2223.)
- 그의 전화번호는 이삼팔공(에) 이이이삼입니다. (His phone number is 2380-272.)
- 제 전화번호는 이오공공(에) 삼육공팔입니다. (My phone number is 2500-3608.)
- 이 핸드폰번호는 공일공(에) 일이삼사(에) 이공구삼입니다. (This phone number is 010-1234-2093.)
- Example: 2135-2223 is written as 이일삼오-이이이삼, but it is read as 이일삼오(에) 이이이삼.
- Bus Route Numbers:
- For bus route numbers, Sino-Korean numbers are used, but instead of reading each digit individually, the entire number is read together.
- Example: Bus number 4800 is read as 사천팔백번 (not 사팔공공번).
- Example sentences:
- 버스 번호는 삼천팔백번입니다. (The bus number is 3800.)
- 나는 오백이번 버스를 탈 거예요. (I will take bus number 502.)
- 천번 버스는 역으로 갑니다. (The 1000 bus goes to the station.)
- 삼백삼십삼번 버스를 타야 합니다. (You need to catch bus 333.)
- 내가 타야 하는 버스는 십오번입니다. (The bus I need is route 15.)
- For bus route numbers, Sino-Korean numbers are used, but instead of reading each digit individually, the entire number is read together.
- Temperature:
- Sino-Korean numbers are used for temperature readings.
- Example: 오늘 기온은 영하 삼도입니다 (Today’s temperature is minus 3 degrees).
- Example sentences:
- 오늘 기온은 영하 오도입니다. (The temperature today is minus five degrees.)
- 오늘 기온은 섭씨 십오도입니다. (It’s 15 degrees Celsius today. )
- 기온은 삼십도입니다. (The temperature is 30 degrees.)
- 밖은 이십오도입니다. (It’s 25 degrees outside. )
- 영하 십도에서 얼어붙었습니다. (It’s freezing at minus ten degrees.)
- Sino-Korean numbers are used for temperature readings.
- Ordinal Numbers:
- Sino-Korean numbers are used for ordinal numbers, such as in formal contexts, listing items, or ranking.
- Examples: 일 (first), 이 (second), 삼 (third).
- Example sentences:
- 그는 이 위에 있습니다. (He is in second place.)
- 이것은 세 번째 항목입니다 (This is the third item. )
- 사 단계가 중요합니다. (The fourth step is important.)
- 그녀는 오등상을 받았습니다. (She won the fifth prize.)
- Sino-Korean numbers are used for ordinal numbers, such as in formal contexts, listing items, or ranking.
- Date:
- Sino-Korean numbers are used when expressing the date.
- Example: 오늘은 삼월 이십일일입니다 (Today is March 21st).
- Example sentences:
- 오늘은 십이월 오일입니다. (Today is December 5th.)
- 내 생일은 칠월 십칠일입니다. (My birthday is on July 17th.)
- 회의는 시월 삼일입니다. (The meeting is on October 3rd. )
- 행사는 십일월 십일일입니다. (The event is on November 10th. )
- 책은 일월 이십오일에 출시되었습니다.(The book was released on January 25th.)
- Sino-Korean numbers are used when expressing the date.
- Large Numbers:
- Sino-Korean numbers are used when expressing large numbers, such as 억 (hundred million), 조 (trillion), etc.
- Example: 이 회사의 가치는 일억 오천만 원입니다 (This company is worth 150 million won).
- Example sentences:
- 회사의 수익은 오억 원입니다. (The company’s revenue is five billion won. )
- 이 도시의 인구는 천만 명입니다. (The population of the city is 10 million.)
- 이 집은 십억 원의 가치가 있습니다. (This house is worth one billion won.)
- 총 비용은 삼억 원입니다. (The total cost is 300 million won. )
- 그는 오십억 원을 상속받았습니다. (He inherited 50 billion won.)
- Sino-Korean numbers are used when expressing large numbers, such as 억 (hundred million), 조 (trillion), etc.
7. Months:
- For June (6월) and October (10월), special pronunciation rules apply.
- June is written and pronounced as “유월,” and October is written and pronounced as “시월,” due to the difficulty of pronouncing “육월” and “십월.”
- Example sentences:
- 이번 달은 유월입니다. (This month is June.)
- 내일은 십일월입니다. (Tomorrow is November.)
- 우리는 삼월에 시작할 것입니다. (We are starting in March.)
- 저는 칠월에 여행을 갑니다. (I’m going on a trip in July.)
- 이 영화는 시월에 개봉될 예정입니다. (This movie will be released in October.)
7. Prices:
- Prices also use Sino-Korean numbers.
- Example sentences:
- 이 책은 삼천 원입니다. (This book costs 3,000 won.)
- 저 가방은 이십만 원입니다. (That bag costs 200,000 won.)
- 이 음식은 이천 원입니다. (This food costs 2,000 won.)
- 이 셔츠는 팔천 원입니다. (This shirt costs 8,000 won.)
- 저 차는 오백만 원입니다. (That car costs 5 million won.)
8. Years:
- Sino-Korean numbers are used when referring to years.
- Example sentences:
- 저는 이천 년에 태어났어요. (I was born in 2000.)
- 그는 이천 십팔 년에 졸업했어요. (He graduated in 2018.)
- 이것은 이천 십구 년의 책이에요. (This is a book from 2019.)
- 이 영화는 이천 십팔년에 개봉되었어요. (This movie was released in 2018.)
- 이 회사는 이천 오 년에 시작했어요. (This company started in 2005.)
9. Address Numbers
Sino-Korean numbers are used for address numbers.
- Example sentences:
- 저희 집 주소는 백삼십삼 번입니다. (My address is 133.)
- 이 아파트는 이백팔십 번에 있어요. (This apartment is at 280.)
- 서울시 구로구 디지털로 이백팔십사 번입니다. (It’s at 284 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul.)
- 우리 집은 팔백칠십 번에 있어요. (Our house is at 870.)
10. Weight
Sino-Korean numbers are used for weight, generally in kilograms.
- Example sentences:
- 저는 이십오 킬로그램입니다. (I weigh 25 kg.)
- 그의 몸무게는 백이십 킬로그램입니다. (His weight is 120 kg.)
- 그녀는 백 킬로그램이에요. (She weighs 100 kg.)
- 나는 오십 킬로그램이에요. (I weigh 50 kg.)
- 그 사람은 팔십 킬로그램이에요. (That person weighs 80 kg.)
11. Height
Sino-Korean numbers are used for height, particularly in centimeters.
- Example sentences:
- 저는 백육십팔 센티미터입니다. (I am 168 cm tall.)
- 그녀는 백오십삼 센티미터입니다. (She is 153 cm tall.)
- 그는 백팔십 센티미터에요. (He is 180 cm tall.)
- 이 아이는 백이십 센티미터입니다. (This child is 120 cm tall.)
- 그 사람은 백오십 센티미터에요. (That person is 150 cm tall.)
12. Time
When expressing time in Korean, Native Korean numbers are used for hours (시), while Sino-Korean numbers are used for minutes (분) and seconds (초).
- Hours (시) – Native Korean Numbers
- Hours are expressed using Native Korean numbers followed by 시.
- Minutes (분) – Sino-Korean Numbers
- Minutes are always expressed using Sino-Korean numbers followed by 분.
- Example sentences:
- 지금 세 시 십오 분이에요. (It’s 3:15.)
- 우리는 일곱 시 삼십 분에 만나요. (Let’s meet at 7:30.)
- 버스는 열두 시 사십오 분에 출발해요. (The bus leaves at 12:45.)
- 회의가 아홉 시 십 분에 시작됩니다. (The meeting starts at 9:10.)
- 공연이 다섯 시 오십오 분에 끝나요. (The performance ends at 5:55.)
Seconds (초) – Sino-Korean Numbers
Seconds are also expressed using Sino-Korean numbers followed by 초.
- Example sentences:
- 십 초만 기다려 주세요. (Please wait for 10 seconds.)
- 이십오 초 후에 시작할게요. (I’ll start in 25 seconds.)
- 사십 초가 지났어요. (40 seconds have passed.)
- 오십오 초 남았어요. (55 seconds left.)
- 일 분 삼십 초 동안 운동했어요. (I exercised for 1 minute and 30 seconds.)
13. Special Usage of Zero (0)
Zero (0) in Sino-Korean numbers has two pronunciations: 공 and 영, depending on the context.
공 is commonly used in casual, everyday situations:
- Phone numbers: Zero is read as 공 in phone numbers.
- Example: 2135-2223 → 이일삼오-이이이삼
- PIN numbers or security codes: Zero is read as 공 when stating PIN or security codes.
- Example: 1234 → 일이삼사
- Postal codes: Zero is read as 공 in postal codes.
- Example: 03000 → 공삼공공공
- Example: 03000 → 공삼공공공
영 is used in formal or precise contexts:
- Game scores: Zero is read as 영 when stating sports scores.
- Example: 2-0 → 이 대 영
- Mathematical contexts: Zero is read as 영 in mathematical expressions.
- Example: 0 + 1 = 1 → 영 더하기 일은 일
- Temperature: Zero is read as 영 when referring to 0°C.
- Example: 0°C → 영도
- Decimal points: Zero is read as 영 when reading decimal numbers.
- Example: 0.1 → 영점일
In some cases, the loanword “제로” (from English “zero”) is also used, particularly in technical or scientific contexts.
4. Key Points to Remember
- Phone Numbers: Use Sino-Korean numbers for each digit. Hyphen read as ‘에’ or pause.
- Bus Routes: Read entire number together, not individual digits.
- Temperature: Use Sino-Korean numbers. ‘영하’ for minus temperatures.
- Ordinal Numbers: Use Sino-Korean numbers with ‘번째’, ‘등’, or ‘위’.
- Dates: Use Sino-Korean numbers for month and day.
- Large Numbers: Use Sino-Korean for 억, 조, etc.
- Months: Special pronunciations for June (유월) and October (시월).
- Prices: Use Sino-Korean numbers followed by ‘원’.
- Years: Use Sino-Korean numbers.
- Address Numbers: Use Sino-Korean numbers with ‘번’.
- Weight: Use Sino-Korean numbers with ‘킬로그램’.
- Height: Use Sino-Korean numbers with ‘센티미터’.
- Time: Native Korean for hours, Sino-Korean for minutes and seconds.
- Zero: Use ‘공’ for everyday contexts (phone numbers, PIN), ‘영’ for formal contexts (math, temperature).
Understanding when to use Sino-Korean and Native Korean numbers is essential for speaking Korean naturally. Remember to use Native Korean numbers for hours and Sino-Korean numbers for minutes, seconds, years, and large numbers. Be mindful of special cases like zero (공 vs. 영) and how numbers are read in phone numbers, bus numbers, and game scores. With practice, these distinctions will become second nature!