Numbers in Korean come in two flavors: native (하나, 둘...) and Sino-Korean (일, 이...). Good news: you don’t need to memorize everything today. You just need to know which system to use in common situations like telling time, saying your age, ordering at a cafe, sharing a phone number, or reading prices. Let’s make it simple and practical.

Two systems, simple rules

Korean uses:

• Native numbers for counting things, people, your age, and hours.
• Sino-Korean numbers for dates, money, phone numbers, minutes, floors, and room numbers.

We’ll learn the key forms and practice with real-life examples.

Native Korean numbers (1–10)

Here are the first ten native numbers:

• 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯, 여섯, 일곱, 여덟, 아홉, 열

Before many counters, 1–4 change form:

• 하나 → 한, 둘 → 두, 셋 → 세, 넷 → 네

Examples:

• 한 개 (one item), 두 명 (two people), 세 시 (3 o’clock), 네 살 (4 years old)

Tip: For 20 with age, 스물 becomes 스무 before 살: 스무 살 (20 years old).

사과 개 주세요.

학생이 명 있어요.

지금 시예요.

넷 시예요. → 네 시예요. Use the short form 네 before counters like 시. 삼 개 있어요. → 세 개 있어요. 개 uses native numbers. 3 is 세 with counters.

Sino-Korean numbers (1–10) + 0

These are used for minutes, money, phone numbers, floors, etc.

• 0: 영 (often 공 in phone numbers)
• 1–10: 일, 이, 삼, 사, 오, 육, 칠, 팔, 구, 십

Examples:

• 전화번호: 공일공 (010)
• 분: 이십오 분 (25 minutes)
• 원: 삼만 원 (30,000 won)
• 층: 오층 (5th floor)
• 호: 십이호 (Room 12)

Must-know counters

Pair numbers with counters to sound natural. Here are the most common ones you’ll use at A1:

Cultural notes

• Phone numbers: You’ll often hear 공 for 0 (instead of 영). For mobile numbers starting with 010, people say 공일공.
• Age: Korea now generally uses international age in daily life. When saying “I am X years old,” use native numbers + 살 (스무 살, 스물한 살, 서른 살...).
• Politeness: In service situations, adding 주세요 (“please give me”) is very common: 물 한 개 주세요; 영수증 주세요.

Quick review

• Native numbers for counting things/people, age, and hours: 한/두/세/네 + 개/명/살/시.
• Sino numbers for minutes, money, phone numbers, floors, room numbers: 십오 분, 삼만 원, 공일공, 오층, 십이호.
• Watch short forms: 한, 두, 세, 네; and 스무 살.

Practice around you: count items on your desk (세 개), say the current time (네 시), read a price tag (이만 원), and share your phone number (공일공...). You’ve got this! Keep mixing real-life mini-tasks into your day.