List of Korean counting words

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As in Japanese and Chinese , the Korean language uses special counting words to count things. In the German language there are still some equivalents, for example sheet in five sheets of paper . However, these counting words are much more common in Korean, and many of these words cannot be used as independent nouns .

For example, where one says “ten bus tickets” in German, one could say 버스 표 열 장 ( Beoseu pyo yeol jang ) in Korean , which literally means ten sheets of bus ticket .

List of important Korean counting words

Two number systems are common in Korean, whichever is used is indicated. The number systems are explained in the article Korean Numbers .

Count word Romanized Number system meaning
gae Purely Korean Generally for things; can also be used if you do not know the correct count word
se Sinocorean Age
sal Purely Korean Age
사람 saram Purely Korean People (informal)
myeong Purely Korean People (informal)
bun Purely Korean People (polite)
마리 mari Purely Korean Animals
그루 geuru Purely Korean Trees
송이 song-i Purely Korean Picked flowers, grapes
포기 pogi Purely Korean Vegetable leaves
cheok Sinocorean Boats, ships
byeong Sinocorean Bottles
Jan Sinocorean Cups, glasses
dae Sinocorean Vehicles (cars, planes, ...), machines
chae Purely Korean Houses
cheung Sinocorean Floors
gwa Purely Korean Lessons (count)
gwa Sinocorean lesson
자루 jaru Purely Korean Things with long handles; Pens, shovels, swords, guns
ak Sinocorean papers
gwon Sinocorean Books
Tong Sinocorean Letters, phone calls, emails
won Sinocorean For monetary amounts, see South Korean won
그릇 geureut Purely Korean Bowls or similar
kaen From English Cans
봉지 bongji Sinocorean Bags, sacks
beol Purely Korean clothes
켤레 kyeolle Purely Korean Socks, shoes, gloves
마디 madi Purely Korean Words
년 / 연 nyeon / yeon Sinocorean Years
hae Purely Korean Years
well Sinocorean Month, around 5 월 = May
dal Purely Korean Months (count)
ju Sinocorean Weeks
il Sinocorean Day, 10 일 = 10th day of a month
시 / 시간 si / sigan Sinocorean Hours
bun Sinocorean Minutes
cho Sinocorean Seconds

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