List of Korean counting words
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 |
---|---|---|---|
개 | gae | Purely Korean | Generally for things; can also be used if you do not know the correct count word |
세 | se | Sinocorean | Age |
살 | sal | Purely Korean | Age |
사람 | saram | Purely Korean | People (informal) |
명 | myeong | Purely Korean | People (informal) |
분 | 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 |
척 | cheok | Sinocorean | Boats, ships |
병 | byeong | Sinocorean | Bottles |
잔 | Jan | Sinocorean | Cups, glasses |
대 | dae | Sinocorean | Vehicles (cars, planes, ...), machines |
채 | chae | Purely Korean | Houses |
층 | cheung | Sinocorean | Floors |
과 | gwa | Purely Korean | Lessons (count) |
과 | gwa | Sinocorean | lesson |
자루 | jaru | Purely Korean | Things with long handles; Pens, shovels, swords, guns |
장 | ak | Sinocorean | papers |
권 | gwon | Sinocorean | Books |
통 | Tong | Sinocorean | Letters, phone calls, emails |
원 | won | Sinocorean | For monetary amounts, see South Korean won |
그릇 | geureut | Purely Korean | Bowls or similar |
캔 | kaen | From English | Cans |
봉지 | bongji | Sinocorean | Bags, sacks |
벌 | beol | Purely Korean | clothes |
켤레 | kyeolle | Purely Korean | Socks, shoes, gloves |
마디 | madi | Purely Korean | Words |
년 / 연 | nyeon / yeon | Sinocorean | Years |
해 | hae | Purely Korean | Years |
월 | well | Sinocorean | Month, around 5 월 = May |
달 | dal | Purely Korean | Months (count) |
주 | ju | Sinocorean | Weeks |
일 | il | Sinocorean | Day, 10 일 = 10th day of a month |
시 / 시간 | si / sigan | Sinocorean | Hours |
분 | bun | Sinocorean | Minutes |
초 | cho | Sinocorean | Seconds |
Web links
- LearnKorean.com : Lesson 12, Numbers