Reading Korean numbers and units
A number reference table you can listen to and try out: Sino-Korean and native Korean numbers, big numbers with 만·억, the counters 개·명·살, dates and times, money, units like cm·kg·평·근, and clothing and shoe sizes.
Enter a number and see right away how to read it in Korean. Press 🔊 to hear it, too. You can use it right away in shops, on the subway and at the hospital!
Number reading converter
Enter an integer, a decimal (3.14), a fraction (1/2), or a phone number (010-1234-5678).
- Sino-Korean numbers
- 만 이천오백 man icheonobaek
- Writing with 만 units
- 1만 2500
- Money: in speech
- 만 이천오백 원 man icheonobaek won
- Money: price tags and receipts
- 12,500원 · 1만 2,500원 · ₩12,500
- Money: contracts and certificates
- 금 일만이천오백원정
Two kinds of numbers: Sino-Korean and native Korean
Sino-Korean numbers 일 · 이 · 삼
Money, dates (year, month, day), minutes and seconds, phone numbers, floors and room numbers, numbers, measurements like height and weight, and all numbers from 100 up
Native Korean numbers 하나 · 둘 · 셋
Counting things, people and animals (개·명·마리), age (살), the hour in clock time (세 시), number of times (번), and length of time (두 시간): up to 99
| Numbers | Sino-Korean numbers | Native Korean numbers | Before the counter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 영 | — | |
| 1 | 일 | 하나 | 한 |
| 2 | 이 | 둘 | 두 |
| 3 | 삼 | 셋 | 세 |
| 4 | 사 | 넷 | 네 |
| 5 | 오 | 다섯 | |
| 6 | 육 | 여섯 | |
| 7 | 칠 | 일곱 | |
| 8 | 팔 | 여덟 | |
| 9 | 구 | 아홉 | |
| 10 | 십 | 열 | |
| 11 | 십일 | 열하나 | 열한 |
| 12 | 십이 | 열둘 | 열두 |
| 15 | 십오 | 열다섯 | |
| 20 | 이십 | 스물 | 스무 |
| 30 | 삼십 | 서른 | |
| 40 | 사십 | 마흔 | |
| 50 | 오십 | 쉰 | |
| 60 | 육십 | 예순 | |
| 70 | 칠십 | 일흔 | |
| 80 | 팔십 | 여든 | |
| 90 | 구십 | 아흔 | |
| 99 | 구십구 | 아흔아홉 | |
| 100 | 백 | In Sino-Korean (백) |
Only numbers whose last syllable has a final consonant change form before a counter. For example: 하나 → 한 개, 스물 → 스무 살, 스물하나 → 스물한 명.
Big numbers: 만 · 억 · 조
Korean counts in groups of four digits. Instead of thousands like English, the unit is 만 (10,000).
💡 From the right, add 만, 억, 조 every four digits: 3,500,000 → 350만 → 삼백오십만.
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Counters (counting nouns)
Korean attaches a counter after a number to show what is being counted. Each counter has its own fixed type of number.
With native Korean numbers
- 개Things (the most common counter)사과 세 개
- 명People학생 다섯 명
- 분People (honorific)손님 두 분
- 마리Animals and fish고양이 한 마리
- 살Age (in speech)스무 살
- 시The hour in clock time세 시
- 시간Length of time두 시간
- 권Books and notebooks책 네 권
- 장Paper, photos, tables and tickets표 두 장
- 병Things in bottles물 한 병
- 잔Drinks in cups and glasses커피 한 잔
- 그릇Food served in a bowl밥 한 그릇
- 대Cars, machines and electronics차 한 대
- 벌A set of clothes옷 세 벌
- 켤레Shoes and socks (two make one pair: 켤레)양말 두 켤레
- 송이Flowers and grapes장미 열 송이
- 번Number of times세 번
- 달Months (native Korean)한 달
- 채Houses and buildings집 한 채
With Sino-Korean numbers
- 원Money (Korean currency)오천 원
- 년Year이천이십육 년
- 월Month names (January to December)시월
- 일Date십삼 일
- 분Minutes in clock time삼십 분
- 초Seconds십 초
- 개월Duration (for how many months)육 개월
- 층Floors of a building삼 층
- 호Room and apartment numbers (101호)백일 호
- 번Numbers (Exit 1, Bus 2: 1번 출구, 2번 버스)일 번 출구
- 호선Subway lines이 호선
- 인분Amount of food (portions for how many people)삼겹살 이 인분
- 학년School year이 학년
- 등Ranking and place일 등
- 쪽Pages of a book (쪽)십 쪽
- 세Age (in writing and documents)이십오 세
- 도Temperature and angles이십 도
- 퍼센트Percent (%)오십 퍼센트
Approximate numbers: roughly how many
Example: 사과 두세 개 (two or three apples), 사람 서너 명 (three or four people). Used when you mean an inexact number.
Dates and times
Month names
Day of the week
Reading the time
Hours use native numbers (한 시, 두 시) and minutes use Sino-Korean numbers (십 분, 삼십 분). 30 minutes can also be called 반 (ban, 'half'). 12 noon is 정오 and 12 midnight is 자정.
- 09:00오전 아홉 시
- 12:00낮 열두 시
- 13:30오후 한 시 삼십 분= 오후 한 시 반
- 15:15오후 세 시 십오 분
- 18:45오후 여섯 시 사십오 분
- 21:05오후 아홉 시 오 분
Measurement units
Korea uses the metric system. Numbers before a unit are read as Sino-Korean, and in speech the units are shortened, like 센티·킬로·밀리.
| Symbols | Name | Examples | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| mm | 밀리미터 (밀리) | 250mm 이백오십 밀리 | Shoe sizes are given in mm |
| cm | 센티미터 (센티) | 170cm 백칠십 센티 | Height and clothing sizes |
| m | 미터 | 100m 백 미터 | Distance and height |
| km | 킬로미터 (킬로) | 5km 오 킬로미터 | Long distances |
| g | 그램 | 200g 이백 그램 | Weight of food and ingredients |
| kg | 킬로그램 (킬로) | 3kg 삼 킬로그램 | Body weight and luggage weight |
| mL | 밀리리터 | 500mL 오백 밀리리터 | Amount of a drink |
| L | 리터 | 2L 이 리터 | Water and oil |
| ㎡ | 제곱미터 | 84㎡ 팔십사 제곱미터 | Area of houses and land (official unit) |
| ℃ | 도 (섭씨) | -5℃ 영하 오 도 | Temperature: below 0 degrees is 영하 |
| % | 퍼센트 (프로) | 30% 삼십 퍼센트 | In speech, it is also called 프로 |
| km/h | 시속 | 100km/h 시속 백 킬로미터 | Speed |
Traditional units and sizes
About 3.3㎡. The official unit is ㎡, but 평 is still widely used for the size of homes and shops. An 84㎡ apartment is commonly called 34평.
One 근 of meat is 600g; one 근 of vegetables or fruit is 375g. Many shops now sell by the gram.
Weight of gold. One 돈 is 3.75g. Often mentioned for gold rings given as gifts on a baby's first birthday.
TV and monitor screen size. In ads, 형 is written instead of inches (65형 = 65 inches).
Clothing and shoe sizes
| Shoes | 230 · 250 · 270 | Foot length in mm (250 = 250mm) |
|---|---|---|
| Men's clothing | 95 · 100 · 105 · 110 | Based on chest size (cm). M≈95, L≈100, XL≈105 |
| Women's clothing | 44 · 55 · 66 · 77 | An older way of marking sizes, but still commonly used. 55≈S, 66≈M |
| Trousers | 28 · 30 · 32 | Waist size in inches |
| Ring | 11호 · 13호 | Ring sizes are given in 호수 |
| Amount of food | 2인분 | How many people the portion feeds (restaurant menus) |
How to write numbers (notation)
Counters after Arabic numerals are written without a space.
3개 · 2026년 · 5,000원Counters after numbers written in Hangul are written with a space.
세 개 · 오천 원When writing big numbers in Hangul, put spaces between 만 units.
십이억 삼천사백오십육만 칠천팔백구십팔Commas go every three digits, but when reading, Korean breaks numbers every four digits (만).
1,234,567 → 123만 4567 → 백이십삼만 사천오백육십칠Dates always go in the order year → month → day.
2026년 10월 13일 · 2026. 10. 13. · 2026-10-13 · 26.10.13Time uses both the 12-hour (오전·오후) and 24-hour systems.
오후 3시 30분 · 15:30Prices are a number followed by 원. News and ads mix in 만 units.
12,500원 · 1만 2,500원 · 3억 원 · ₩12,500On receipts and contracts, 금 …원정 is written so that they can't be altered.
금 일만이천오백원정
Pronunciation notes
In 6월 and 10월, the final consonant is dropped.
유월 · 시월하나·둘·셋·넷·스물 become shorter before a counter.
한 개 · 두 명 · 세 시 · 네 살 · 스무 살After a final consonant, 육 is pronounced [뉵].
십육 [심뉵] · 백육 [뱅뉵]A final ㅂ or ㄱ becomes a nasal sound before 만.
십만 [심만] · 백만 [뱅만] · 육만 [융만]0 is usually read 영 (yeong). In phone numbers and room numbers, it is read 공 (gong).
영 점 오 · 공일공4 sounds the same as 死 (death), so elevators sometimes use F instead.
4층 → F층
Practice: read it in Korean
Frequently asked questions
Why does Korean have two kinds of numbers?
Korean has native numbers (하나, 둘, 셋) and Sino-Korean numbers from Chinese characters (일, 이, 삼). Use native numbers for things, people, age and the hour; use Sino-Korean numbers for money, dates, minutes, phone numbers and floors.
How do you count 100 and above in native Korean numbers?
Native Korean numbers are used in daily life only up to 99 (아흔아홉). From 100 on, even native counters use Sino-Korean numbers: 백 명, 백 개.
Why is 10,000 called 만?
Korean groups numbers by four digits: 만 (10,000), 억 (10⁸), 조 (10¹²). So 100,000 is 십만 and 1,000,000 is 백만. It's easy if you add 만 and 억 every four digits from the right.
How do you say how old you are?
Since June 2023, laws and official documents use 만 나이 (international age, counted from your birthday). In speech, use a native number + 살, like 스물다섯 살. On forms, write it like 25세.
How do you read prices in a shop?
12,500 won is read 만 이천오백 원. You say just 만, not 일만. 5,000 won is 오천 원, and 50,000 won is 오만 원.
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