Numbers & Age
Count from 1 to 10 and ask someone's age politely.
This lesson covers the basic counting numbers 1–10 in both Korean number systems and the cultural protocol around asking and stating ages. Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼, 사, 오, 육, 칠, 팔, 구, 십) are used for abstract counting, time, dates, money. Native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, 다섯, 여섯, 일곱, 여덟, 아홉, 열) are used for counting people, objects with counters, and crucially for age.
Age in Korean follows a specific format: 스무 살 (20 years old), 서른 살 (30), 마흔 살 (40), with the native number plus 살. Note the modification rule: 둘 becomes 두 when modifying, 스물 becomes 스무. As of 2023, Korea officially uses international age, but the cultural habit of asking age early in a first meeting is still alive — knowing someone's age determines which speech level you should use with them and which honorifics apply. Be prepared to answer 몇 살이에요? (how old are you?) within the first few minutes of meeting a new Korean acquaintance.
Sino-Korean vs. Native Numbers (Intro)
Here we practice native Korean numbers 1-10 for counting. Use 시 for hours and 명/개 for counters.
몇 + Counter (How many)
Use 몇 with counters to ask how many. Example: 몇 개?, 몇 명?
How It Works
Korean has two complete number systems and uses both daily. The native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋…) are used for counting things, people and hours. The Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼…), borrowed from Chinese, are used for minutes, money, dates, phone numbers and larger quantities. This lesson focuses on the native set because that is what counters require.
The critical mechanical point is that four of the native numbers change shape before a counter. 하나 becomes 한, 둘 becomes 두, 셋 becomes 세, 넷 becomes 네. So you count 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷 in the abstract, but you say 한 명, 두 명, 세 명, 네 명 when counting people. The full forms are never used directly before a counter, and using them is one of the most immediately noticeable beginner errors.
Counters themselves are obligatory. You cannot say 'two people' as 둘 사람; you need the counter 명, giving 두 명. 개 is the general-purpose counter for objects, 명 for people, 시 for the hour. Japanese speakers will recognise this system immediately since Japanese works the same way with 人・個・時.
몇 is the question word that pairs with counters: 몇 명? ('how many people?'), 몇 개? ('how many items?'), 몇 살? ('how old?').
Where You'll Hear It
Ordering food and entering restaurants is where counters get tested first. Staff will ask 몇 분이세요? ('how many of you?') before seating you, and the expected answer is a number plus a counter: 두 명이에요 or, more politely about yourself, 두 명입니다. This exchange happens before you have even sat down.
Shopping uses 개 constantly. 이거 세 개 주세요 ('three of these, please') is a complete, natural sentence that needs nothing else, and it works at market stalls, bakeries and convenience stores alike.
Age is a more loaded topic than learners expect. 몇 살이에요? is fine among peers or towards someone younger, but asking an older person directly is impolite; the honorific 연세가 어떻게 되세요? exists for that. Koreans ask about age early not out of nosiness but because the answer determines which titles and speech level to use — the system you met in the titles lesson depends on knowing it.
Telling the hour uses native numbers with 시: 여섯 시 ('six o'clock'). Minutes switch to Sino-Korean, so a full time mixes both systems — a detail that surprises learners the first time they meet it.
Cultural & Language Note
Korean age is not just a number — it determines the speech level you use, what you call someone, and who pours the drinks. This is why 몇 살이에요? comes up so early with new acquaintances, a question that would feel intrusive in many Western contexts. Koreans are not being nosy; they are working out how to address you correctly, which they cannot do without knowing.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
셋 and 넷 change shape before a counter: 세 개 and 네 개, never 셋 개. This shortening also affects 하나 and 둘, which become 한 and 두. Learners memorise the standalone numbers and then use them unchanged in front of counters, which sounds noticeably wrong. Age uses native numbers with 살, so it is 스무 살, not 이십 살.
How to Practice This Lesson
Never practise the numbers in isolation. Learn them already attached to a counter, because that is the only form you will use in speech: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명, 네 명, 다섯 명 and the same run with 개. Reciting 하나, 둘, 셋 by itself trains a form you will rarely say.
Drill the four irregular shortenings until they are reflexive, since they cover the numbers you use most. A quick self-test: say 'four people' and 'four items' without pausing. If 네 명 and 네 개 do not come out immediately, that pair needs more work.
Use real objects. Count the items on your desk out loud with 개, then count people in a photo with 명. Physical counting attaches the counter to the act rather than to a list.
For age, learn both the casual question and the honorific one, because you will need to choose between them in your first week of real conversation.