Featured article photo: South Korea by Kim Dae Jeung
Starting from 101, you only have to learn the Sino-Korean numbering system, as the Native Korean numbering system is not used for numbers above 100. That’s a relief, isn’t it? Before you go through this lesson, make sure you know how to count from 0 to 100 in Korean first:
101 → Baek-il (백일)
As a refresher, recall that 100 in the Sino-Korean numbering system is called baek (백), and to count forward, simply add numbers behind it.
e.g. Baek (백) + il (일) = Baek- il (백일)
200 → I-baek (이백)
To express numbers starting from 200 to 900, add numbers from 2- to 9- in front of baek (백).
e.g. I (이) + baek (백) = I-baek (이백)
300 → Sam-baek (삼백)
400 → Sa-baek (사백)
500 → O-baek (오백)
600 → Yuk-baek (육백)
700 → Chil-baek (칠백)
800 → Pal-baek (팔백)
900 → Gu-baek (구백)
Counting Thousands → ... + Cheon (천) + ...
'Thousand' in Korean is Cheon (천). To count in the thousands, simply add numbers in front of and/or behind it.
For example:
- Six thousand = Yuk-cheon (육천)
- Seven thousand = Chil-cheon (칠천)
- Six thousand seven hundred = Yuk-cheon chil-baek (육천 칠백)
Counting Ten Thousands → ... + Man (만) + ...
Examples:
- Eighty thousand = Pal-man (팔만)
- Ninety thousand = Gu-man (구만)
- Eighty thousand nine hundred = Pal-man gu-baek (팔만 구백)
Counting Hundreds of Thousands → ... + Sipman (십만) + ...
Hundreds of thousands is made up of 10 (Sip 십) x 10,000 (Man 만), so together, it is called Sipman (십만). Examples:
- Two hundred thousands = I-sipman (이십만)
- Three hundred thousands = Sam-sipman (삼십만)
Counting Millions → ... + Baekman (백만) + ...
A million is Baekman (백만). Think of it as 100 (Baek 백) x 10,000 (Man 만). Examples:
- Four million = Sa-baekman (사백만)
- Five million = O-baekman (오백만)
Counting Tens of Millions → ... + Cheonman (천만) + ...
1,000 (Cheon 천) x 10,000 (Man 만) is 10,000,000 (Cheonman 천만). Examples:
- Six million = Yuk-cheonman (육천만)
- Seven million = Chil-cheonman (칠천만)
Your Turn
Try writing out these numbers in Korean and feel free to post them as comments below:
- 110
- 245
- 3,700
- 26,480
- 574,000
- 1,680,000
- 71,300,900
