[Korean Number Pronunciation: A Comprehensive Guide]248

Korean, an East Asian language spoken by over 75 million people worldwide, boasts a unique and intriguing numeral system. Understanding Korean number pronunciation is crucial for effective communication, mathematical operations, and comprehension of numerical information in various contexts.

Numerals from 0 to 10

The Korean number system employs a native counting system for numbers below 10:| Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| 0 | yeol |
| 1 | hana |
| 2 | dul |
| 3 | set |
| 4 | net |
| 5 | dasot |
| 6 | yeosot |
| 7 | ilgop |
| 8 | yeodeol |
| 9 | ahop |
| 10 | yeol |

Numbers 11 to 99

For numbers greater than 10, Korean uses Sino-Korean numbers, borrowed from Chinese:| Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| 11 | sipil |
| 12 | sibi |
| 13 | sibsam |
| 14 | sibsa |
| 15 | supo |
| 16 | sipyuk |
| 17 | sibchil |
| 18 | sipal |
| 19 | sipgu |
| 20 | isip |
| 21 | isiphil |
| 22 | isib-i |
| ... | ... |
| 98 | gugubaek |
| 99 | gugu |

Hundreds, Thousands, and Millions

To express larger numbers, Korean combines numeral classifiers with native or Sino-Korean numbers:| Korean | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| Hundred | baek |
| Thousand | cheon |
| Ten thousand | man |
| Hundred million | eok |
| Billion | seog |

For example:
100: baek
500: o baek
1,000: cheon
20,000: i man
1,000,000: il eok
5,000,000: o eok
1,000,000,000: il seog

Additional Notes* After the number 4, native Korean numbers are only used for "counting" measures, such as people, animals, or objects.
* When expressing a sequence of numbers, native Korean numbers are typically used even for digits greater than 10. For example, 123 is pronounced "hana baek i sip sam."
* In formal contexts, the Sino-Korean term "yong" is sometimes used to denote "zero" in place of "yeol."
* Korean numbers are straightforward to pronounce. Master the above pronunciation rules, and you'll be able to navigate the numerical world of Korean with ease.

2025-01-15

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