Sino-Korean numbers
The Sino-Korean system is the one that builds every number Korean can say, from zero to the trillions. Learn nine digits and four units and you can read any price, date or phone number.
The digits
| Figure | Sino-Korean | Hanja |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 영 yeong (and 공 gong when reading digits aloud) | 零 |
| 1 | 일 il | 一 |
| 2 | 이 i | 二 |
| 3 | 삼 sam | 三 |
| 4 | 사 sa | 四 |
| 5 | 오 o | 五 |
| 6 | 육 yuk | 六 |
| 7 | 칠 chil | 七 |
| 8 | 팔 pal | 八 |
| 9 | 구 gu | 九 |
The units
| Figure | Unit | Hanja | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 십 sip | 十 | ten |
| 100 | 백 baek | 百 | hundred |
| 1,000 | 천 cheon | 千 | thousand |
| 10,000 | 만 man | 萬 | ten thousand |
Four rules build every number
1. Multiply, then add
A digit in front of a unit multiplies it; a digit after it adds. 삼십 samsip is three tens. 삼십오 samsibo is three tens and five. 칠백삼십오 chilbaeksamsibo is seven hundreds, three tens and five. The order is largest first, as in English.
2. No 일 in front of 십, 백, 천
Where English says “one hundred”, Korean says just 백 baek. The same for 십 sip and 천 cheon, and inside larger numbers: 1,110 is 천백십 cheonbaeksip, not 일천일백일십. A bare 10,000 is usually 만 man as well (일만 is also correct). 일 is written only where it is a real digit: 십일 sibil, 백일 baegil.
3. Zeros are silent
A zero digit is simply left out, with no word in its place: 105 is 백오 baego, 4,002 is 사천이 sacheoni. Only the number zero itself has a word, 영 yeong.
4. Group by ten thousand
English groups digits in threes (thousand, million). Korean groups them in fours, by 만 man. So 100,000 is 십만 simman, ten 만, and 1,000,000 is 백만 baengman, a hundred 만. Spelling rules space a written number by these groups: 23,456 is 이만 삼천사백오십육 iman samcheonsabaegosimnyuk. The big numbers page takes this further, to 억 and 조.
Ten numbers to test the rules on
| Figure | Sino-Korean |
|---|---|
| 10 | 십sip |
| 11 | 십일sibil |
| 20 | 이십isip |
| 99 | 구십구gusipgu |
| 100 | 백baek |
| 101 | 백일baegil |
| 110 | 백십baeksip |
| 1,000 | 천cheon |
| 1,006 | 천육cheonnyuk |
| 10,000 | 만man |
Where Sino-Korean is used
- Dates: 이천이십육년 삼월 일일, 1 March 2026. Months are just the number plus 월; see time and dates.
- Money: 만 오천 원, 15,000 won. See money.
- Minutes and seconds: 사십오 분, 45 minutes. The hour itself is native.
- Phone numbers, read digit by digit with 공 for zero. See phone numbers.
- Floors, rooms, pages, bus routes: 오 층, fifth floor.
- Months as a length of time with 개월: 삼 개월, three months. (Native Korean has its own way: 석 달.)
Questions teachers and learners ask
What does Sino-Korean mean?
Sino-Korean words are Korean words that came from Chinese and can be written with Chinese characters (hanja). The Sino-Korean numbers are the Korean readings of the characters 一, 二, 三 and so on. They are fully Korean today and are written in Hangul; the hanja appear only in some formal or traditional settings.
When do I use Sino-Korean numbers?
For anything measured, dated, priced or labelled: years, months and days of the month, minutes and seconds, money, phone numbers, floors, room and page numbers, and every number above 99. It is also the system for maths, where 2 + 3 is read 이 더하기 삼.
Why is 6 sometimes 유 and 10 sometimes 시?
Only in two month names. June is 유월, not 육월, and October is 시월, not 십월: the final consonant drops in speech and the spelling follows it. 한글 맞춤법 제52항 lists both as forms written as they are pronounced. Everywhere else 6 stays 육 and 10 stays 십: 육 개월 (six months), 십 일 (the 10th).
Do you say 일만 or 만 for 10,000?
Usually 만, the way 10, 100 and 1,000 are 십, 백 and 천. 일만 is also correct and appears in formal amounts, for example on cheques. This site prints 만 and its worksheet keys accept 일만.
An independent learning site, not affiliated with the National Institute of Korean Language or any Korean government body. Rules and forms are quoted from the published sources named on each page; if your textbook or teacher prefers another accepted form, theirs is the one to follow in class.