Korean count word

Learn Korean - Counting from 1-10 in Korean - YouTube

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Like Chinese and Japanese, Korean uses special measure or counting words to count objects and events, which in Korean are called subullyusa (Hangeul:???? / Hanja: ????).

In English, one must say, "two sheets of paper" rather than "two papers". In Korean, the term jang (?/?) is used to count sheets, or paper-like material in general. So "ten bus tickets" would be beoseu pyo yeol jang (?? ? ? ? / ?? ? ? ?), literally, "bus ticket ten 'sheets'". In fact, the meanings of counter words are frequently extended in metaphorical or other image-based ways. For instance, in addition to counting simply sheets of paper, jang in Korean can be used to refer to any number of thin, paper-like objects. Leaves (namunnip ???) are counted using this count word. In this way, a particular count word may be used generally in a very open-ended manner and up to the construal or creativity of the speaker.

There are two systems of numerals in Korean: native Korean and Sino-Korean. Native Korean numerals are used with most counter words. yeol gwa (? ? / ? ?) would mean 'ten lessons' while sip gwa (??/??) would mean 'lesson ten.' Sino-Korean numerals are used with many (but not all, particularly si (?/?), meaning "hour") time counters.

Video Korean count word

Examples

Some counter words taking Native Korean numerals:

gae (?/?) -- 'things' in general, often used as a coverall when the specific count word is unknown, for example by children.
beol (?) -- items of clothing
bun (?) -- people (honorific)
cheok (?/?) -- boats and ships
chae (?) -- houses
dabal (??) -- bunches of flowers or plants
dae (?/?) -- vehicles (cars, airplanes) and machinery (incl. computers)
dan (?) -- bunches of Welsh onions, green onions; a column (in a newspaper)
dong (?/?) -- buildings
geuru (??) -- trees, shrubs
gwa (?/?) -- lessons (if paired with Sino-Korean numeral, lesson number)
gwon (?/?) -- books
jang (?/?) -- paper
jaru (??) -- things with long handles (writing instruments, shovels, swords, and rifles), and by extension knives and pistols
jul (?) -- literal meaning: line. things aligned in a row (gimbap, desks, chairs)
kyeolle (??) -- gloves and socks (pairs)
mari (??) -- animals
mun (?/?) -- cannons, big guns
myeong (?/?) -- people (informal)
pil (?/?) -- uncut fabric, horses, cows
pogi (??) -- Chinese cabbages
pun (?) -- pennies
sal (?) -- years
song-i (??) -- picked flowers, bunches of fruit (grapes, bananas, &c.)
su (?) -- poems
tol (?) -- grains of rice (not cooked), stones
tong (?/?) -- letters, telegrams, telephone calls, and e-mail
tong (?) -- watermelons
jeom (?) -- paintings , sliced or ripped off flesh , small amount of something (cloud, wind)

Some counter words taking Sino-Korean numerals:

nyeon (?/?) -- year (for dates; 2014?, 1998?)
wol (?/?) -- month (for dates; ??: January, ??: February, ...)
il (?/?) -- day (for dates)
gwa (?/?) -- lesson number
won (?) -- Won
hagnyeon (??/??) -- school year, grade level (2??: Sophomore, 2nd Grade)
jeom (?/?) -- grade (100?)

Some nouns can also function as counter words:

byeong (?/?) -- bottles
cheung (?/?) -- floors (of a building), layers
geureut (??) -- bowls
gok (?/?) -- songs
jan (?/?) -- cups and glasses
madi (??) -- phrases, joints, musical measures, words
sangja (??) -- boxes
saram (??) -- people (informal)
tong (?/?) -- containers, buckets

Some words are used for counting in multiples:

bari (??) -- 2,000 fish
chuk (?) -- 20 cuttlefish
jeop (?) -- 100 fruits (for example, dried persimmons), radishes, cabbages, or bulbs of garlic
ko (?) -- twenty dried pollock
pan (?/?) -- thirty eggs
son (?) -- handfuls of fish (2 large, 4-5 small), typically mackerels or yellow croaker
daseu/taseu (??/??) -- dozen (an abbreviated form of the English)
tot (?) -- one hundred sheets of laver
uri (??) -- 2,000 tiles