Lesson 2: Numbers, Age, and Family

Lesson 2: Numbers, Age, and Family

You can introduce yourself. Now make that introduction more informative: say an age, describe a family, and ask for a quantity at a fruit stand. The key is to learn a number together with the word that follows it.

Use an invented family if you prefer. The aim is to communicate quantities and relationships, not to disclose personal details. Keep the polite introductions from Lesson 1 in mind: 저는 지수입니다 — I am Jisu.

Two number systems, different useful combinations

Korean commonly uses native Korean numbers such as 하나, 둘, 셋, and Sino-Korean numbers such as 일, 이, 삼. They express the same quantities through different words. This is separate from the contrast between cardinal “three” and ordinal “third.”

In this lesson, practice native numbers with 살 for age, 명 for people, 개 for general objects, and 마리 for animals. Money amounts with 원, the won, use Sino-Korean numbers. Later, hours and minutes will show another useful pairing: native numbers for ordinary clock hours, Sino-Korean numbers for minutes.

Read the native column aloud once, then cover it and count four objects. Recall 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷 before adding any counters.

Pronunciation focus: 여덟 has the final written consonant cluster ㄼ, not ㄷㄹ. When said by itself it is pronounced [여덜]: the final sound is ㄹ. Before a vowel particle, more of the spelling may be heard, as in 여덟이 [여덜비]. Do not add an English-style stress rule such as “always stress the second syllable.” NIKL's 여덟 entry supplies these pronunciations and audio.

Numbers change before the counters practiced here

Compare counting aloud with counting a specified kind of thing:

Not every number changes: 다섯 개, 여섯 명, and 일곱 살 keep their number forms. The word immediately after the number matters. Merely placing the number after a noun does not force its standalone form:

사과 세 개 — three apples, with the counter 개
사과 셋 — three apples, with the counter omitted

동생이 두 명 있어요. — I have two younger siblings.
동생이 둘 있어요. — I have two younger siblings.

All four are useful patterns. 한 개, 두 개, 세 개 are also valid counted phrases when the object is understood. For a counting-aloud exercise without counters, use 하나, 둘, 셋 instead.

Try it: Fill the quantity in “사과 … 개” for 1, 3, and 5 apples. Answers: 한, 세, 다섯. Explain why the third answer did not need shortening.

Build larger numbers, then add age

For 11–19, combine 열 with the units: 열하나 is 11, 열둘 is 12, and 열아홉 is 19. Before 살, the last unit takes its counter form when needed: 열한 살, 열두 살, 열아홉 살.

Learn 20 and 30 actively first; use the remaining tens as a reference for the family examples. 스물하나 is 21, but before 살 it becomes 스물한 살. Only exactly twenty takes 스무 살; do not change the tens part of 21 into 스무한.

Notice 여든두 살, not 여든둘 살: the final 둘 changes to 두 before 살 even in a larger number.

몇 살이에요? (myeot sarieyo?) asks “How old are you?” 스물한 살이에요 answers “I am 21.” You can include the speaker: 저는 스물한 살이에요. A more respectful age question is 연세가 어떻게 되세요?; 나이가 어떻게 되세요? is also a polite question. Choose a suitable moment rather than treating a personal question as compulsory.

You will also see Sino-Korean numbers with 세, especially in more formal age expressions: 이십일 세 also means 21 years old. Learn the pairing native number + 살 and recognize Sino-Korean number + 세. “Age never uses Sino-Korean numbers” would be a false rule. In this lesson's 살 construction, practice 스무 살 for 20.

A short note about the ending

Lesson 1 used 입니다 after a noun. Everyday polite identification often uses 이에요 after a consonant and 예요 after a vowel:

스물한 살이에요. — I am 21. 살 ends in ㄹ.
네 명이에요. — There are four of us. 명 ends in ㅇ.
제 누나예요. — This is my older sister. 누나 ends in a vowel.
간호사예요. — She/he is a nurse. 간호사 ends in a vowel.

Attach the ending to the noun, while keeping the number and counter separate: 스물한 살이에요. Arabic digits are also valid in Korean writing, as in 21살. A quiz asking for a number written in Hangul is testing its spoken Korean form, not claiming that digits are forbidden.

Name the people in a family

In conventional Korean family terminology, the older-sibling word depends on the speaker as well as the sibling:

동생 does not make that speaker-based distinction. In our examples, Minho is male and Jisu is female: Minho says 형 for his older brother, while Jisu says 오빠 for hers. If Minho says 제 누나는 간호사예요, he is saying “My older sister is a nurse.”

Sibling terms can also occur in established relationships outside the family. Their appearance in a song or conversation does not prove a biological relationship, and they are not default ways to address strangers. The exercises here specify a family context.

우리 means “we/our” and commonly appears in family expressions where English uses “my”: 우리 가족, 우리 어머니. 제 가족 and 제 어머니 are also valid ways to say “my family” and “my mother.” You do not need a theory about national character to use either expression.

Count and introduce a family

있어요 can express “there is/are” or “have,” depending on the construction. 오빠가 있어요 means “I have an older brother” in Jisu's family introduction; it does not specify an exact number. Add a number if the count matters. 없어요 expresses absence: 동생이 없어요 — I do not have a younger sibling.

가족이 몇 명이에요? asks “How many people are in your family?” A reply is 우리 가족은 네 명이에요 — “My family has four people.” 우리 가족이 네 명이에요 can also work. 은 marks a topic; 이 marks the subject. Their choice depends on what the conversation is presenting or emphasizing, not a rule that family sentences require 은.

Read Jisu's fictional introduction:

안녕하세요. 저는 지수입니다. 저는 스물한 살이에요.
우리 가족은 네 명이에요. 아버지, 어머니, 오빠, 그리고 저예요.
오빠는 스물다섯 살이에요.

“Hello. I am Jisu. I am 21. My family has four people: my father, my mother, my older brother, and me. My older brother is 25.” 그리고 means “and.” Count the people: two parents + one brother + Jisu = four. The brother is four years older in this example.

To connect two nouns, you can use 하고: 우리 어머니하고 아버지 — my mother and father. You will also encounter 와 after a vowel and 과 after a consonant: 어머니와 아버지. Both connectors work; 하고 is convenient for conversation.

첫째, 둘째, and 셋째 mean first, second, and third. They express order, not age. 우리 둘째 아들은 일곱 살이에요 means “Our second son is seven years old.” 둘째 언니 can identify a female speaker's second older sister; a male speaker uses 둘째 누나. An ordinal is useful when distinguishing several siblings, not a required ingredient of every introduction.

For pointing out people in a photograph, 이쪽은 …예요/이에요 introduces “this person here.” A sequence such as 할머니, 할아버지, 아버지, 어머니 names grandmother, grandfather, father, then mother. 선생님 means teacher; 소개할게요 means “I will introduce …” if you hear it before a family list.

Use the two number systems at a fruit stand

사과 means apple; 주세요 means “please give me” in a request. Try 사과 세 개 주세요 — “Three apples, please.” A seller handing them over may say 여기 있어요 — “Here you are.”

For prices, 백 is 100, 천 is 1,000, and 만 is 10,000. Build 육천 원, 6,000 won, with Sino-Korean 육 + 천. 여섯천 원 mixes the systems incorrectly for this price.

Seller: 한 개에 천 원이에요. — It is 1,000 won per item.
You: 사과 세 개 주세요. — Three apples, please.

Three at 1,000 won each cost 3,000 won: 삼천 원. If a separate sign offers five apples for 6,000 won total, that total is 육천 원. 한 개 counts objects; 천 원 states money. Both systems can therefore appear in the same perfectly ordinary sentence.

Which age is being counted?

International age starts at zero and increases on each birthday. South Korea's reforms effective 28 June 2023 established international age as the general civil and administrative default, while special statutory exceptions remain. International age already applied in many contexts before that date. It is inaccurate to say that every legal or social age rule changed at once. See the Ministry of Government Legislation's explanation.

For a fixed example, a person born on 5 October 2003 is 22 on 13 September 2026, and turns 23 on 5 October 2026. The traditional counting system starts at one at birth and adds one each New Year's Day; it is a different convention you may hear about, not the default to use in this exercise. The number-system choice 살 versus 세 is separate from how an age is calculated.

Age can influence forms of address alongside familiarity, role, and setting. You can remain polite without asking someone's age or assuming that a younger adult wants casual speech.

Your turn: a short, checkable introduction

Invent a speaker aged 23 with a four-person family. Write three sentences giving the age, family size, and family members. One answer is 저는 스물세 살이에요. 우리 가족은 네 명이에요. 아버지, 어머니, 동생, 그리고 저예요. Check the final number form and include the speaker in the family count.

Then change the age to 20 and the family size to five, adding one person to the list. Finally, ask for three apples. You are ready for Lesson 3 when you can explain why 스무 살, 다섯 명, and 세 개 have different number forms. Lesson 3 uses these skills to order food and drinks.