Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Exploring Two Number Systems
• Part 2 of 3: Mastering Pronunciation
• Part 3 of 3: Learning Other Korean Words
• Tips

Korean is a very beautiful but rather difficult language. Depending on what you want to count, counting to ten can be quite an easy task. The fact is that Koreans use two different number systems. The words are fairly easy to pronounce, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to count to ten in Korean (including taekwondo style).

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Exploring Two Number Systems

1. 1 Practice Korean numeral. In Korean, you will find two completely different sets of words for numbers: one set is based on Korean and the other has Chinese roots (this system is sometimes called Sino-Korean).If you just want to count from one to ten (not for counting money or similar things), then it is better to use the Korean system (this also applies to the style of taekwondo).
   • Korean numbers are written in letters called Hangul (Korean alphabet), and they are not written in Latin. For this reason, the Latin notation of words in different cities differs from each other and is based on phonetics.
   • 1 하나 ("ha-na")
   • 2 둘 ("tulle")
   • 3 셋 (pronounced "set" ("t" not pronounced. However, try to close the sound completely somewhere between "se" and "set")
   • 4 넷 ("net")
   • 5 다섯 ("tasot")
   • 6 여섯 ("yosot")
   • 7 일곱 ("ilgop")
   • 8 여덟 ("yodol")
   • 9 아홉 (ahop ")
   • 10 열 ("yule")
   • Remember, Koreans use both systems depending on the situation. For example, the number 10 can be said in two different words depending on what is being counted.
   • Most items are counted according to the Korean system, with the exception of money counting. Books, people, trees, and any number of objects are also considered in Korean. The Korean system is used to count items from 1 to 60 and age.
2. 2 Master the Chinese account. The Chinese system is used for dates, phone numbers, money, addresses, and numbers greater than 60.
   • 1 일 ("il")
   • 2 이 ("and")
   • 3 삼 ("myself")
   • 4 사 ("sa")
   • 5 오 ("o")
   • 6 육 ("yuk")
   • 7 칠 ("chill")
   • 8 팔 ("pal")
   • 9 구 ("ku")
   • 10 십 ("pinch")
   • Sometimes the Chinese numeral system is used even for small numbers: for addresses, phone numbers, days, months, years, minutes, length, area, weight, volume and decimal fraction. But usually this system is only used for numbers above 60.
   • Although the Korean system is used for the usual 1 to 10 counting, Taekwondo style is used when it comes to rank, the counting style changes to Chinese. Thus, using the Chinese system for the number 1 (il), the first degree black belt would be called il dan.
3. 3 Practice using the number "zero". There are two ways to pronounce the number "zero", both in the Chinese system.
   • Use 영 (read yon) when talking about points that can be given or taken away, such as from a game or quiz, in temperature, and when using numbers in math.
   • Use 공 (read "con") when referring to a phone number.

Part 2 of 3: Mastering Pronunciation

1. 1 Pronounce the words correctly. In order to pronounce a word correctly, it is very important to emphasize the correct syllable. On some sites, you can find recordings where native speakers pronounce every word. You can also record your pronunciation and compare it.
   • Emphasize the correct syllable. For example, when pronouncing the words "ha-na", "ta-sot" and "yo-sot", the stress should be on the second syllable.
   • But when pronouncing "il-gop", "yo-dol" and "a-hop", the stress should be on the first syllable.
   • Don't get confused when you see different pronunciation of numbers on different sites. People can spell Korean characters differently when they focus on pronunciation.
2. 2 Master the taekwondo counting style. In the taekwondo style, unstressed syllables are pronounced very quietly (na in ha-na and ta in ta-sot).
   • Round the l in chill and pal. It should sound more like "l" in the word "floor" than "ll" in the word "crystal".
   • The sound "u" in the word "sip" should be more like "sip". Pronunciation of the sound "sh" can be fraught with consequences, as it is a reference to sexual intercourse!
3. 3 Understand when the letters get quiet and when they sound like everyone else. In Korean, there are many cases where letters are not pronounced at all. You won't sound right if you don't understand what these are.
   • The final letter "t" practically disappears in words like "set" and "net".
   • In Korean, the letter “d” is pronounced and pronounced “t” when it comes before or after a consonant, and “l” is pronounced “p” when it is the initial consonant. There are many other rules and you should learn about them all.
   • English speakers often end the word with sound. For example, they say "p" in "trip" while breathing out a little at the end. Native Korean speakers do not end words this way. When they finish words, their mouth remains in the same position as when pronouncing the last consonant.

Part 3 of 3: Learning Other Korean Words

1. 1 Use Korean words for taekwondo strikes and commands. Many people want to learn how to count in Korean because they have to count during stretching and taekwondo exercises. If this is your case, then you should also look into other terms and taekwondo.
   • The front kick is called Al Chagi in Korean. A simple kick is called Cahi (cha-gi). The roundhouse kick is called Dollyo Chagi.
   • Other important taekwondo commands also include the following: attention or Charyut (chari-yut), return or Baro (para-ro) and shout or Kihap (ki-hap).
   • Other commonly used words in taekwondo include “thank you” (kam-sa-ham-ni-da), “hello” (an-yeong-ha-se-yo) and “goodbye” (an-nyong-hee ka -se-yo).
2. 2 Count after ten in Korean. You may not want to stop at 10. Once you memorize a few rules, you can easily count past ten.
   • The word yol in Korean means ten. Therefore, if you want to say the number 11, you need to say "yol" and the word for the number 1, "khana". The same applies to the numbers 11 through 19.
   • The number "twenty," 스물, is pronounced si-mul.
   • To count from 21 to 29, start with the Korean word for the number 20. Thus, the number 21 would be si-mul plus the word for the number 1. To pronounce 21, you must say si-mul ha-na.
   • Use the same approach to count the larger numbers: thirty (서른, so-ryn), forty (마흔, ma-heung), fifty (쉰, swine), sixty (예순, ye-sun), seventy (일흔, and- ryn), eighty (여든, yo-dyn), ninety (아흔, a-hyun) and one hundred (백, pek).
3. 3 Learn how Korean is different from other languages. To an outsider, Korean may sound like Chinese or Japanese, but in reality it is very different and, luckily for you, it is much easier.
   • The Korean alphabet - Hangul - consists of only 24 letters and a few simple variations. The same cannot be said for other Asian languages, which may require the study of thousands of spellings.
   • In Korean, each character represents one syllable, and each syllable begins with a consonant.
   • In some ways, learning English is much more difficult because, depending on the context, words like “read” can be pronounced differently. In Korean, this is completely different!

Tips

• Ask a native speaker to teach you, it’s impossible to pronounce words correctly that you haven’t heard before.
• Correct pronunciation is extremely important, especially when it comes to consonants.
• Download exercise sound files.
• You may need to download a program that will allow your browser to read Hangul, the Korean alphabet.