Korean does not let you count a noun directly. 한 사과 is wrong the way one paper is wrong in English; you need a unit — a sheet of paper, 한 개 of apple. English does this for a few uncountable nouns, Korean does it for everything.
The pattern is fixed:
Noun + number + counter — 사과 한 개, 커피 두 잔, 사람 세 명
Note the order. The noun comes first, and the number and counter follow it. 사과 한 개, not 한 개 사과.
The counters worth knowing
| Counter | For | Counter | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 개 | pieces, items — the general one | 조각 | slices |
| 명 / 분 | people (분 is honorific) | 그릇 | bowls |
| 살 | years of age | 상자 | boxes |
| 장 | sheets of paper | 켤레 | pairs (shoes, socks) |
| 병 | bottles | 봉지 | bags, pouches |
| 잔 | glasses, cups | 번 | times, turns |
| 권 | books | 마리 | animals |
개 is the fallback. If you cannot remember the right counter, 개 will be understood for most objects — but not for people, where using 개 instead of 명 is a real mistake rather than a clumsy one.
분 is the honorific counter for people. 세 명 for three colleagues, 세 분 for three visitors from the client.
The five numbers that change shape
This is the part that gets missed. Five native numbers take a shortened form immediately before a counter:
| Number | Standalone | Before a counter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 하나 | 한 개 |
| 2 | 둘 | 두 개 |
| 3 | 셋 | 세 개 |
| 4 | 넷 | 네 개 |
| 20 | 스물 | 스무 개 |
Everything else is unchanged: 다섯 개, 여섯 개, 열 개.
스무 is the tens word, so it only applies at exactly twenty. Twenty-one is 스물한 개 — 스물 comes back in full, and it is the ones digit that shortens. The same holds at 31, 41 and so on: 서른한 개, 마흔두 개.
Counting through with 개, where the shape changes are visible:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 한 개 | 두 개 | 세 개 | 네 개 | 다섯 개 | 열 개 |
| 11 | 12 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 열한 개 | 열두 개 | 스무 개 | 스물한 개 | 스물두 개 | 서른 개 |
Worked pairs
| Item | Counter | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 사과 — apple | 개 | 사과 한 개 |
| 사람 — person | 명 | 사람 한 명 |
| 종이 — paper | 장 | 종이 한 장 |
| 책 — book | 권 | 책 한 권 |
| 맥주 — beer | 병 | 맥주 한 병 |
| 커피 — coffee | 잔 | 커피 한 잔 |
| 고양이 — cat | 마리 | 고양이 한 마리 |
| 케이크 — cake | 조각 | 케이크 한 조각 |
몇 — how many?
몇 is the question word that stands where the number would go. It takes the counter with it.
몇 개 있어요? — How many are there? 다섯 개 있어요. — There are five.
| Question | Answer shape |
|---|---|
| 몇 명/분 있어요? | ___ 명/분 있어요. |
| 몇 장 있어요? | ___ 장 있어요. |
| 몇 권 있어요? | ___ 권 있어요. |
| 몇 병 있어요? | ___ 병 있어요. |
| 몇 마리 있어요? | ___ 마리 있어요. |
몇 comes back in 126 as 몇 시 — “what hour” — which is the same word doing the same job.
Grammar: N하고 N — listing things
하고 attaches to a noun to join it to another of the same kind. It is the everyday “and” for nouns.
맥주하고 물(을) 주세요. — Beer and water, please.
There are three ways to say this and they differ only in register:
| Form | Register |
|---|---|
| N하고 N | Neutral, spoken — the default |
| N**(이)랑** N | Casual |
| N와/과 N | Written and formal |
와 follows a vowel, 과 follows a consonant — the same shape-matching as 은/는 and 이/가.
하고 picks up a second meaning, “with”, in 128.
Dialogue
점원: 뭐 드릴까요? May I help you? (드리다 — the honorific “give” from 117)
투이: 사과하고 오렌지 있어요? Do you have apples and oranges?
점원: 네, 모두 있습니다. 몇 개 드릴까요? Yes, we have both. How many would you like?
투이: 사과 세 개하고 오렌지 두 개 주세요. Three apples and two oranges, please.
Notice that 하고 attaches after the whole counted phrase — 사과 세 개하고, not 사과하고 세 개.
Work culture: arranging a meeting
The deck’s script for setting up a meeting by call or message. It is worth reading as a shape rather than memorising: identify yourself fully, state what you want, ask when suits them — and only then propose a time.
Requesting
안녕하세요, ___ 책임님! Hello, ___ 책임님!
현대자동차그룹 싱가포르 글로벌 혁신센터 ___팀, ___입니다. I’m ___ from the ___ team at Hyundai Motor Group Singapore Global Innovation Center.
이번 주에 물류팀 담당자들과 회의를 하고 싶습니다. 언제 괜찮습니까? I’d like to meet the logistics team’s representatives this week. When would suit you?
The full company name is not padding. Introducing yourself with organisation before team before name is the standard order, and it is how the person on the other end places you.
Agreeing a time
저희 팀은 금요일 오전에 괜찮습니다. Friday morning works for our team.
그럼, 금요일 오전 10시 어떻습니까? In that case, how about 10am on Friday?
좋습니다. / 괜찮습니다. That works. / That’s fine.
저희 rather than 우리 for “our” — the humble form, used when speaking about your own side to someone outside it.
Closing
그럼, 오후에 이메일로 화상 회의 링크를 보내 드리겠습니다. I’ll send the video call link by email this afternoon.
네, 감사합니다. 금요일 오전 10시에 뵙겠습니다. Thank you. See you at 10am on Friday.
뵙겠습니다 is the humble “I will see you”, from 뵙다 — the same verb as in 처음 뵙겠습니다. Closing by restating the agreed time is standard, and it doubles as the confirmation.