Korean Counters: Essential Grammar for Beginners

In this post we’re going to learn about Korean counters, also called Korean classifiers. Korean counters are a key grammar point for beginners, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with them. First, we’ll define what counters are and how they’re used. Then we’ll look at a list of some common Korean counters that you should know as a beginner. Next, we’ll look at the structure and cover a few important grammar points related to using Korean counters.

Korean Counters: What They Are and How They Work

In Korean, you don’t normally count nouns directly. Instead, you count units of things using special words called counters (also called classifiers). English sometimes uses counters, so they won’t be entirely unfamiliar to you if English is your native language.

• two sheets of paper
• three cups of coffee
• one piece of advice
• four head of cattle

But in Korean, this system is mandatory for almost all counting. So, for example, to say two books, you can’t just combine the number two with the noun books. Instead, you must say:

• 책 두 권 chaek du gwon (two books)
  literally: book-two-COUNTER
• 개 두 마리 gae du mari (two dogs)
  literally: dog-two-COUNTER

The Most Common Korean Counters

In this section we’ll cover the most common and useful Korean classifiers for beginners and intermediate students. As you probably noticed with the examples 책두권 chaek du gwon (two books) and 개두마리 gae du mari (two dogs) above, there are different Korean counters for different types of nouns. For example, 권 gwon is used to count books and other bound volumes, and 마리 mari is used to count animals.

개 gae: General / Miscellaneous Objects

개 gae is a good counter to start with. It’s very general, used for all sorts of objects and inanimate things. People use 개 gae when there is no more specific counter available, or when they’re not sure which one to use, especially in casual speech.

• 사과 세 개 sagwa se gae (three apples)
• 의자 네 개 uija ne gae (four chairs)
• 질문 한 개 jilmun han gae (one question)

명 myeong: People

If you’re counting people, 명 myeong is the neutral and common Korean classifier to use.

• 학생 두 명 haksaeng du myeong (two students)
• 손님 다섯 명 sonnim daseot myeong (five guests)
• 여자 세 명 yeoja se myeong (three women)

분 bun: People (Respectful)

If you’re counting people when speaking respectfully, for example about customers, guests, elders, or in formal situations, use 분 bun.

• 손님 두 분 sonnim du bun (two guests — polite)
• 선생님 한 분 seonsaengnim han bun (one teacher — polite)
• 부모님 세 분 bumonim se bun (three parents — polite)

마리 mari: Animals

마리 mari is used to count animals, fish, and insects.

• 고양이 한 마리 goyangi han mari (one cat)
• 개 두 마리 gae du mari (two dogs)
• 말 세 마리 mal se mari (three horses)

권 gwon: Books and Bound Volumes

To count books and other bound volumes, use 권 gwon.

• 책 한 권 chaek han gwon (one book)
• 소설 두 권 soseol du gwon (two novels)
• 잡지 세 권 japji se gwon (three magazines)

대 dae: Machines and vehicles

To count machines, vehicles, or appliances, use 대 dae.

• 차 한 대 cha han dae (one car)
• 컴퓨터 두 대 keompyuteo du dae (two computers)
• 비행기 세 대 bihaenggi se dae (three airplanes)

장 jang: Flat objects

Use 장 jang to count thin, flat objects, for example pieces of paper, photos, and so on.

• 종이 한 장 jongi han jang (one sheet of paper)
• 사진 두 장 sajin du jang (two photos)
• 티켓 세 장 tiket se jang (three tickets)

잔 jan: Cups and Glasses

A handy Korean counter to remember if you want to order coffee is 잔 jan, used for cups and glasses.

• 물 한 잔 mul han jan (one glass of water)
• 커피 두 잔 keopi du jan (two cups of coffee)
• 차 세 잔 cha se jan (three cups of tea)

병 byeong: Bottles

When you’re talking about bottles instead of cups, use 병 Byeong.

• 물 한 병 mul han byeong (one bottle of water)
• 와인 두 병 wain du byeong (two bottles of wine)
• 맥주 세 병 maekju se byeong (three bottles of beer)

Grammar Notes for Korean Counters

Now that you’ve learned several essential Korean counters, let’s take a moment to talk about a few closely related grammar points.

Core Structure: Counting

The most common structure you’ll use when counting things is:

noun + number + counter

This is the structure that you saw repeated again and again in the sections above with examples of specific counters.

• 사과 두 개 sagwa du gae (two apples)
• 학생 세 명 haksaeng se myeong (three students)
• 책 네 권 chaek ne gwon (four books)

Counter Phrases in Sentences

When you use counters in sentences with grammatical particles, the particle always marks the noun, not the counter. However, the [number–counter] phrase can appear either before or after the particle, depending on focus and style. There are two common and natural patterns:

Pattern 1: noun + number + counter + particle

This treats the noun and counter as a tight noun phrase and is very common in everyday speech.

• 저는 책 두 권이 있어요.
  jeo-neun chaek du gwon-i isseoyo.
  I have two books.
• 저는 책 두 권을 읽어요.
  jeo-neun chaek du gwon-eul ilgeoyo.
  I’m reading two books.
• 그 책 두 권은 재미있어요.
  geu chaek du gwon-eun jaemi isseoyo.
  Those two books are interesting.

Pattern 2: noun + particle + number + counter

This separates the noun’s grammatical role from the quantity information. Speakers often use this pattern when the number is new, emphasized, or explanatory, for example in response to a question about quantity.

• 저는 책이 두 권 있어요.
  jeo-neun chaek-i du gwon isseoyo.
  I have two books. (in response to: how many books do you have?)
• 책을 두 권 읽고 있어요.
  chaek-eul du gwon ilggo isseoyo.
  I’m reading two books. (in response to: how many books are you reading?)
• 그 책은 두 권이에요.
  geu chaek-eun du gwonieyo.
  Those books are two volumes. (in response to: is that book one or two volumes?)

Asking How Many?

To ask how many, Korean uses 몇 myeot. along with the appropriate counter. The structure is:

noun + 몇 myeot + counter

• 사과 몇 개 있어요?
  sagwa myeot gae isseoyo?
  How many apples are there?
• 학생 몇 명 왔어요?
  haksaeng myeot myeong wasseoyo?
  How many students came?
• 책 몇 권 읽었어요?
  chaek myeot gwon ilgeosseoyo?
  How many books did you read?

Polite Requests with …주세요 …juseyo

The phrase  …주세요 …juseyo is a very handy expression to know when you want to ask for something, for instance in a store or restaurant. You’ll often use it after a counter phrase.

• 커피 한 잔 주세요.
  keopi han jan juseyo.
  A cup of coffee, please.
• 생수 두 병 주세요.
  mul du byeong juseyo.
  Two bottles of water, please.
• 기차표 네 장 주세요.
  gichapyo ne jang juseyo.
  Four train tickets, please.

Counters with Have/Exist Sentences

Counters appear very naturally with 있다 idta (to exist / have) and 없다 eopda (to not exist / not have). Remember that you may hear two different patterns of placement of the counter, depending on the broader conversational context.

• 고양이 두 마리 있어요.
  goyang-i du mari isseoyo.
  There are two cats.
• 방이 세 개 없어요.
  bang-i se gae eopseoyo.
  There aren’t three rooms.
• 우리 가족은 차가 세 대 있어요
  uri gajogeun cha-ga se dae isseoyo
  Our family has three cars.

Counters and Native Korean Numbers

Remember that Korean uses two sets of numbers, the native numbers and the so-called Sino-Korean numbers borrowed from Chinese. (You can get a quick review of these two sets of numbers in this post.)

Most counters are used with Native Korean numbers, especially when talking about quantities up to about 50 in most common practice. The numbers one through four are slightly modified when used with a counter.

• 하나 hana (one) > 한 han
• 둘 dul (two) > 두 du
• 셋 set (three) > 세 se
• 넷 net (four) > 네 ne
• 다섯 daseot (five)
• 여섯 yeoseot (six)
• 일곱 ilgop (seven)
• 여덟 yeodeol (eight)
• 아홉 ahop (nine)
• 열 yeol (ten)

So, for example, you would use the shortened forms of the numbers one through four in:

• 한 개 han gae (one item)
• 두 명 du myeong (two people)
• 세 마리 se mari (three animals)
• 네 권 ne gwon (four books)

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