Korean Number to Words

Spell out numbers in Sino-Korean (일이삼) or native Korean (하나둘셋)

Free Korean number speller — convert integers into the Sino-Korean numeral system (일이삼사) or the native pure-Korean system (하나둘셋넷), choosing the form each context demands, all in your browser.

What is the difference between the two systems?

Korean has two parallel number systems. Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼) is borrowed from Chinese and used for dates, money, phone numbers, and counts above about 100. Native Korean (하나, 둘, 셋) is used for counting objects, people, ages, and the hour.

Korean uses two number systems side by side, and choosing the wrong one is a classic learner mistake. This free tool spells any whole number in both: the Sino-Korean set (일, 이, 삼) for dates, money, and large counts, and the native Korean set (하나, 둘, 셋) for counting objects, ages, and hours.

How it works

Sino-Korean numbers are positional, but grouped by ten thousand (만) rather than thousand. The tool reads the number in four-digit groups and attaches the large-place names 만, 억, 조, and 경 to each group. Within a group it uses 천 (1000), 백 (100), 십 (10) and the digit words 일–구, omitting an explicit 일 before 십/백/천 where Korean does.

Native Korean is built from the ones words (하나–아홉) and the tens words (열, 스물, 서른 … 아흔). The tool composes a value below 100 by joining the tens word and the ones word, for example 47 → 마흔일곱.

Tips and notes

Use Sino-Korean for the year, month, day, minutes, prices, phone numbers, and anything large; use native Korean for the hour, age, and counting discrete things with a counter such as 개, 명, or 마리. Remember the contracted counter forms: 한, 두, 세, 네, and 스무 replace 하나, 둘, 셋, 넷, and 스물 immediately before a measure word. Above 99, switch to Sino-Korean. All calculation happens locally in your browser.