📘 Grammar 5: Korean Counters – 개, 명, 마리, 권?

📘 Korean Counters – 개, 명, 마리, 권?

Did you know that in Korean, you can’t just say “two books” or “three people” directly? You need to use counters – special words that go between numbers and nouns!

Korean has many unique counters for people, animals, things, books, bottles, and more. In this post, you’ll learn the most common Korean counters, when to use them, and how to say them naturally with numbers.

📚 What Are Korean Counters?

Counters are used after numbers to count specific types of things. They work like this:

Number + Counter + Noun

💡 Unlike English, where you might say "three books," in Korean you say:
책 세 권 (chaek se gwon) – book three volumes

📊 Most Common Korean Counters

Counter	Used For	Example	Romanization
개	General things, items	사과 두 개	sa-gwa du gae
명	People (formal)	학생 세 명	hak-saeng se myeong
사람	People (casual)	친구 두 사람	chin-gu du sa-ram
마리	Animals	강아지 세 마리	gang-a-ji se ma-ri
권	Books, notebooks	책 네 권	chaek ne gwon
병	Bottles (water, soda)	물 세 병	mul se byeong
잔	Cups, glasses	커피 한 잔	keo-pi han jan

🧠 How to Say Numbers with Counters

Use **Native Korean numbers** with most counters.

• 하나 → 한 (han)
• 둘 → 두 (du)
• 셋 → 세 (se)
• 넷 → 네 (ne)
• 스물 → 스무 (seu-mu)

These changes happen before counters only.

📝 Example Sentences

• 사과 세 개 있어요 – I have three apples
  sa-gwa se gae i-sseo-yo
• 책 두 권 샀어요 – I bought two books
  chaek du gwon sat-sseo-yo
• 고양이 한 마리 있어요 – There is one cat
  go-yang-i han ma-ri i-sseo-yo
• 학생 네 명 왔어요 – Four students came
  hak-saeng ne myeong wat-sseo-yo
• 커피 한 잔 주세요 – Please give me one cup of coffee
  keo-pi han jan ju-se-yo

🔁 Special Notes

Some counters like **명** (people) are more formal, while **사람** is casual.
**권** is only used for bound items like books or magazines.
**마리** is for animals only – don’t use it for people!

🧪 Mini Quiz – Choose the Right Counter

1. Which counter do you use for books?
   a) 개
   b) 권
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ b) 권

2. Translate: “two friends” (casual)
   a) 친구 두 사람
   b) 친구 두 마리
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ a) 친구 두 사람

3. How do you say “five bottles of water”?
   a) 물 다섯 병
   b) 물 다섯 권
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ a) 물 다섯 병

✅ Conclusion

Now you know how to count things correctly in Korean using the right counters!

• 개 – for general things
• 명 / 사람 – for people
• 마리 – for animals
• 권 – for books
• 병 / 잔 – for drinks

Practice by counting real things around you – books, people, animals, and drinks – in Korean!

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