Native Numbers & Counting
Count from 1 to 10 in native Korean, use the counters 개/명/살, and ask how many or how old with 몇.
The second number system: counting things
Last lesson's 일, 이, 삼 numbers are for phones, money, and dates — but they're the wrong choice when you're counting objects, people, or someone's age. For that, Korean switches to a completely different set: 고유어 숫자 (native Korean numbers) — 하나, 둘, 셋... These pair with counter words like 개 (general objects), 명 (people), and 살 (age), which always come right after the number.
The native count from 1 to 10: 하나(1) 둘(2) 셋(3) 넷(4) 다섯(5) 여섯(6) 일곱(7) 여덟(8) 아홉(9) 열(10). Compare these to 일, 이, 삼 from last lesson — completely different words. Native numbers stop being commonly used past about 99, where sino-Korean takes back over.
The trap: 하나→한, 둘→두, 셋→세, 넷→네
Here's the part that trips up every learner: the first four native numbers change shape right before a counter word. 하나 becomes 한 (한 개, 'one item'), 둘 becomes 두 (두 명, 'two people'), 셋 becomes 세 (세 살, 'three years old'), and 넷 becomes 네 (네 개, 'four items'). Numbers five and up don't change — 다섯 개, 여섯 명, and so on stay exactly as you learned them.
개 is the all-purpose counter for objects — fruit, cups, bags, almost anything that isn't a person. Note it's 한 개, not 하나 개.
명 counts people — very useful for telling a restaurant host your party size. 둘 shortens to 두 here, same trap as 하나→한.
살 counts age. 셋 shortens to 세 — this is exactly the pattern from the concept above, now with the third of the four changing numbers.
몇: asking 'how many' or 'how old'
몇 means 'how many/what number,' and it slots in right where a number would go — 몇 개예요? ('how many items?'), 몇 명이에요? ('how many people?'), 몇 살이에요? ('how old [are you]?'). Whichever counter fits the situation, just drop it in after 몇.
A very common question once introductions get friendly. Answer with a native number + 살 + 이에요, like 세 살이에요 ('I'm three years old') from the example above.
Being seated at a restaurant, then asked about a child's age
Say it out loud
Listen, then repeat aloud. Matching the rhythm matters more than perfection.