How to remember Native Korean Numbers

Anyone can look up a list of Native Korean numbers and get something like this:

1: 하나
2: 둘
3: 셋
4: 넷
5: 다섯
6: 여섯
7: 일곱
8: 여덟
9: 아홉
10: 열

But how are students supposed to remember them?

((*Can't read Korean? I learned from this YouTube Video by Miss Vicky.))

✔ Study Tip

Some people are great at memorizing, and I am not one of those people. I'm more of a "that foreign word reminds me of this English word" type of person. Here are some sentences that helped me remember the numbers in Korean.

*Don't bother memorizing these sentences if you already know this kind of stuff doesn't help you. I'm just sharing what worked for me.

1: 하나 (as if it's a person's name) is the only ONE here.

2: TWO people had a 둘 (duel).

3: I 셋 (set) THREE plates on the table.

4: A fishing 넷 (net) has FOUR corners.

5: 다섯 (The salt) has a FIVE star rating.

6: 여섯 (You/Ya sought) out SIX heroes.

7: For the life of me I couldn't think of one for 일곱 and instead noticed that it's the only number with"ㄱ" in the name which looks like a 7.

8: EIGHT people can 여덟 (yodel) together.

9: 아홉 (I hope) NINE o'clock isn't too late.

10: She would 열 (yell) at TEN pesky pigeons.

📓 Let's see if it works!

Answer which number the clue is asking for. Highlight over the blocks to see the correct answer. Or the answer key at the bottom of the post.

(a.) 8 people can "yodel" together. 여덟

(b.) A fishing ______ has 4 corners. 넷
(c.) "The salt" a 5 star rating. 다섯

(d.) ______ is the only 1 here. 하나

(e.) 2 people had a _____. 둘

(f.) She would "yell" 10 times. 열

(g.) ______ is only number with "ㄱ" which looks like a 7. 일곱

(h.) I ___ 3 plates on the table. 셋

(i.) "Ya sought" out 6 heroes. 여섯

(j.) "I hope" 9 o'clock isn't too late. 아홉

Count from 1 to 10 filling in the missing numbers. If you can't remember, try to think of the sentence that has a clue.

하나
둘

셋

넷
다섯

여섯

일곱

여덟

아홉

열

Answer the English name of each of the following numbers:

여덟: 8

하나: 1

둘: 2

열: 10

넷 : 4

여섯: 6

일곱: 7

다섯: 5

아홉: 9

셋: 3

Without any help, try counting down from 10 to 1 in Korean numbers as if it's the count down to launch a rocket. After you get to 1, make rocket launching sound effects and start cheering... cause why not? You did just remember numbers 1 to 10 in Korean!

Here are other posts that use Korean numbers:

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Disclaimer: Betsy is not fluent in Korean yet, so some of this stuff could be wrong.

Answers:

(a.) 8 people can "yodel" together. (answer: 여덟)

(b.) A fishing ______ has 4 corners. (넷)
(c.) "The salt" a 5 star rating. (다섯)

(d.) ______ is the only 1 here. (하나)

(e.) 2 people had a _____. (둘)

(f.) She would "yell" 10 times. (열)

(g.) ______ is only number with "ㄱ" which looks like a 7. (일곱)

(h.) I ___ 3 plates on the table. (셋)

(i.) "Ya sought" out 6 heroes. (여섯)
(j.) "I hope" 9 o'clock isn't too late. (아홉)