Latest / Learn Korean with Fexingo / Korean Counters - People and Things
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn Korean with Fexingo! I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Lucas, I've been practicing counting numbers in Korean, but today I want to learn how to count people and things properly. Lucas: Great topic! Korean has special counters for different types of nouns. Let's start with people. The counter for people is '명'. Luna: So if I want to say one person, it's '한 명'? Lucas: Exactly. '한 명' means one person. Repeat after me: 한 명. Luna: 한 명. Lucas: Good. Two people is '두 명'. Luna: 두 명. Lucas: Three people is '세 명'. Luna: 세 명. So if I'm at a restaurant and I need a table for three, I'd say '세 명이요'? Lucas: Perfect! '세 명이요' is exactly how you'd say 'for three people'. Let's practice: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명. Luna: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명. Got it! Lucas: Now for objects, the general counter is '개'. One object is '한 개'. Luna: 한 개. Lucas: Two objects is '두 개'. Luna: 두 개. Lucas: Three objects is '세 개'. Luna: 세 개. So if I want to buy three apples, I'd say '사과 세 개 주세요'? Lucas: That's exactly right! '사과 세 개 주세요' means 'Please give me three apples'. Let's say it together: 사과 세 개 주세요. Luna: 사과 세 개 주세요. Lucas: You're a natural. Now imagine you're at a market. You want two pears. How would you say that? Luna: Hmm... 배 두 개 주세요? Lucas: Nailed it! '배' is pear, so '배 두 개 주세요'. Luna: This is so useful. I can see myself using this at a cafe too, like '커피 한 개 주세요'. Lucas: Actually, for drinks, we usually use '잔' as a counter, but '한 개' would be understood. We'll cover that another time. For now, let's focus on '개'. Lucas: Let's do a quick review: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명. Luna: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명. Lucas: And for objects: 한 개, 두 개, 세 개. Luna: 한 개, 두 개, 세 개. And '사과 세 개 주세요'. Lucas: Perfect. You know, if Fexingo has been helping you make progress with Korean like Luna is making today, consider supporting the show. It keeps us ad-free and focused on teaching. You can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, every little bit helps us keep making episodes. Now, back to counting! Can we practice a scenario? Lucas: Sure. Imagine we're at a fruit stand. I want three apples. How do you ask the vendor? Luna: 사과 세 개 주세요. Lucas: And if I want two pears? Luna: 배 두 개 주세요. Lucas: And if there are five people in our group? Luna: Oh, I only learned up to three. How do you say five people? Lucas: Good question. Five people is '다섯 명'. But let's stick with one to three for now. Repeat: 다섯 명. Luna: 다섯 명. Okay, so for four people it's '네 명' and five is '다섯 명'. Lucas: Exactly. You're picking it up quickly. Let's wrap up with a final drill. Say after me: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명. Luna: 한 명, 두 명, 세 명. Lucas: 한 개, 두 개, 세 개. Luna: 한 개, 두 개, 세 개. Lucas: And the full sentence: 사과 세 개 주세요. Luna: 사과 세 개 주세요. Lucas: Wonderful. That's all for today's episode. Keep practicing these counters, and you'll be ordering like a pro in no time. See you next time on Learn Korean with Fexingo! Luna: Thanks for joining us! Practice makes progress. Bye!