4 ms·

That's where I think the Korean numeric system really shines, for some weird reason. gloss: han(a)=1 du(l)=2 se(t)=3 ne(t)=4 daseot=5 yeoseot=6 ilgop=7 yeodeol

That's where I think the Korean numeric system really shines, for some weird reason. gloss: han(a)=1 du(l)=2 se(t)=3 ne(t)=4 daseot=5 yeoseot=6 ilgop=7 yeodeol=8 handu = one or two duse = two or three sene/seoneo = three or four duseoneo = two or three or four nedet = four or five daeyeoseot = five or six yeoseoilgop = six or seven ilgoyeodeol = seven or eight Sadly I think that's about it, it doesn't extend much more. But it's quite useful where it's available!

ahmedfromtunis 3y ago
At this point, why not just use the exact number of items discussed? This system is more complex without any improved precision.
- uranusjr 3y ago
  I’m pretty sure they started put as the exact numbers and were just shortened eventually for convenience. This kind of compound word shortening happens all the time in all languages, it’s just Korean happens to have it for numbers, not particularly related to the numeric system as suggested.
stavros 3y ago
We have "one or two" in Greek as well. It is commonly understood to mean any small number, like "a couple", but can be much larger if the thing typically comes in large numbers. If you say "I want one or two chillies", you would expect to get five or ten, not one or two.
- b112 3y ago
  A small amount of the whole?
  - stavros 3y ago
    Of what someone would reasonably request, eg peanuts at a bar.
wizofaus 3y ago
Are those terms used for continuous measurements (e.g. distances/timespans)? Could 110 seconds be "duse" minutes, or always "handu"?
- yongjik 3y ago
  Minutes are problematic for a different reason, but hours would work. I think 110 minutes can count as either "handu" hour or "duse" hour - after all they aren't supposed to be exact measures. (The reason minutes don't work is that Korean has two different sets of numerals, native and Chinese, and minutes only work with Chinese numerals.)

ahmedfromtunis 3y ago

At this point, why not just use the exact number of items discussed? This system is more complex without any improved precision.

uranusjr 3y ago
I’m pretty sure they started put as the exact numbers and were just shortened eventually for convenience. This kind of compound word shortening happens all the time in all languages, it’s just Korean happens to have it for numbers, not particularly related to the numeric system as suggested.

stavros 3y ago

We have "one or two" in Greek as well. It is commonly understood to mean any small number, like "a couple", but can be much larger if the thing typically comes in large numbers. If you say "I want one or two chillies", you would expect to get five or ten, not one or two.

b112 3y ago
A small amount of the whole?
- stavros 3y ago
  Of what someone would reasonably request, eg peanuts at a bar.

wizofaus 3y ago

Are those terms used for continuous measurements (e.g. distances/timespans)? Could 110 seconds be "duse" minutes, or always "handu"?

yongjik 3y ago
Minutes are problematic for a different reason, but hours would work. I think 110 minutes can count as either "handu" hour or "duse" hour - after all they aren't supposed to be exact measures. (The reason minutes don't work is that Korean has two different sets of numerals, native and Chinese, and minutes only work with Chinese numerals.)