매
mae[mɛ(ː)]
In Korean, 매 (mae) is a counter used for long, cylindrical objects.
매 is a unit used to count objects that are long and cylindrical in shape, such as bottles or pencils.
How do you pronounce it?
mae
Did you know?
- One form of 매 evolved from an old adverb meaning 'severe' which eventually became the modern Korean word for 'spicy' 맵다. Over time, the original connection between the two words was lost to speakers.
Example conversation
Seoyeon and Hyunwoo are at a stationery store.
- 서연 Seo-yeon현우 씨, 여기 연필 몇 매 있어요?Hyeon-u ssi, yeogi yeonpil myeot mae isseoyo?Hyunwoo, how many pencils are there here?
- 현우 Hyeon-woo다섯 매 정도 남아 있어요.daseot mae jeongdo nama isseoyo.About five are left.
- 서연 Seo-yeon그럼 두 매만 살게요.geureom du mae-man salgeyo.Then I will buy just two.
- 현우 Hyeon-woo네, 알겠어요 서연 씨.ne, algesseoyo Seoyeon ssi.Okay, I understand, Seoyeon.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 매, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 매, CC BY-SA 4.0.
