영
yeongSino Korean, general
Native Korean numbers start at 하나 (hana, one) and have no word for zero. Koreans say 영 (yeong), a Sino-Korean word, or 공 (gong), and they also use the loanword 제로 (jero).
Meaning: the number zero (noun)
Ways to say it
| Korean | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 영 | yeong | Sino Korean, general |
| 공 | gong | Sino Korean, phone numbers |
| 제로 | jero | loanword, casual |
영 is the general word for zero in scores, temperatures and decimals. 공 is what people say when reading out phone numbers, so 010 is read 공일공 (gongilgong).
Which one should you use?
Korean has two number systems. The native one (하나, 둘, 셋) is used for counting things, ages and hours, and it is normally used up to ninety nine. The Sino-Korean one (일, 이, 삼) is used for minutes, dates and money, and zero belongs to this system.
How do you pronounce it?
영 is pronounced close to "yeong" with a vowel like the "o" in "song" after a "y" glide, and 공 is close to "gohng".
Did you know?
- 공 is the Korean reading of the Chinese character 空, which means "empty".
Examples in context
- 영하 오 도예요.yeongha o do-yeyo.It is five degrees below zero.
- 우리 팀은 영 대 영으로 비겼어요.uri timeun yeong dae yeong-euro bigyeosseoyo.Our team drew zero to zero.
- 전화번호는 공일공으로 시작해요.jeonhwabeonhoneun gongilgong-euro sijakhaeyo.The phone number starts with zero one zero.
Example conversation
Jun and Hana are classmates in a Korean language class in Seoul.
- Jun순수 한국어 숫자에도 영이 있어요?sunsu hangugeo sutjaedo yeong-i isseoyo?Do the native Korean numbers have a word for zero too?
- Hana아니요, 영은 한자어예요.aniyo, yeong-eun hanjaeoyeyo.No, yeong is a Sino-Korean word.
- Hana전화번호에서는 공이라고도 해요.jeonhwabeonhoeseoneun gong-irago-do haeyo.In phone numbers people also say gong.
- Jun아, 그렇군요.a, geureokunyo.Oh, I see.
