Lesson 4

Lesson 4. Ordinal Numbers in Korean

Basic ordinal numbers are made using native Korean numbers. Just like the words "first" and "second" are irregular forms in English, the word "first" in Korean also takes an irregular form.

How to say “first”

“The first time”, “at first”, or “the first one” in Korean is 처음 [cheo-eum], and it is reduced to 첫 [cheot] when used before other words to mean "first". In order to say "first" on its own, you need to add - 번째 [beon-jjae] after 첫. 번 [beon] means "number" or "number of times", and 째 [jjae] serves the same role as the "-th" in words like "fifth" or "sixth."

첫 번째 [cheot beon-jjae] = first

Note how 번 is pronounced like 뻔 due to the influence of 첫.

How to say “second”, “third”, etc.
첫 번째 is the only exception, while all other numbers (including 11, 21, 31, etc.) are formed by just adding - 번째 after a native Korean number. 하나, 둘, 셋, and 넷 change to 한, 두, 세, and 네 when they come before - 번째.

Ordinal Numbers (1 - 10)
1st 첫 번째 [cheot beon-jjae]
2nd 두 번째 [du beon-jjae]
3rd 세 번째 [se beon-jjae]
4th 네 번째 [ne beon-jjae]
5th 다섯 번째 [da-seot beon-jjae]
6th 여섯 번째 [yeo-seot beon-jjae]
7th 일곱 번째 [il-gop beon-jjae]
8th 여덟 번째 [yeo-deol beon-jjae]
9th 아홉 번째 [a-hop beon-jjae]
10th 열 번째 [yeol beon-jjae]
Numbers greater than 10 are also formed in the same manner.
The following table shows numbers from the 11th to the 100th.

11th - 100th
11th 열한 번째 [yeol-han beon-jjae]
12th 열두 번째 [yeol-ttu beon-jjae]
13th 열세 번째 [yeol-sse beon-jjae]
14th 열네 번째 [yeol-le beon-jjae]
15th 열다섯 번째
16th 열여섯 번째
17th 열일곱 번째
18th 열여덟 번째
19th 열아홉 번째
20th 스무 번째 [seu-mu beon-jjae]
21st 스물한 번째 [seu-mul-han beon-jjae]
22nd 스물두 번째 [seu-mul-du beon-jjae]
23rd 스물세 번째 [seu-mul-se beon-jjae]
24th 스물네 번째 [seu-mul-le beon-jjae]
25th 스물다섯 번째
26th 스물여섯 번째
27th 스물일곱 번째
28th 스물여덟 번째
29th 스물아홉 번째
30th 서른 번째
31st 서른한 번째 [seo-reun-han beon-jjae]
32nd 서른두 번째 [seo-reun-du beon-jjae]
33rd 서른세 번째 [seo-reun-se beon-jjae]
34th 서른네 번째 [seo-reun-ne beon-jjae]
35th 서른다섯 번째
36th 서른여섯 번째
37th 서른일곱 번째
38th 서른여덟 번째
39th 서른아홉 번째
40th 마흔 번째
41st 마흔한 번째 [ma-heun-han beon-jjae]
42nd 마흔두 번째 [ma-heun-du beon-jjae]
43rd 마흔세 번째 [ma-heun-se beon-jjae]
44th 마흔네 번째 [ma-heun-ne beon-jjae]
45th 마흔다섯 번째
46th 마흔여섯 번째
47th 마흔일곱 번째
48th 마흔여덟 번째
49th 마흔아홉 번째
50th 쉰 번째
51st 쉰한 번째 [swin-han beon-jjae]
52nd 쉰두 번째 [swin-du beon-jjae]
53rd 쉰세 번째 [swin-se beon-jjae]
54th 쉰네 번째 [swin-ne beon-jjae]
55th 쉰다섯 번째
56th 쉰여섯 번째
57th 쉰일곱 번째
58th 쉰여덟 번째
59th 쉰아홉 번째
60th 예순 번째
61st 예순한 번째 [ye-sun-han beon-jjae]
62nd 예순두 번째 [ye-sun-du beon-jjae]
63rd 예순세 번째 [ye-sun-se beon-jjae]
64th 예순네 번째 [ye-sun-ne beon-jjae]
65th 예순다섯 번째
66th 예순여섯 번째
67th 예순일곱 번째
68th 예순여덟 번째
69th 예순아홉 번째
70th 일흔 번째
71st 일흔한 번째 [il-heun-han beon-jjae]
72nd 일흔두 번째 [il-heun-du beon-jjae]
73rd 일흔세 번째 [il-heun-se beon-jjae]
74th 일흔네 번째 [il-heun-ne beon-jjae]
75th 일흔다섯 번째
76th 일흔여섯 번째
77th 일흔일곱 번째
78th 일흔여덟 번째
79th 일흔아홉 번째
80th 여든 번째
81st 여든한 번째 [yeo-deun-han beon-jjae]
82nd 여든두 번째 [yeo-deun-du beon-jjae]
83rd 여든세 번째 [yeo-deun-se beon-jjae]
84th 여든네 번째 [yeo-deun-ne beon-jjae]
85th 여든다섯 번째
86th 여든여섯 번째
87th 여든일곱 번째
88th 여든여덟 번째
89th 여든아홉 번째
90th 아흔 번째
91st 아흔한 번째 [a-heun-han beon-jjae]
92nd 아흔두 번째 [a-heun-du beon-jjae]
93rd 아흔세 번째 [a-heun-se beon-jjae]
94th 아흔네 번째 [a-heun-ne beon-jjae]
95th 아흔다섯 번째
96th 아흔여섯 번째
97th 아흔일곱 번째
98th 아흔여덟 번째
99th 아흔아홉 번째
100th 백 번째

Side Notes:

• When referring to children in a family as the first child, the second child, etc., use 첫째 [cheot-jjae], 둘째 [dul-jjae], 셋째 [set-jjae], 넷째 [net-jjae], 다섯째 [da-seot-jjae], etc. instead of 첫 번째, 두 번째, 세 번째, etc.
  Ex) 첫째는 지금 열 살이고, 둘째는 지금 다섯 살이에요. [cheot-jjae-neun ji-geum yeol sa-ri-go, dul-jjae-neun ji-geum da-seot sa-ri-e-yo.]
  My first child is 10 years old, and my second child is 5 years old.
• Getting rid of 번 and just saying 첫째, 둘째, and 셋째 is commonly used while emphasizing key elements in a speech or presentation.

Other ways to express ordinal numbers
In addition to 첫 번째, 두 번째 or 첫째, 둘째, there are other ways ordinal numbers can be expressed in more specific contexts, such as “rank #1” or “the first volume”. In many of these expressions, Sino-Korean numbers are used. Sometimes the word 제 is added in front to make the expression more formal.