Lesson 7
Lesson 7. Decimal Point and Fraction
In mathematics, only Sino-Korean numbers are used. Also, the number 0 is always read as 영 [yeong], not 공 [gong], when it comes to calculations and numbers with a decimal point.
Decimal point
Point in Korean is 점 [jeom]. However, especially when reading numbers with a decimal point, people often pronounce it as 쩜 [jjeom].
Examples
- 0.5 [yeong-jjeom-o]
- 1.32 [il-jjeom-sa-mi]
- 3.14 [sam-jjeom-il-ssa]
- 9.573 [gu-jjeom-o-chil-sam]
- 4.3 [sa-jjeom-sam]
- 154.3 [bae-go-sip-ssa-jjeom-sam]
Fraction
In Korean, unlike in English, when reading fractions, denominators come first and numerators come after that.
Examples
- 이 분의 일 [i bu-nui il] = ½
- 삼 분의 일 [sam bu-nui il] = ⅓
- 칠 분의 삼 [chil bu-nui sam] = 3/7
- 십 분의 구 [sip bu-nui gu] = 9/10
- 삼과 이 분의 일 [sam-gwa i bu-nui il] = 3½
The correct way of reading and writing fractions in Korean is “(denominators) + 분의 [bu-nui] + (numerator)”, however, some people pronounce 분의 [bu-nui] as 분에 [bu-ne].