GuidesHow to say phone numbers and addresses in Korean
Giving your phone number at a shop, booking a table or telling a taxi driver your building is everyday Korean that textbooks often skip. The good news: all of it uses one number system, Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼…), and you read most of it digit by digit. Every example below comes from our free Korean numbers converter.
Phone numbers: digit by digit, zero is 공
Korean mobile numbers start with 010 and have three groups. Read each digit on its own with Sino-Korean numbers, and say 공 for zero (영 is also correct, but 공 is what you will hear).
| Number | Said as | Sounds like | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| 010-1234-5678 | 공일공 일이삼사 오육칠팔 | [공일공 이리삼사 오육칠팔] | gongilgong irisamsa oyukchilpal |
| 010-2580-0369 | 공일공 이오팔공 공삼육구 | [공일공 이오팔공 공삼뉵구] | gongilgong iopalgong gongsamnyukgu |
| 02-123-4567 | 공이 일이삼 사오육칠 | [공이 이리삼 사오육칠] | gongi irisam saoyukchil |
Look at the "sounds like" column. Inside a group, the digits run together as one word, so the sound rules of Korean apply:
- 일 + 이 is said [이리], because a final ㄹ moves to the next empty syllable.
- In 010-2580-0369, 삼 + 육 is said [삼뉵]: Korean adds an n-sound before 육 when the digit before it ends in a consonant.
Between groups many people say 에, so 010-1234-5678 often comes out as 공일공에 일이삼사에 오육칠팔. Seoul landlines start with 02, which is said 공이.
Apartments, rooms and floors
Addresses also use Sino-Korean numbers, but here you read the whole number, not digit by digit.
| Written | Meaning | Said as | Romanized |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101동 | building 101 | 백일 동 | baegil dong |
| 1203호 | unit 1203 | 천이백삼 호 | cheonibaeksam ho |
| 3층 | 3rd floor | 삼 층 | sam cheung |
| 지하 1층 | basement level 1 (B1) | 지하 일 층 | jiha il cheung |
| 15층 | 15th floor | 십오 층 | sibo cheung |
- 동 is the building in an apartment complex and 호 the unit. "101동 1203호" is a typical home address line.
- 층 is the floor. Basement floors use 지하: B1 is 지하 일 층.
- Hundreds and thousands drop the 1: 100 is 백 (not 일백) and 1,000 is 천. That is why 101 is 백일 and 1203 is 천이백삼.
The Sino-Korean numbers chart has 1–100 and the big units (만, 억) if you need longer numbers.
Useful sentences
- 전화번호가 어떻게 되세요? — What is your phone number?
- 제 번호는 공일공 일이삼사 오육칠팔이에요. — My number is 010-1234-5678.
- 101동 1203호로 가 주세요. — Please take me to building 101, unit 1203.
- 몇 층이에요? — Which floor is it?
Practice it
Type your own number into the Korean numbers converter to hear it, then practice prices and clock times on paper with the free Korean numbers worksheet. For a related everyday topic, read Korean age explained, and if you want to write the numbers in a chat, learn how to type Korean on an English keyboard.