KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean grammar › 단위 명사 (잔)
Korean Grammar “단위 명사 (잔)”: Meaning and Usage (TOPIK 1)
Explanation
카페에서 커피 세 잔을 마셨어요.
Korean uses different counters for different things, and cups of a drink are counted with “잔.” The native number “셋” becomes “세” before a counter, giving “세 잔.” The sentence means “I drank three cups of coffee at the café.” “마리” is for animals, “권” for books, and “대” for machines and vehicles.
Pronouncing the example sentence
Example sentence: 카페에서 커피 세 잔을 마셨어요.
Said aloud, it sounds like [카페에서 커피 세 자늘 마셔써요].
| Syllable | Letters (consonant + vowel + final) | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 카페에서 | ||
| 카 | ㅋ+ㅏ | ka |
| 페 | ㅍ+ㅔ | pe |
| 에 | ㅇ+ㅔ | e |
| 서 | ㅅ+ㅓ | seo |
| 커피 | ||
| 커 | ㅋ+ㅓ | keo |
| 피 | ㅍ+ㅣ | pi |
| 세 | ㅅ+ㅔ | se |
| 잔을 | ||
| 잔 | ㅈ+ㅏ+ㄴ | [자] ja |
| 을 | ㅇ+ㅡ+ㄹ | [늘] neul |
| 마셨어요 | ||
| 마 | ㅁ+ㅏ | ma |
| 셨 | ㅅ+ㅕ+ㅆ | [셔] syeo |
| 어 | ㅇ+ㅓ | [써] sseo |
| 요 | ㅇ+ㅛ | yo |
A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.
Sound changes in this phrase
- Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 잔을 → [자늘]
Politeness level of the example
Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.
It contains the honorific -(으)시-, which shows respect to the person being talked about or talked to.
Practice
Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.
Question 1 Choose the word that fits the blank: 카페에서 커피 세 ____을 마셨어요.
Show the answer
Answer: 카페에서 커피 세 잔을 마셨어요.
More grammar at this level
Learn this phrase by playing: typing drills and quizzes help it stick.
Practice in the gameRead this page in: 日本語 简体中文 繁體中文 Tiếng Việt Bahasa Indonesia Oʻzbekcha Монгол Français Español (México) ไทย