KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean grammar › 고유어 수 관형사 (세)
Korean Grammar “고유어 수 관형사 (세)” (TOPIK 2)
Explanation
커피 세 잔 주세요.
Before a counter like “잔” (cup), Korean uses native numerals, and 하나·둘·셋 change to the modifier forms 한·두·세. The sentence means “Three cups of coffee, please.” The Sino-Korean “삼” and the unchanged “셋” cannot be used here.
Pronouncing the example sentence
Example sentence: 커피 세 잔 주세요.
It is pronounced just as it is written.
| Syllable | Letters (consonant + vowel + final) | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 커피 | ||
| 커 | ㅋ+ㅓ | keo |
| 피 | ㅍ+ㅣ | pi |
| 세 | ㅅ+ㅔ | se |
| 잔 | ㅈ+ㅏ+ㄴ | jan |
| 주세요 | ||
| 주 | ㅈ+ㅜ | ju |
| 세 | ㅅ+ㅔ | se |
| 요 | ㅇ+ㅛ | yo |
A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.
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.
Words in the example sentence
These words from the TOPIK vocabulary lists appear in the phrase (shown in dictionary form).
| Korean | Part of speech | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 주다 | verb | to give | TOPIK level 1 |
Practice
Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.
Question 1 Choose the word that fits the blank: 커피 ____ 잔 주세요.
Show the answer
Answer: 커피 세 잔 주세요.
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