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A Summary of Korean Terminology for Tae Kwon Do
3.  Korean Counting
There are two different numbering systems that are used by Koreans. The first numbering system is used when counting, or when only speaking of the numbers themselves. The first ten numbers in this system are as follows:
 
1 : hanah
2 : dool
3 : set
4 : net
5 : dasot
6 : yasot
7 : ilgop
8 : yadol
9 : ahop
10 : yool

The stress in "hanah", "dasot", and "yasot" is on the first syllable, in "ilgop", "yadol", and "ahop" on the second. In counting cadence in TaeKwonDo, this is so emphasized that the other syllable frequently almost disappears (e.g., "han", "das", "yos", "lgop", "hop", etc.).

The other numbering system (which is of Chinese origin) is used in most other cases and is often used where Americans would use ordinal numbers (such as "first", "second", etc ...). For example, this second numbering system is used when describing a person's rank: a first degree black belt would be an "il dan". The first ten numbers in this numbering system are as follows:
 
1 : il
2 : ee
3 : sahm
4 : sah
5 : oh
6 : ryook
7 : chil
8 : pal
9 : koo
10 : ship

The final `l' in "chil" and "pal" isn't rounded, like an American `l' .... It's a much shorter sound, sort of like the initial `l' in "let", but even shorter. It's not like the `l' in "ball".

When pronouncing the word "ship", you must not emphasize the "sh" sound. It's almost more like "sip" with a sort of a lisp. If you pronounce it like "sh" in "shell", then you are referring to sexual intercourse.

Even though this second numbering system may correspond to ordinal numbers in English in some cases, these are not ordinal numbers. Koreans use a separate set of words for ordinal numbers.
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