LEARN KOREAN (한국어) [GRAMMAR] #1

ZERO

I figure since I am talking about numbers, I should mention something about how/when the number zero is used. Just like other numbers, there are two ways to say "zero" in Korea. However, unlike other numbers, both ways of saying "zero" are of Chinese origin.

영, which is (from what I understand), the way Chinese people say "zero"
공, which is sort of like the meaning of "nothing"

That isn't really very important, but what is important is knowing which word to use in which situation.

You should use "영" when talking about:

•Points that can be given or taken away, like in a game. For example, when saying the score "2 – 0", you would say "이 대 영". Another example would be if you are in a quiz show, and you ask your friend how many points she has, she could say "영점"
•The temperature "zero"
•When using numbers in math (which, if you're just learning Korean now, you probably won't do for a long time)

You should use "공" when talking about:

•Phone numbers. For example, when saying "010 – 5555 – 5555", all the zeros should be read as "공." If you don't live in Korea, you probably won't know this, but "010" is the typical area code for a cell phone (in Seoul, at least). Therefore, when giving your phone number, you usually start out by saying "공-일-공".