Meaning and Usage
"일흔" is the native Korean number for seventy. It is commonly used in everyday conversation when counting age, people, or quantities. Unlike Sino-Korean numbers, native Korean numbers like "일흔" are typically used for counting age and sometimes for counting objects in informal contexts.
Common Collocations
- 일흔 살: seventy years old (used to talk about age)
- 일흔 명: seventy people (counting people)
- 일흔 번: seventy times (counting occurrences)
Notes on Usage
When talking about age, native Korean numbers like "일흔" are preferred in casual speech, while Sino-Korean numbers (칠십) might appear in formal or written contexts. Learners often confuse "일흔" with "일십" (which is incorrect), so be careful to pronounce and write it correctly.
Register and Politeness
"일흔" itself is neutral and can be used in both formal and informal contexts, but the surrounding sentence structure will determine the politeness level.