Meaning and Usage
The Korean word '수백' means 'hundreds' and refers to a quantity between 100 and 999. It is commonly used to express a large but countable number, often emphasizing scale or magnitude.
Common Contexts
You will often see '수백' used with counters for people (명), items (가지), or occurrences (번). It is frequently used in news reports, descriptions of events, or when emphasizing the extent of something.
Collocations and Patterns
- 수백 명: hundreds of people, used when talking about attendance or population.
- 수백 가지: hundreds of kinds/types, often for products or varieties.
- 수백 번: hundreds of times, used to emphasize repetition or frequency.
Register and Nuance
'수백' is neutral in formality and can be used in both spoken and written Korean. It is more precise than vague quantifiers like '많은' (many) but less exact than specific numbers.
Common Mistakes
Learners sometimes confuse '수백' with '수천' (thousands) or '수십' (tens). Remember that '수백' specifically means hundreds, so use it when the quantity is roughly between 100 and 999.
Using '수백' correctly helps convey scale effectively without needing exact numbers, making your Korean sound more natural and descriptive.