세

세 U+C138, 세 HANGUL SYLLABLE SE Composition: ㅅ + ㅔ ← 섷 [U+C137] Hangul Syllables 섹 → [U+C139]

세섹섺섻센섽섾 섿셀셁셂셃셄셅 셆셇셈셉셊셋셌 셍셎셏셐셑셒셓
서 ←	→ 셔

Jeju

Etymology

Cognate with Korean 새 (sae).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /se/

Noun

세 (se)

1. (seamen's) east, east wind

Determiner

세 (se)

1. new

Korean

Etymology 1

First attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 세〯 (Yale: sěy).

Beyond Middle Korean, the reconstruction of the ancestral Koreanic root for "three" is difficult. See a list of relevant attestations and forms in Appendix:Historical Koreanic numerals#Three.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰe̞(ː)]
• Phonetic hangul: [세(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	se
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	se
McCune–Reischauer?	se
Yale Romanization?	sēy

Korean numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  → [a], [b], [c]
Native isol.: 셋 (set)     Native attr.: 세 (se), (dated) 석 (seok), (archaic) 서 (seo)     Sino-Korean: 삼 (sam)     Hanja: 三     Ordinal: 셋째 (setjjae)

Numeral

세 • (se)

1. (native numeral) three (before a noun or classifier)

   학생 세 명

   haksaeng se myeong

   three students

   비둘기 세 마리

   bidulgi se mari

   three pigeons

Usage notes

In modern Korean, numbers are usually written in Arabic numerals.

The Korean language has two sets of numerals: a native set of numerals inherited from Old Korean, and a Sino-Korean set which was borrowed from Middle Chinese in the first millennium C.E.

Native classifiers take native numerals.

• 개 한 마리 (gae han mari, “one dog”, native numeral)
• 나무 두 그루 (namu du geuru, “two trees”, native numeral)

Some Sino-Korean classifiers take native numerals, others take Sino-Korean numerals, while yet others take both.

• 종이 두 장(張) (jong'i du jang, “two sheets of paper”, native numeral)
• 이 분(分) (i bun, “two minutes”, Sino-Korean numeral)
• 서른/삼십 명(名) (seoreun/samsip myeong, “thirty people”, both sets possible)

Recently loaned classifiers generally take Sino-Korean numerals.

• 일 킬로미터 (il killomiteo, “one kilometer”, Sino-Korean numeral)

For many terms, a native numeral has a quantifying sense, whereas a Sino-Korean numeral has a sense of labeling.

• 세 반(班) (se ban, “three school classes”, native numeral)
• 삼 반(班) (sam ban, “Class Number Three”, Sino-Korean numeral)

When used in isolation, native numerals refer to objects of that number and are used in counting and quantifying, whereas Sino-Korean numerals refer to the numbers in a more mathematical sense.

• 하나만 더 주세요 (hana-man deo juse-yo, “Could you give me just one more, please”, native numeral)
• 일 더하기 일은? (il deohagi ir-eun?, “What's one plus one?”, Sino-Korean numeral)

While older stages of Korean had native numerals up to the thousands, native numerals currently exist only up to ninety-nine, and Sino-Korean is used for all higher numbers. There is also a tendency—particularly among younger speakers—to uniformly use Sino-Korean numerals for the higher tens as well, so that native numerals such as 일흔 (ilheun, “seventy”) or 아흔 (aheun, “ninety”) are becoming less common.

Etymology 2

Related to 혀 (hyeo).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰe̞]
• Phonetic hangul: [세]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	se
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	se
McCune–Reischauer?	se
Yale Romanization?	sey

Noun

세 • (se)

1. (Gangwon, Gyeongsang, Seoul, Jeolla dialect, Chungcheong, Hamgyong, Yukjin, Hwanghae) Dialectal form of 혀 (hyeo, “tongue”)
   • 1982 January 8, 이상설 [isangseol], “오리정승의 국량 [orijeongseung'ui gungnyang]”, in 한국구비문학대계 [han'gukgubimunhakdaegye]‎^[1], 경기도 용인군 내사면 (현 용인시 처인구 양지면) [gyeonggido yong'in'gun naesamyeon (hyeon yong'insi cheoin'gu yangjimyeon)]:

     그래니까 오리정승 (이원익) 말씀이 세를 세 번 차더라 이거야.

     Geurae-nikka orijeongseung (I Won-ik) malsseum-i se-reul se beon chadeora igeo-ya.

     So Prime Minister Ori (Yi Won-ik) clicked his tongue three times.

Etymology 3

Korean reading of various Chinese characters.

Syllable

세 (se)

Extended content

世: world; lineage (eumhun reading: 인간 세 (in'gan se)) (MC reading: 世 (MC syejH)) 洗: wash (eumhun reading: 씻을 세 (ssiseul se)) (MC reading: 洗 (MC sejX)) 稅: tax (eumhun reading: 세금 세 (segeum se)) (MC reading: 稅 (MC sywejH)) 細: thin (eumhun reading: 가늘 세 (ganeul se)) (MC reading: 細 (MC sejH)) 勢: force (eumhun reading: 형세 세 (hyeongse se)) (MC reading: 勢 (MC syejH)) 歲: age (counter); year (about age) (eumhun reading: 해 세 (hae se)) (MC reading: 歲 (MC sjwejH)) 貰: rent; loan (eumhun reading: 세낼 세 (senael se)) (MC reading: 貰 (MC syejH)) 笹: Sasa borealis (eumhun reading: 조릿대 세 (joritdae se)) (MC reading: 笹) 說: to persuade (eumhun reading: 달랠 세 (dallael se)) (MC reading: 說 (MC sywejH)) 忕: (MC reading: 忕 (MC dzyejH)) 洒: (MC reading: 洒 (MC sejX)) 涗: (MC reading: 涗 (MC sywejH)) 𡜧: (MC reading: 𡜧) 銴: (MC reading: 銴 (MC dzyejH)) 彗: (MC reading: 彗 (MC zwijH|zjwejH)) 帨: (MC reading: 帨 (MC tshjwejH|sywejH)) 繐: (MC reading: 繐 (MC sjwejH)) 蛻: (MC reading: 蛻 (MC sywejH)) 朑: (MC reading: 朑) 檅: (MC reading: 檅) 篲: Alternative form of 彗 (MC reading: 篲 (MC zjwejH)) 蔧: (MC reading: 蔧 (MC zwijH)) 裞: (MC reading: 裞 (MC sywejH)) 詍: (MC reading: 詍 (MC yejH)) 跩: (MC reading: 跩) 軎: (MC reading: 軎 (MC zjwejH)) 轊: (MC reading: 轊 (MC zjwejH)) 齛: (MC reading: 齛 (MC sjet)) 齥: (MC reading: 齥)