The novelty that are counters for English speakers deems the creation of a post solely dedicated to them absolutely necessary.
PK Counters
Note that the following set of counters is used with Pure Korean numbers.
개 - counter for things in general. Some of the least common counters can at times be replaced by this one without making the whole sentence incorrect. 개 also means dog and just like dogs are a man's best friend so is 개 a man's best counter.
병 - counter for bottles. Also means bottle, which makes things quite logical.
잔 - counter for glasses or cups. Thankfully, it also means cup or glass.
자루 - counter for long/thin things. Well, this is according to the textbook; however, according to other sources* this counter is also used for pens (makes sense), bags containing grains and knives. According to the same source, for these little peculiar uses 자루 can be replaced by the friendly 개.
대 - counter for machines and punches. This is a common counter, especially when used with cars, therefore it is best to use it instead of replacing it with
개. 대 also means large or big (I think) as in 대학교 meaning university or, literally, "large school".
마리 - counter for animals.
장 - counter for paper, pages and tickets.
통- counter for boxes or containers. Coincidentally it also means box or container.
권 - counter for books.
명 - counter for human beings. (WHY TWO??)
사람 - counter for human beings. Used when referring to a relatively small number of people without specifying who they are.* Question: how small is small? Is it culture specific? While on exchange I realised that an average number of people in a group of Dutch is about 4 to 5 people while in a group of Spanish is about 10-15 people. 사람 also means human being or person.
번 - counter for time (Chapter 7).
PK + counter + verb
So, to the question
몇 개(counter) 있어요?
책(NOUN) 몇 개(counter) 있어요?
The answer is
(책) 다섯(PK) 개 있어요.
Examples:
개
아줌아 김치찌개 한 개 주세요.
병
소주도 한 병 주세요.
(What does the 도 mean after soju?)
명
몇 명 있어요?
열 명 있어요.
Counters and Numbers, slight adjustments
exceptions in PK 1, 2, 3, 4 and 20.
하나 + counter = 한 counter
둘 + counter = 두 counter
셋 + counter = 세 counter
넷+ counter = 네 counter
스물 + counter = 스무 counter
SK Counters
In the textbook the following set of counters is referred to as 'counters of foreign origin'. Counters related to money are also included.
킬로 - counter for kilograms
리터 - counter for litre
미터 - counter for metre
원 - won (ROK currency)
불 / 돌러 - dollar
센트 - cent
SK + counter + verb
So, to the question
알마예요?
책(NOUN) 알마예요?
The answer is
오만(SK) 원(counter)이에요.
(NOUN) + PK + counter 에 + SK + counter 예요/ 이에요
Example of this lovely interaction:
포도수(NOUN) 한(PK) 병에(COUNTER 에) 오만(SK) 원이에요(counter 예요/ 이에요)
포도수 한 병에 오만 원이에요
(NOUN) + SK + counter 에 + SK + counter 예요/ 이에요
Example of this lovely interaction:
일 리터에 천 원이예요.
* See: Talk To Me In Korean, Level 2, Lesson 9.
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