Level: Beginner (TOPIK 1-2)
✔ How to read Korean numbers
✔ Korean slang and profanity culture
Source: tvN Official YouTube channel, “Amazing Saturday (놀라운 토요일)”
🎥 The clip starts at 16:58.
Numbers & Native Korean Numerals
In Korean, the number 18 is read 십팔 (sip-pal).
However, in this clip, when Haneul says “Sip-pal Again!”, the host Boom (Lee Min-ho) immediately jokes,
욕하면 안 돼요.“You shouldn’t use swear words.”
But… Haneul only said a number.
So why did everyone laugh?
What’s happening in this scene?
This comes from the music quiz variety show Amazing Saturday (놀라운 토요일).
Haneul is the last contestant left in the game. Just moments earlier, he had already been teased with something like,
“Well, Haneul never watches other people’s work anyway.”
By this point, he’s already flustered.
Then he tries to answer “18 Again,” but blurts out,
십팔 Again!
(It’s the wrong answer anyway😆)
Immediately, Boom replies,
욕하면 안 돼요. “Don’t swear!”
Why is it funny?
The Korean number 십팔 (sip-pal) means 18, but its pronunciation sounds very similar to the extremely strong Korean swear word
씨 발 (ssi-bal).
Of course, Haneul wasn’t actually swearing🐶
The joke is that 십팔 (sip-pal) sounds remarkably similar to the Korean swear word 씨＋발 (ssi-bal), so Boom pretends Haneul has accidentally blurted out a profanity.
That’s what makes the joke work.
The humor comes from pretending that sweet, innocent Haneul—probably one of the last people you’d expect to swear—has been pushed to the point of blurting out a profanity.
A quick note about Korean numbers
Korean actually has two different number systems.
| When to use | Reading |
|---|---|
| Counting numbers themselves (Sino-Korean numerals) | 십팔 |
| Counting objects or stating age (Native Korean numerals) | 열여덟 |
Since the answer was referring to 18 years old, the correct reading should have been 열여덟.
(The quiz answer was still wrong, though😂)
Part of what makes the scene so funny is that Haneul, in his panic, instinctively reads the number as 십팔 instead.
A flustered Haneul is always entertaining
Just before this moment, Haneul had already been left behind after getting several quiz questions wrong.
The other cast members teased him with comments like,
That’s what a real actor is like—Haneul doesn’t watch other people’s work.
So he was already completely thrown off.
Then, under pressure, he blurts out,
십팔!
His growing panic is obvious, which only makes the whole exchange even funnier.
Quick practice 🎤
Which reading should you use for the numbers in parentheses?
１）Haneul is (36) years old.
２）Haneul has appeared in (22) dramas.
３）Haneul debuted (19) years ago.
Answers
- 서른여섯 (살)
- 스물두 (개)
- 십구 (년 전)
Clementine’s Note 🍊
Since Amazing Saturday (놀토) is a music quiz show, this should have been right up Haneul’s alley.
It was his second appearance on the show (his first was while promoting Waiting for Rain). Although everyone jokingly treated him like a “VIP,” they also teased him relentlessly throughout the episode.
Watching Haneul become increasingly flustered, confused, and adorably overwhelmed is worth the clip all by itself👀💙
Source
Program: Amazing Saturday (놀라운 토요일) (tvN)
YouTube: tvN Official Channel — 놀라운 토요일
Referenced segment: Around 16:57
