Fractions, Percentages, and Multiples: 분의, 퍼센트, 배

Whole numbers are only half the story. To talk about a discount, a recipe, a battery, or a price that doubled, you need fractions, percentages, decimals, and multiples. Korean handles all four cleanly, but two things trip up English speakers: fractions are read backwards (the denominator comes first), and the number system splits right down the middle — fractions, percentages, and decimals use Sino-Korean numbers, while multiples with 배 use native numbers. This page walks through each, keeping the Sino/native split in view the whole way.

Fractions: 분의, denominator first

A fraction is built with 분의 ("of parts"), and the golden rule is that you say the denominator before the numerator: the pattern is X분의 Y = Y/X. So "one third" is not "one-three" but literally "of three parts, one" — 삼분의 일. Every number in a fraction is Sino-Korean (일, 이, 삼…).

The word 분의 is pronounced [부네] here — the 의 behaves as the genitive particle, which is standardly voiced [에] — so 삼분의 일 sounds like [삼부네 일]. Do not let the spelling tempt you into a heavy "ui."

For one half, everyday Korean overwhelmingly prefers the plain noun 반 over the technical 이분의 일. Save 이분의 일 for math class or a precise measurement.

Percentages: Sino number + 퍼센트

A percentage is a Sino-Korean number followed by 퍼센트: 오십 퍼센트 (50%), 이십 퍼센트 (20%), 백 퍼센트 (100%). In casual speech, 퍼센트 is very often shortened to 프로 (from Dutch/Japanese pro): 백 프로, 오십 프로. 프로 is (informal / spoken); 퍼센트 is neutral and safe in writing.

Decimals: 점 plus single digits

For a decimal, say the whole-number part, then 점 ("point"), then read each digit one at a time — never as a bundled number. Everything is Sino-Korean. So 3.5 is 삼 점 오 ("three point five"), and 0.75 is 영 점 칠오 ("zero point seven five"), not 영 점 칠십오 ("zero point seventy-five"). The value zero in the integer slot is 영.

The single-digit rule is the same one your calculator teacher used: after the point, you spell out digits, so 0.75 is "seven, five," not "seventy-five." Korean is strict about it.

Multiples: 배 with native numbers

Now the twist that catches everyone. To say "-fold" or "times as much," Korean uses 배, and — unlike fractions, percentages, and decimals — 배 takes native numbers: 두 배 (double), 세 배 (triple), 네 배 (quadruple), 몇 배 (how many times). The comparison partner is usually marked with 보다 ("than").

Because 배 uses native numbers, it follows the same ceiling as all native counting: it runs on native words up to 99 (두 배, 열 배, 스무 배) and switches to Sino at a hundred and beyond (백 배 = a hundredfold). For a vague "several times over," use 몇 배 or 수십 배 ("dozens of times").

Asking about proportions

To ask "what percent," "how many times," or "what fraction," Korean reuses the question word 몇 ("how many") in front of the very same units — or 얼마나 ("how much") for a looser question:

• 몇 퍼센트 / 몇 프로 — what percent
• 몇 배 — how many times over
• 몇 분의 몇 — what fraction (literally "of how many, how many")

The particle 나 after 몇 배 (몇 배나) adds a shade of "as many as / a surprising number of times" — a small but very idiomatic touch when you are impressed by the size of a change.

The whole map in one glance

Three of the four are Sino; the odd one out is 배. If you remember only that exception, you will read most quantities correctly.

Common Mistakes

1. Saying the numerator first. English order ("one third") sneaks in and produces a flipped, wrong fraction.

• ✗ 일분의 삼 (this actually reads as 3/1)
• ✓ 삼분의 일 — sambunui il — "one third."

2. Using a Sino number with 배. Multiples are native. "Double" is 두 배, never ×이 배.

• ✗ 이 배 비싸요
• ✓ 두 배 비싸요 — du bae bissayo — "twice as expensive."

3. Using a native number with a percentage or decimal. Percent and decimals are Sino.

• ✗ 다섯 퍼센트 (native 다섯)
• ✓ 오 퍼센트 — o peosenteu — "five percent."

4. Reading decimal digits as a group. After 점, digits are read singly.

• ✗ 영 점 칠십오 (reads .75 as "seventy-five")
• ✓ 영 점 칠오 — yeong jeom chilo — "zero point seven five."

5. Using 이분의 일 for "half" in everyday speech. It is technically correct but sounds like a textbook. Say 반.

• ✗ (ordering) 케이크 이분의 일 주세요.
• ✓ 케이크 반 주세요. — keikeu ban juseyo — "Give me half the cake."

Key Takeaways

• Fractions read the denominator first: X분의 Y = Y/X, so 1/3 is 삼분의 일. All Sino; 분의 is voiced [부네].
• Percentages are Sino number + 퍼센트 (colloquial 프로): 오십 퍼센트, 백 프로.
• Decimals use 점, with digits after it read one by one: 3.5 = 삼 점 오, 0.75 = 영 점 칠오 (not 칠십오).
• Multiples use 배 with native numbers: 두 배, 세 배 — the one system that does not go Sino (until it passes 99: 백 배).
• Everyday "half" is 반, not 이분의 일.