# 세

| 세 | U+C138, &#49464; 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

* (Morphophonemic) IPA: ⫽se⫽
* (Jeju City) IPA: [sʰe]
* Phonetic hangul: [세]

### Noun

세 (se)
* (seamen's) east, east wind

### Determiner

세 (se)
* 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: [sʰe̞(ː)]
* Phonetic hangul: [세(ː)]
** Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

#### Numeral

세 • (se)
* (native numeral) three (before a noun or classifier)
    학생 세 명haksaeng se myeongthree students
    비둘기 세 마리bidulgi se marithree 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: [sʰe̞]
* Phonetic hangul: [세]

#### Noun

세 • (se)
* (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]‎, 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)
* 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)